Dodge D150 1990 Service Manual page 785

1 9 - 6 STEERING
MANUAL S T E E R I N G G E A R S E R V I C E
INDEX
Page
Adjustments On-Bench 14
Assembly 13
Cleaning And Inspection 12
Diagnosis . 6
Disassembly 9
SERVICE INFORMATION
M a n u a l steering gears (Fig. 1) are designed t o pro-
vide easy steering w i t h m i n i m u m f r i c t i o n w i t h i n t h e
steering gear. A r e c i r c u l a t i n g b a l l n u t travels u p a n d
down on a wormshaft t h a t is supported by recirculat-
i n g balls, w h i c h function as the w o r m (screw) t h r e a d .
The wormshaft and b a l l n u t are supported i n t h e
steering gear housing b y a n adjustable, b a l l - t h r u s t
type upper and lower bearing.
WORMSHAFT ADJUSTER PLUG
Fig. 1 Manual Steering Gear
Page
Installation . . 15
On-Vehicle Adjustments . 7
Pitman Shaft Seal—Replacement 8
Removal/Disassembly 8
Service Information 6
The sector shaft and the sector gear are i n t e g r a l .
The sector shaft gear teeth mesh w i t h the rack teeth
on the r e c i r c u l a t i n g b a l l n u t . T h e teeth mesh (lash)
adjustment i s provided b y the sector shaft gear ad-
j u s t m e n t screw, w h i c h extends t h r o u g h the housing
cover.
The sector shaft gear teeth a n d t h e b a l l n u t rack
teeth are designed so t h a t a t i g h t e r meshing exists
between t h e t w o w h e n the front wheels are s t r a i g h t
ahead. Correct meshing between t h e sector shaft
gear and b a l l n u t rack teeth is obtained by adjusting
a n adjustment screw, w h i c h moves t h e sector shaft
gear endwise and produces t h e desired meshing o f
the tapered sector shaft gear and b a l l n u t rack teeth.
The wormshaft bearing adjustment p l u g is adjusted
to provide t h e correct "preloading" o f t h e upper and
lower wormshaft t h r u s t bearings.
DIAGNOSIS
To use t h e M a n u a l Steering Gear Diagnosis chart:
read the conditions described w i t h i n the upper, bold-
outlined squares a n d select t h e condition t h a t re-
quires correction and follow the connecting lines i n t o
the squares describe t h e possible causes. I n most i n -
stances, t h e required corrective action is obvious,
however, a n asterisk (*) indicates a n existing service
procedure t h a t is located w i t h i n a n applicable group
of t h i s m a n u a l .