Steering Wheel play.

[athawk11]

I rebuilt my Ross steering box and my drag link.  I had about 4" of steering wheel play prior to the mentioned work.  On the jack stands, I now have 1/2" play at the wheel.  Should I expect better?  As in, no play at all?  The balls on the bell crank and pitman arm are nice and round.  The only other thing I haven't done is a replacement bell crank shaft, but when I turn the wheels, I only see about 1/32" of up down movement.  Will this translate to the 1/2" play at the wheel?

Also, I have searched a bit and get a little confused.  On the exterior of the Ross box there is the sector shaft adjustment.  With a brand new sector shaft, should this adjustment be made with the Jeep wheels straight ahead, partially turned, or all the way turned?

I have read the adjustment should be done while disconnected from the link and with a slight drag.  I have also read to adjust to snug, then back off a 1/4".

I guess I am just looking for a consensus on this.  Any thoughts are helpful.  Thanks.

Tim

[RussellL]

The adjustment has to be made with the sector gear centered.  It probably would be easier to make the adjustment with the wheels at least raised off the ground so you can swing the wheel back and forth easier.   If you don't have the sector gear centered and you adjust the play out of it, it will bind when it is centered.  When I've adjusted mine, I've tried to adjust it to the least possible play without any binding in the center when I swing the wheel back and forth.  

[Gunslinger]

Morning Hawk,
The worm gear in the steering box has a high spot on it that identifies the center point on the steering system. This is the point where all of the adjustments need to be made from, wheel alignment, steering wheel position... One thing you can do is run the tension adjuster in until it makes slight contact with the worm gear, then rotate the steering to feel for binding, if it binds up,back the adjuster out until its free, then rotate until it either binds or doesn't .  That will be where the center point is and you can set your adjuster so it just touches the worm gear at that point.  Depending on how your system was set up you may find that the wheels are not pointed straight when the steering box is centered. Then its just a simple alignment job.  I don't think 1/2 inch of play is too bad, these old systems aren't like the new ones.
Todd

[athawk11]

Thanks Russel. �Thanks Gun.

I think I have it dialed in. �Worked on it this morning. �Feels pretty darn good. �I probably should have rebuilt the steering prior to re-assembly, but I just couldn't remember how it felt before the tear down.

Gun,
On a side note...



Look familiar? �I give you full credit for a really cool idea!!
Tim �

[Gunslinger]

[size=20]SAAAAWEEEEEET!!!!! [/size][smiley=thumbsup.gif]

[JeepRoger]

Tim...
I have a solution for removing all the free play from Ross steering boxes and it works great through the entire rotation of the steering wheel. It's a spring-loaded device I make that replaces the Ross adjusting screw. You can learn more about it on the CJ2A page here: http://www.thecj2apage.com/forums/steering-damper-for-ross-steering-boxes_topic22883.html
Hope this helps...
Roger