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OK...so the front internal seal on the steering gear is leaking so I need to replace it with the kit from Max Merritt (seal and cover gasket).

I had hoped that I could replace it by simply removing the front cover with the four bolts and slide the cover off however the cover will only slide forward about 1 3/4 inch before it hits the frame.

There is an internal tube that the horn wire runs through that is too long and since this tube is connected to the seal on the front cover it looks like I will need to remove the steering gear from the car to service the seal.

Bill

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Yes Bill you do have to remove the steering gear from the car to add shims. That tube for the horn wire goes above the oil line and won't clear the frame otherwise.

Look carefully though for existing shims. I thought mine were gone as well but most of them were there, just disguised by years of dirty grease on the outside of the gear case.

I ended up pulling mine because I could not get a good clean seal on the cover and shims in the car.

I also found that the cover bolts had been over tightened in the past and the case needed to be flattened. It still weeps just a bit.

Good Luck,
Mark

Thanks Mark...Are the shims really important???

I ask because before removing the front cover I disconnected the steering connecting rod (center link) from the pitman arm as per the manual and performed the "off center pull" test and the "pull through center" test because I really wanted this to be right. I connected up the scale and turned the steering wheel however I was shocked because the steering wheel turned so freely (and very smoothly) that I even thought that the steering shaft might not even be connected to the steering box...however after checking...it was certainly connected so therefore it appears that this steering gear is worn.

No big deal...the manual says that if the "off center"pull was less than 1/2 pound that I needed to remove the smallest shim from the front cover...however...after removing steering gear from the car and removing the front cover there were NO shims in there (see picture).

There were no complaints about the steering before and it had the usual non-power steering feel of turning the wheel when the car was stopped and just a tad of looseness during cruise.

So I am wondering...IF...this is not that big of a deal to worry about (such as buying shims and making it right) or just fix the seal and roll on. BTW...the manual does not show shims in the diagram.

Has anyone experienced that???

THANKS AGAIN!!!

Bill

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the shims control the preload on the bearings. pull out the shaft with the gear as u will need to replace the seal- put on the end plate with a new gasket and see how it turns- if tight find shims or thicker gasket, u need to feel just a little resistance. good luck dell

The shims are the square things in your picture. The purpose of the shims is to control end play of the steering shaft. If there is no play, there is no real need for adjustment.

THANKS Dell and Ross...good info.

Fred from Max told me that the internal seal is simply an O ring. Here is what he said:

15.317 is a spacing shim, not a sealing gasket.

I do not have 15.3162. It is a square o-ring which is typically not bad or needing replaced. Dims as follows: OD = .625, ID = .328, Thick = .187

Dell says> The shims are the square things in your picture. The purpose of the shims is to control end play of the steering shaft. If there is no play, there is no real need for adjustment.

Ross says>The shims are the square things in your picture. The purpose of the shims is to control end play of the steering shaft. If there is no play, there is no real need for adjustment.

I am certainly NOT questioning you Ross...as I certainly bow at your alter of Packard knowledge...I am just curious because the Packard Manual says: "If the effort required to turn the steering wheel is less than 1/2 pound, loosen the four worm cover retaining screws and back them out approximately 1/8 inch. Separate the shims and remove the thinnest one, exercising care to avoid mutilating the remaining shims. See figure 41." Thus concludes the reading of the Packard Manual.

If the shims look like my (as I call them) "gaskets" how would one remove the gaskets if the inner steel tube (and horn wire) is in the middle...and...the four cover bolts are still installed (but backed off 1/8 inch)?

I agree (after you pointed it out) that you say REALLY makes more sense to me ...as opposed to the sanctified Packard manual...because what I had envisioned as "shims" would be super thin metal looking things that if installed (squashed) under the cover (between the cover and the worm gear thrust bearing) would add more preload to the worm shaft thus making the worm gear harder to turn (because more shims are smashed in there) as opposed to easier (like you both accurately pointed out) because more gaskets means more gap between the worm gear thrust bearing and the cover plate).

This is precisely why this forumn is so helpful!!!


THANKS AGAIN!!!

Bill

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BTW...what is the difference between a steering gear from a 1954 Packard with PS and a 1955 Packard with PS?

I am asking because I am going to buy a steering gear from a PS equipped car to take advantage of the faster steering ratio and the options I was given were either a 1954 or a 1955 gear.

Is one vintage better than the other for a 1949 car that has PS added (Monroe box)???

Will either bolt on?

If you were me...what vintage would you choose???

THANKS!!!

Bill

Yes, you are to select the thinnest one and rip it out. That is why I don't do it unless there is actual end play--which I have only encounter in gears where water has gotten in and corroded the rollers. I find that even the smallest shim makes a huge jump in the effort required to turn the wheel--those bearings have had countless turns to wear in to each other, but they have not worn out, i.e. gotten any smaller, they have just gotten smoother which is why the effort to turn the wheel is so low.

Packards underwent a major restyle and chassis rework for 51. The later boxes will not fit a 48.

Why couldn't you save the work of disassembly of the column to remove and replace shims by cutting the shim and install in place around the tube with the wire inside? The shims would still do their job and being pressed between two flat surfaces probably would resist squishing out. If the shim has an additional job of sealing too, then might the cut line be placed as to be the highest part (closest to fire wall) and a little (very little) permatex along the cut line adequately seal a potential leak line???

If anyone wanted to know what the Gemmer steering gear (box) looks like inside, here is a picture of all of the parts cleaned and displayed.

The orange part is actually a neoprene faucet seal that I found at the hardware store. I used it as the front horn tube seal. Mine had deteriorated and Fred from Max Merritt said that it was an O ring.

Since I could not find an O ring of the proper size I used this. To replace it you need to pop the anti rattle spring off of the tube and then slide the old O ring off and slide the new seal over the tube.

It was a rather painless job of disassembling the steering gear and reassembeled it. All of the internal parts looked great so I just replaced the cross shaft lower seal (goes above the pitman arm), replaced the O ring seal, removed the smallest gasket, and reassembled it.

Removing the shim did not make the steering gear any harder (tighter) to turn (it still just turns very freely) and I do not notice any pull through increase in the "high spot".

Question: I tried to turn in the cross shaft adjuster however it only turned in about 1/16 of a turn and then stopped and since I did not want to break anything ... I stopped.

Seems to work fine though...

Bill

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