...need to order some more electrical stuff so I've moved back to things I find more enjoyable.
Hashtag PV ZF steering box time (!)
I got the epoxy bearing repair stuff a few weeks back and got round to applying and sanding it yesterday and today.
Epoxy was easy to apply and quite easy to sand but difficult to get the contour correct (of course)
For those of you who may remember removing the old ball bearings from the NLA bearing races was quite straight forward (that was done months ago). I found correct sized replacement ball bearings and fitted them today - just squeezed the bearing race back in place so the balls didn't drop out.
Also easy.
The bottom bearing cup was still available so I bought a new one. I couldn't find the top one for sale so it had to be left in place (but it is much much much better condition than the old lower one).
The bit in my hand in the picture above is actually a spacer washer - the bearing cup is already in there.
Spray on Hylomar =>
Good stuff to use on every side of the shims - should stop leaks for a bit
The steering box is now back together (just need to fit two seals) and then it is more or less done for now.
There are still problems with this part however - the epoxy bearing surface repair has helped - it is way way smoother than before but not as nice as it should be. I'm going to use it as it is for a bit and see if use wears it smooth for me (!)
A bit dodgy - I'm not exactly tickety boo with how it is turned out. I'm going to keep an eye out for another steering box and see if that has better parts in it. (Probably not!)
Worse case scenario - I put in the extra shim like some one did previously to reduce the "correct" pre-load between the two ball bearing races so it feels smoother. I don't really want to do that though as it doesn't help with future wear on that pesky inner shaft...
[To be continued]