105 Sector Shaft upgrade - Steering box rebuild

[PHIL O]

thanks Box Rocket.this is where i am headed after research and reading posts. Be rebuilding it and adjusting everything to fsm specs

 

[cvenom96]

I also am going this route. Parts are ordered so I'll be referring to this thread frequently LOL.

 

[cvenom96]

Got the email this morning that Partsouq didn't have the 105 shaft after all. Bummer....

 

[Box Rocket]

Got the email this morning that Partsouq didn't have the 105 shaft after all. Bummer....

Wits End or Cruiser Outfitters for the sector shaft parts.

 

[cvenom96]

I’ll try cruiser outfitters. Wits-End is showing not currently for sale otherwise I would have been glad to order from Joey.

 

[cvenom96]

Not quite finished with the rebuild but I have to say I absolutely hate getting the recirculating balls back in. Kept binding up when I'd rotate the input shaft clockwise. Took a fair amount of working back and forth before it finally would travel both directions smoothly. I rounded that sharp edge mentioned in another post prior to installation which seemed to help getting that piston back in all the way.

 

[Box Rocket]

Not quite finished with the rebuild but I have to say I absolutely hate getting the recirculating balls back in. Kept binding up when I'd rotate the input shaft clockwise. Took a fair amount of working back and forth before it finally would travel both directions smoothly. I rounded that sharp edge mentioned in another post prior to installation which seemed to help getting that piston back in all the way.

Interesting that you had some binding with the recirculating balls. Were any of the ball bearings damaged or had flat spots? Mine went together pretty smoothly other than just making sure they didn't fall out.

 

[cvenom96]

Interesting that you had some binding with the recirculating balls. Were any of the ball bearings damaged or had flat spots? Mine went together pretty smoothly other than just making sure they didn't fall out.

Nope none of them appeared to be damaged. It worked fine while on the truck other than being sloppy. I took it apart and reinstalled all the ball bearings again and it operated smoothly. This time though there's a LOT of movement in the worm gear before it ever begins moving the teeth. I didn't examine it prior to disassembly so that could have been where all the slop was coming from. At this point I think I'm going to ship it to Red Head instead of just randomly throwing parts at it. Couldn't have put it back together though without your write-up though.

 

[bcomnes]

Do the newer gear boxes (44110-60212) already have the 105 sector shaft upgrades in them?

 

[Shipwreck]

Do the newer gear boxes (44110-60212) already have the 105 sector shaft upgrades in them?

Yes. Which means that if you purchase a new gear box, you will also need to add a steering arm to the order.

 

[bcomnes]

Yes. Which means that if you purchase a new gear box, you will also need to add a steering arm to the order.

Sorry, just to clarify, you mean the OEM Pitman arm 105 (45411-60360)?

 

[MrMikeyG]

@bcomnes yes. I can't verify the part number you referenced, but yes. you need an updated pitman arm due to the new spline count on the 105 sector shaft.
wait one;
I have mine sitting here somewhere,
yes, you listed the proper part number.

 

[Box Rocket]

Six month update since I rebuilt my box and posted this thread. Steering is still smooth and tight. Seems I didn't screw anything up in the rebuild process.

 

[alia176]

Six month update since I rebuilt my box and posted this thread. Steering is still smooth and tight. Seems I didn't screw anything up in the rebuild process.

Sweet man, congrats on doing an excellent job and I hope to folllow suit one of these days. Mine isn't leaking but my teenager daughter informed me yesterday after taking the 80 to school that she "floats between lanes". Apparently, I'm so used to driving my 80 that I didn't realize how misbehaved she is!

I re-read the thread but might've missed it. Did you have to buy any additional teflon O rings, other than what came with your seal kit? Mine came with three white Teflon O rings, different sizes.

 

[alia176]

Great thread! Here's my contribution, most if not all of which was passed on to me by Kevin (Tools R Us), RIP.

Loss of preload on the input section roller bearings is the leading cause of slop in the box, which is why excessive slop can't be fixed without disassembling the box. The tiniest bit of play in that bearing is multiplied many times. It is adjusted via the preload nut mentioned above in the 3rd post, 5th pic. AFAIK Toyota never published the bearing preload spec for the 80 box, that section is non-rebuildable according to them. Kevin 'Tools R Us' (who I always called upon for arcane knowledge such as this) suggested using the 60 series spec, as the mechanism is very similar, IIRC it was ~3-6 inch/lbs. He used a beam-type inch/lb torque wrench (I bought this one on Amazon) to measure the preload, and while he made an SST by welding a socket to half of a spare steering shaft universal joint, I just put an appropriately-sized 1/4" drive socket in one end of the uni joint and clamped it in there with the existing bolt to interface the input shaft with the torque wrench. I bought this adjustable pin wrench for the adjusting nut, which IIRC I had to grind a small spot on to make it fit around the mechanism- although Kevin told me he just used a hammer and punch. (I bought him the pin wrench after that conversation, but I doubt he ever got around to using it.) With the assembly in a vise so the shaft can rotate freely, adjust the preload nut until you get 3-6 inch/lbs of moving resistance.

Also there's an o-ring sealing the outer end of the input shaft, you have to completely disassemble the shaft to get to it. 'Usually doesn't go bad, and it's a bitch to get to' is what Kevin said, and it's not sold as such by Toyota that I'm aware of so you have to source it by size, but of course mine took a s*** immediately after rebuilding the box, and now spews fluid all over the place. I've been waiting to fix it until I got motivated to swap for the 105 shaft, and this thread just might give me the impetus to get it done in the nearish future.

I don't know how to describe this so it makes sense without seeing it, but Kevin also suggested using the sector shaft to stretch the new teflon ring installed in the end of the housing, mentioned by pic 11 of post 6 above, by inserting the taper on the splined end into the teflon ring backwards (said ring having been installed in the housing). I don't know if this would work with the 105 shaft, so maybe don't toss the 80 sector shaft out.

Another thing Kevin taught me was to round the sharp edges in the bore where the power piston has to pass through the sector shaft cavity, as mentioned in post #6 above. He explained this as he was rooting through his parts bins for a spare teflon o-ring for me, because I had nicked mine. Those edges are freaking sharp, and there's no downside to rounding them off. I used a dremel-type rotary tool.

Thank you @-Spike- for telling us how to actually tighten up the box by working the pre-load locknut you referenced. I was wondering how do our boxes get tighter by simply replacing O rings and now I understand it better. Also, thank you for the suggestions on your post as it'll help me when my time comes.

 

[MyCrush]

Guys
My ’94 DD has 320k on it, 250k of which I’ve put on myself. I don’t plan on going bigger than the 33’s I’ve been running for years.
Is this upgrade considered a ‘prudent ‘ replacement due to the age/mileage factor of our rigs , or do most here runn way larger tires etc ?
I do travel offroad and totally get “peace of mind” maintenance considerations.

TIA

 

[Bludozer]

Guys
My ’94 DD has 320k on it, 250k of which I’ve put on myself. I don’t plan on going bigger than the 33’s I’ve been running for years.
Is this upgrade considered a ‘prudent ‘ replacement due to the age/mileage factor of our rigs , or do most here runn way larger tires etc ?
I do travel offroad and totally get “peace of mind” maintenance considerations.

TIA

If you're at 320k, have only been on 33s, and are concerned with "peace of mind maintenance" this would be behind literally hundreds of other things that are worth addressing first.

 

[bcomnes]

Doing mine because it’s leaking all over my garage.

 

[Box Rocket]

Guys
My ’94 DD has 320k on it, 250k of which I’ve put on myself. I don’t plan on going bigger than the 33’s I’ve been running for years.
Is this upgrade considered a ‘prudent ‘ replacement due to the age/mileage factor of our rigs , or do most here runn way larger tires etc ?
I do travel offroad and totally get “peace of mind” maintenance considerations.

TIA

Overkill for 33" tires. This is primarily an upgrade for those with larger tires. If you want to for peace of mind, then it would definitely provide that.

 

[rc51kid]

Nice write up. I can redo a head gasket but for some reasone i am still hesatant to take this one on. I know i should not be. If we sent the box in to a shop to rebuild it is there any particulare shop we all trust to do this right?