Dodge D150 1990 Service Manual page 805

1 9 - 2 6 STEERING •
CAUTION: Do not rotate the stub shaft any farther
than necessary because, otherwise, the recirculat-
ing balls will drop out of the circuits and cause the
pitman shaft and rack piston teeth to disengage. If
the teeth become disengaged, remove the cover
and the pitman shaft and engage the teeth.
(3) Rotate t h e stub shaft counterclockwise ( w i t h a
12-point deep wrench a n d a ratchet handle) u n t i l the
rack piston forces t h e end p l u g o u t o f the housing.
(4) Remove and discard t h e end-plug O-ring seal.
(5) Rotate t h e stub shaft clockwise 180 degrees t o
remove t h e rack piston end p l u g (Fig. 7).
CAUTION: The rack piston end plug could break
during removal if it is not initially "unseated" by
striking it with a plastic-tipped hammer.
(6) S t r i k e t h e rack piston end p l u g sharply w i t h a
plastic-tipped hammer a n d use a 13-mm (1/2-in)
square d r i v e ratchet to remove t h e end p l u g . D o n o t
use a r a t c h e t w i t h a w o r n d r i v e l u g o r w i t h a
d r i v e l u g t h a t i s r o u n d e d o n t h e b o t t o m c o r n e r s .
(7) H o l d t h e p i t m a n shaft adjustment screw w i t h
a n A l l e n wrench to prevent t h e screw f r o m t u r n i n g
and remove the locknut (Fig. 7). Discard the locknut.
(8) Remove t h e p i t m a n shaft cover a t t a c h i n g bolts
and lockwashers from t h e housing (Fig. 7).
(9) Thread the p i t m a n shaft adjustment screw i n t o
the cover w i t h and A l l e n w r e n c h u n t i l t h e cover can
be removed from t h e screw. Remove t h e cover from
the housing and discard t h e gasket (Fig. 7).
(10) Rotate the stub shaft u n t i l t h e p i t m a n shaft
teeth are centered i n the housing. T a p the end of the
p i t m a n shaft w i t h a plastic-tipped h a m m e r a n d re-
move i t f r o m the housing (Fig. 7). D o n o t disassem-
b l e t h e p i t m a n s h a f t , i t i s s e r v i c e d a n d r e p l a c e d
as a u n i t o n l y .
(11) Insert a n arbor tool i n the r a c k piston u n t i l i t
stops a t t h e end of the wormshaft (Fig. 8).
(12) G r i p the tool f i r m l y a n d t u r n t h e stub shaft
counterclockwise t o force t h e rack piston on the arbor
tool (Fig. 8). Remove t h e tool and t h e rack piston as
a u n i t f r o m the steering gear housing.
(13) Loosen t h e w o r m s h a f t b e a r i n g "preload"
torque adjustment cap l o c k n u t w i t h a brass d r i f t and
remove i t from t h e cap. Remove t h e adjustment cap
from the housing w i t h a spanner w r e n c h (Fig. 9).
(14) Remove t h e complete valve body f r o m t h e
housing b y p u l l i n g o u t w a r d on t h e splined end of the
stub shaft.
(15) Remove the wormshaft lower t h r u s t bearing
and the conical bearing races f r o m t h e wormshaft.
Note t h e relative position of each race for assembly
reference (Fig. 10).
RACK
PISTON
Fig. 8 Rack Piston Removal
SPANNER
WRENCH
Fig. 9 Wormshaft "Preload" Adjustment Cap
Removal
STEERING GEAR HOUSING—DISASSEMBLY
(1) Remove t h e p i t m a n shaft seal r e t a i n i n g r i n g
f r o m t h e shaft bore groove w i t h "snap" r i n g pliers.
Remove the outer backup washer from the shaft bore
(Fig. 11).
I f t h e u p p e r seal i s d i f f i c u l t t o r e m o v e , f o r c e i t
o u t o f t h e s h a f t b o r e f r o m t h e t o p o f t h e h o u s i n g .
I n e x t r e m e s i t u a t i o n s , i t m a y b e n e c e s s a r y t o
f o r c e o u t b o t h t h e n e e d l e b e a r i n g a n d t h e u p p e r