Steering box issue after porting for hydraulic assist?

NIKWHO

MEMBER
1981 JEEP CJ7
4.2L
6 CYL
4WD
MANUAL
100,000 MILES

My vehicle will turn left with power assist, but not right! I took the top cap off and the sector shaft momentarily disengaged from the input shaft teeth. Being that my vehicle is on bigger tires, I purchased a hydraulic assist ram, a high-pressure PSC P/S pump, remote reservoir and an inline cooler. I drilled and tapped the two caps, to hook up two pressure hoses, to attach to either side of a Trail Gear hydraulic assist ram.

I read another post on here stating that if you remove a cap to replace a seal, etc, you can mess up some sort of valve, so that it only opens in one direction and not the other. My vehicle will barely turn to the right, with lots of effort, but then will continually turn left with ease. I'm wondering if I can remove the cap and correct the issue that I caused?

To offer more clarity, with the top cap off, I pulled the large snap ring that holds the front cap in place, then I turned the input shaft, so that it would push the front cap out. I turned it JUST too far, noting that the sector shaft teeth just disengaged. I pushed the main/input shaft/worm gear (not sure of the correct term) back into the box from the front, with the front cap removed. I didn't think that the input shaft moved enough with the two teeth disengaged to create an issue. But now, with my box only having power assist in one direction, that moment immediately stuck out in my mind as the moment that something went wrong. It doesn't seem like anything was damaged, only that I didn't put it back together totally correctly. Would love some tips on getting this thing to work right.

Any help would be highly appreciated! It would save my family's vacation, as we are supposed to take the Jeep off roading in Moab, UT in a couple of days, for a huge event called the Easter Jeep Safari! Thanks so much!

1 Reply

KEN L

MASTER CERTIFIED MECHANIC
42,873 POSTS

Sounds like fun! It sounds like the sector shaft valve int he steering box is not working correctly. There are two types of Saginaw integral rotary valve type single piston steering gears. The two different types of gears can be identified by the configuration of the side covers. The Model 605 gear has a round side cover, secured with a retaining ring. The Model 800-808 gear has a rectangular side cover, secured with four bolts. Also, note that the Model 800-808 gear incorporates balls in the rack piston, while the Model 605 gear does not.
The power steering gear operates entirely by displacing oil to provide hydraulic pressure assists only when turning. As the entire gear assembly is always filled with oil, all internal components of the gear are immersed in oil, making periodic lubrication unnecessary. In addition, this oil acts as a cushion to absorb road shocks that may be transmitted to the driver.
The steering shaft, hydraulic valve, worm and rack piston nut are all in line, making a compact and space saving steering gear. All oil passages are internal except the pressure and return hoses between gear and pump.

Here are exploded diagrams of the steering box below so you can disassemble the unit to see what went wrong, or you can get a rebuilt box. Check out the images (below). Please let us know what happens.

Images (Click to make bigger)