Sorry for the long title but wanted to make sure the google bots could find it. Anyway this could be posted in any Toyota section but since the box is from my LJ-73 thought I'd post it here.
So there have been lots of good videos and threads on cruiser steering box rebuilds, but all the threads i found neglected instructions on the hardest part, getting those dam bearings back in the worm gear case! I tried for a long time but every time I got close the gear would bind up. So frustrating! So I went in the house for a while, ate some grub and thought it over. After an hour or so I went back to the garage with new vigor and figured a solid way to get it done quickly every time. So that you all may have a better day than I did today, here's how I did it...
Here we are, 44 bearings and a dream. I'm not going to go into the details of my failed attempts but trust me there were many. Notice that unlike the 80 series, the LJ box threads apart from the right side of the housing instead of the left.
Here's my starting point. Gave myself lots of thread to the right of the "piston" to work with.
I loaded about 7 bearings into the right hand hole by simply wiggling and rocking the housing while feeding the bearings. If the gear binds up wind it out and start again. If the 7 go in smoothly you are ready to roll...
Now slowly roll the housing clockwise while feeding in more bearings into the same right side hole.
Now with 8 bearings left, not including the ones in the "C" shaped tube, I have run out of room to turn the housing any further clockwise. (My first instinct was to start filling the left side hole with bearings and turn the housing counter clockwise, but this doesn't work. The bearings will roll around the right side and the worm gear will bind.)
The solution was so simple I was ashamed I didn't think of it hours earlier! I simply placed a small screwdriver under the bearing to hold the entire line of bearings in place and then turned the housing counter clockwise.
This allowed me lots of threads to the right of the housing to work with again. So I continued loading bearings to the right side hole while slowly rotating the housing clockwise.
A few turns later a bearing popped up on the left side. I had a complete line wrapped around the gear between the 2 holes. I even had room to add 3 more bearings from the "C" tube.
I added a little grease to hold the bearings in the tube and inserted it as shown.
and boom goes the dynamite...
So there have been lots of good videos and threads on cruiser steering box rebuilds, but all the threads i found neglected instructions on the hardest part, getting those dam bearings back in the worm gear case! I tried for a long time but every time I got close the gear would bind up. So frustrating! So I went in the house for a while, ate some grub and thought it over. After an hour or so I went back to the garage with new vigor and figured a solid way to get it done quickly every time. So that you all may have a better day than I did today, here's how I did it...
Here we are, 44 bearings and a dream. I'm not going to go into the details of my failed attempts but trust me there were many. Notice that unlike the 80 series, the LJ box threads apart from the right side of the housing instead of the left.
Here's my starting point. Gave myself lots of thread to the right of the "piston" to work with.
I loaded about 7 bearings into the right hand hole by simply wiggling and rocking the housing while feeding the bearings. If the gear binds up wind it out and start again. If the 7 go in smoothly you are ready to roll...
Now slowly roll the housing clockwise while feeding in more bearings into the same right side hole.
Now with 8 bearings left, not including the ones in the "C" shaped tube, I have run out of room to turn the housing any further clockwise. (My first instinct was to start filling the left side hole with bearings and turn the housing counter clockwise, but this doesn't work. The bearings will roll around the right side and the worm gear will bind.)
The solution was so simple I was ashamed I didn't think of it hours earlier! I simply placed a small screwdriver under the bearing to hold the entire line of bearings in place and then turned the housing counter clockwise.
This allowed me lots of threads to the right of the housing to work with again. So I continued loading bearings to the right side hole while slowly rotating the housing clockwise.
A few turns later a bearing popped up on the left side. I had a complete line wrapped around the gear between the 2 holes. I even had room to add 3 more bearings from the "C" tube.
I added a little grease to hold the bearings in the tube and inserted it as shown.
and boom goes the dynamite...
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