Pontiac FIREBIRD 1972 Service Manual page 1214

STEERING 9-6 1
1. Place the steering gear housing in a vise with the
wormshaft bore horizontal and the side cover open-
ing up.
2. With the pitman shaft and wormshaft seals, pitman
shaft bushings and wormshaft bearing races installed,
and the ball nut installed on the wormshaft, proceed
to step 3.
3. Slip the upper ball bearing over the wormshaft and
insert the wormshaft and nut assembly into the hous-
ing, feeding the end of the shaft through the upper
ball bearing race and seal.
4. Place a ball bearing in the adjuster cup and press the
stamped retainer into place with a suitable socket.
5. Install the adjuster and locknut into the lower end of
the housing (being careful to guide the end of the
wormshaft into the bearing) until nearly all end play
has been removed from the wormshaft.
6. Position the lash adjuster screw (with shim) in the
slotted end of the pitman shaft. Check the end clear-
ance, which should not be greater than .002" (Fig.
9-77). If clearance is greater than .002", a steering
gear lash adjuster shim unit is available. It contains
four shims
--
.063", .065", .067" and .069" thick.
Lubricate the steering gear with 11 oz. of lubricant
(Part No. 1051052 or equivalent) meeting GM
Specification GM 4673-M. Rotate the wormshaft un-
til the ball nut is at the end of its travel and then pack
as much new lubricant into the housing as possible
without losing it out the pitman shaft opening. Rotate
the wormshaft until the ball nut is at the other end
of its travel and pack as much lubricant into the
opposite end as possible.
8. Rotate the wormshaft until the ball nut is about in the
center of travel.
NOTE: This is to make sure that the pitman
shaft sector and ball nut will engage properly,
with the center tooth of the sector entering the
center tooth space in the ball nut.
9. Insert the pitman shaft assembly (with lash adjuster
screw and shim but without side cover) into the hous-
L
Fig. 9-77 Checking Lash Adjuster End Clearance
ing so that the center tooth of the sector enters the
center tooth space in the ball nut.
10. Pack the remaining portion of lubricant into the
housing, and place a quantity in the side cover bush-
ing hole.
11. Place the side cover gasket on the housing.
2. Install the side cover onto the pitman shaft by reach-
ing through the side cover with a screw driver and
turning the lash adjuster screw counter-clockwise un-
til the screw bottoms; back the screw off one-half
turn. Loosely install a newlocknut onto the adjuster
screw.
3. Install and tighten the side cover bolts to 35 lb. ft.
torque.
14. Adjust steering gear as outlined under ADJUST-
MENT PROCEDURES (ON BENCH).
CAUTION: See CAUTION on page 1 of this
Section regarding the fastener referred to in
step 15.
15. Install flexible coupling on worm shaft and tighten
clamping bolt or nut to 35 lb. ft. torque. Be sure the
scribe marks are aligned.
POWER STEERING
GENERAL INFORMATION MINOR SERVICE
Since the steering gear is constantly lubricated, it is only
PITMAN SHAFT SEAL
necessary to periodically check the fluid level in the pump
(WITH GEAR IN CAR)
reservoir (see POWER STEERING PUMP DESCRIP-
TION). see SPECIFICATIONS at end of this section for
If upon inspection of the gear, it is found that oil leakage
system capacity.
exists at the pitman shaft seals, the seals may often be