8n steering sector wear

[Dennis Sherman]

I am rebuilding my steering box on a 1948 8n. Is there anyway to tell how much wear on the steering sector gear are acceptable or how to check it? If I take pix of the sectors showing the gear portions, can someone tell by that? I would hate to re-assemble the box if the sectors are worn too much, but sectors are expensive to replace too.

 

[Dan]

Dennis - the steering sectors for your 1948 8N are not replaceable - they are NLA. You can still get steering sectors for the later 1950-1952 versions though. If the sectors are too worn, the only option is to replace with "decent" early model used sectors, or replace the entire steering box with a later model (some adjustments and dash trimming required).

In my experience when I did a full rebuild on my 1948 8N steering box - replacing the bushings will go a LONG way towards reducing backlash in your steering assembly.

HTH,
Dan

 

[Dennis Sherman]

Thanks Dan. By bushings I assume you are talking about the bushings that go in the steering sectors. I was considering just purchasing the whole rebuild kit which includes the bushings, bearings, seals, etc.

 

[Dan]

The bushings go into the steering sector housing (round housing held onto the side of the steering box). They will need to be reemed a tad to fit. I used a brake hone and it worked fine.

Dan

 

[Dennis Sherman]

Dan: I tried to remove the old bushings and ran into trouble. Is there a trick to removing the old bushings? And how about putting in the new ones?