My steering box blew up!

pyrodork

pyrodork

Member
Ok. Not entirely accurate, however the lower bearing burst out the bottom end of the box... and now I have a 64 Galaxie that is no longer a daily driver.

Can I just get a new bearing, set it in place, then tap the cap back on? I didn't see anything that would make me think there's a snap ring for it.

I have no experience with steering boxes aside from (apparently) making that deadly sector shaft adjustment several months ago. My budget is tight. I'd rather not have to buy a new box, but I suppose I must do what I must.

Box tag says "HCA AX 4325C" and I'm not positive what that translates into. I do NOT have power steering and am satisfied with that. The manual steering suits me fine. If there's a modern replacement that wouldn't need the whole column replaced, I'd look into that. Give me part numbers if you have them. Sources for the parts are even better. Or if there's a used box in decent condition in your shop, I'd be interested as well. I'm leery of used boxes on eBay... unless someone can convince me otherwise.

Please help me, FordBarn. You're my only hope.
 

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Does it have a soft plug there or is it just a light press fit cap? The worm shaft should have some form of thrust control inside there so that it won't put too much pressure on that spot.
 
You are close enough to Lares to drive it there. They are in Cambridge, hwy 65 north of the Twitties.
 
That cap was likely a necessity of machining the inside of the casting. The bearing for the worm shaft should be fixed tightly in a seat inside there. If something is worn with the bearing then it might have allowed the shaft or bearing to push the cap out. Those are a recirculating ball type set up that just has a big ball nut that works on the worm shaft. I doubt if the ball nut could even get that far to push on the cap but there is thrust pressure going on there to both directions depending on which way the wheel is turned..

I'd be concerned that the bearing seat is bad in the housing or something like that. If that is the case, you would need a good replacement housing anyway. Now if the cap was just loose in the housing then you just need to find a way to tighten it up so it stays in there and hopefully not too much crud got inside.
 
I found another box at a junkyard. All is well! Now to make sure the oil is filled all the way. I've been busy day and night all week. Where do I check/fill? I've heard to use SAE 90 or straight STP. I have 90 on hand, so that was my plan.

I'm going to work on fixing the old box during the winter... gain an education that way.
 
The third pic you posted shows a "plug" by itself next to the sector arm cover. That " plug" is actually a vent and fill plug for your steering box. Fill it here until the lube just weeps out the hole.
 
If the lower seal is good, any brand SAE 90 or 85W/140 will stay in there. If they leak, the John Deere corn head grease works well. STP is some pretty viscous stuff (viscosity builder) so it would be about as easy to put in there as corn head grease but the corn head thixotropic grease is a better lubricant for the long term.
 
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