USA or Import Steering Gears?

28 Special Coupe

28 Special Coupe

Member
I've been thinking about rebuilding my 7-tooth gearbox lately due to the fact that I have about 5 or 6 inches of play in my wheel. It makes it really exciting to drive on a windy day.

Anyhow, I got an email from Mac's today stating that they have steering parts on sale for 15% off. However, the worm and sector gears they carry are imports. Brattons and Snyders have USA made parts. My question is whether or not any of you have had any experience with either the import or USA parts and what is your opinion of their quality?

I usually prefer USA over import in many cases, but quality isn't always directly related to country of origin. What do you guys think?
 
In my experience the imports fit reasonably well but the metal quality is not as good and they do not wear as long. I vote USA. Even if your housing has a grease fitting do not use grease. Unscrew the fitting, if you have one, and fill with 600W or equivelent.
 
Probably a dumb question but have you checked out the rest of your front end to make sure it is in the steering column only ??
 
28 Special Coupe said:
I've been thinking about rebuilding my 7-tooth gearbox lately due to the fact that I have about 5 or 6 inches of play in my wheel. It makes it really exciting to drive on a windy day.

Anyhow, I got an email from Mac's today stating that they have steering parts on sale for 15% off. However, the worm and sector gears they carry are imports. Brattons and Snyders have USA made parts. My question is whether or not any of you have had any experience with either the import or USA parts and what is your opinion of their quality?

I usually prefer USA over import in many cases, but quality isn't always directly related to country of origin. What do you guys think?
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It generally is when price is a consideration!!

Have we ever thought about "why" we would need another gear made when we already have one manufactured in the USA by a reputable manufacturer? The next part of this mindset is if the off-shore sector is indeed of lesser manufacturing quality, what does this affect?

One final thought is how do you know what is needed for the inside of your box? I would disassemble first and then only purchase good quality parts that needed to be replaced. Look at all of the steeringa ssy. while making the assessment because you may find it is worn in other areas too. For what it's worth, a "like-new" original sector installed in a housing that has excessively worn sector bushings will cause 5"-6" of free-play. Improperly shimmed, --or worn steering shaft bearings/bushing can create wandering issues. Disassemble first and see what is needed. If you do not wish to disable the car right now, purchase a replacement steering column assy and rebuild it. Then replace your worn one as soon as the replacementis rebuilt and sell the removed column to someone else. One thing for sure, 5 inches of steering wheel play is TOO much to be considered safe!!



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I just bought an import sector gear from Tam's. They describe it in their catalog as "good quality import". From my experience with Tam's, Joe doesn't hype anything. To my eye it looked very good. Miced it before installation and it was very consistent down the length of the shaft. Only time will tell if the material is hard enough to hold up with the needle bearings. Based on what I've learned, the hardness is much more critical to a needle bearing sector housing. If you are using sleeve bearings with a machined in oil channel my guess is that you won't have the car long enough to tell.
 
With five inches of play in the seven tooth steering gear, I've got to suspect that the pitman arm is not tight enough on the sector. Removal of shims at the end of the column will reduce end play and proper adjustment of the sector thrust screw will usually help. Snyders makes an exact copy of the seven tooth sector. I'm not sure if there is a USA made seven tooth worm gear. I will warn that removing and installing a new worm gear on the shaft is not a job for the inexperienced. Bratton sells a new shaft with the worm already installed. This is what I used on my roadster with good results. my roadster has the two tooth steering so I can't speak with experience about the quality and fit of the foreign seven tooth worm and shaft that is offered. The last seven tooth steering that I repaired I just used the new sector from snyders, bushings and other small parts and used the original worm and shaft.
 
I installed a worm and sector from Bratton's in my 7 tooth about 5 years and 10,000 miles or so ago and so far I have been pleased. Just be sure that it is shimmed and adjusted properly and all the other parts are good when you do the job. The seven tooth ain't rocket science to figure out but to achive good results all parts have to be in good shape.
 
Thanks for your comments, guys. You've convinced me that I'm putting the cart before the horse. I'm going to take a step back and spend some time looking everything over before I go any further.

I have checked out the rest of the front end and made sure everything's tight so I don't think that's exacerbating the problem. When I hold the pitman arm rigid and have someone move the wheel, it moves quite a bit before the pitman arm does. I assume that means that most of the play is in the gearbox.

I'll try removing some shims and adjusting the sector screw first. If that doesn't help, I'll just have to tear it down further. Unfortunately, that will put my car out of commission. Sounds like a good winter project.
 
28 Special Coupe said:
I'll try removing some shims and adjusting the sector screw first. If that doesn't help, I'll just have to tear it down further. Unfortunately, that will put my car out of commission. Sounds like a good winter project.
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You really should try tightening the pitman arm bolt as well. Mine was already tight, but when I made it "very tight" as described in Purdy Swoft's earlier post, I dropped an entire inch of play. That astounded me!

Visually, I could see no reason for the change. But sure enough, tightening that bolt made a big difference in steering wheel play.

I also later learned that paint on the sector shaft (where the pitman arm connects) can cause the same slop because the paint fractures, thus loosening the connection.
 
newshirt said:
...Mine was already tight, but when I made it "very tight" as described in Purdy Swoft's earlier post, I dropped an entire inch of play. That astounded me!
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Wow, that is suprising. I'll give it a try and see if it makes a difference.

1931 flamingo said:
FWIW: Mac's is having a 15% off sale on steering components.
Paul in CT
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That's basically why I started this thread. I saw they were having the sale and thought it might be good to take advantage of. Now I'm thinking it would be best to wait until I know for sure I actually need the parts. Being proactive in this case might be wasting money instead of saving it!

Thanks for your help.
 
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