The Official 356Talk Forum

Hi all, Wondering if anyone can shed any light on refurb of steering box (64C) Is it doable by the above average owner/special tools/etc. It appears the "peg" is available. Could that be all I need? Suggestions? Thanks,John B

If only the peg needs to be replaced it is certainly doable by an owner with mechanical aptitude but if the peg needs replacing then it is quite possible other parts are worn out and in particular the bearings. I suggest you call Martin Willis at "the machine shop" who has an ad in the vendors list. He can rebuild it for a reasonable price.

As David said, the peg is easily replaced as are the seals. If the shaft bushing needs replacement, then it gets more complicated. Heck, just getting the Pittman arm off can give you fits sometimes.

Mike.

Make sure the peg you get is properly hardend. Some which were made some years back were not

The Pittman arm was the biggest challenge. I made a tool that kind of duplicates the factory tool for removal. The design and use can be found in the project "time to restore my notchback". Otherwise, the rebuild can be easikly done with seals, bushings etc. I have not driven the car yet so only then can I tell you if the rebuild was successful. Not dripping oil yet.....What fun!

Zim's has done 289 steering gearboxes since we started rebuilding them. This is not an adventure for the weak of heart. If you cannot recondition the worm gear which is worn as the pin engages it then the steering box will always be lumpy. There are better ways to remove the pitman arm than the factory tool and probably cheaper and easier to acquire than the factory tool. Give us a call if you have questions 800.356.2964

Al, are you able to rebuild the earlier vw steering box ?
I have done mine with new bearings and seals, but not the gear portion ?

Take my advice, send your steering gearboxes to Martin at The Machine Shop in Colorado Springs https://mwthemachineshop.com/ including repair of the worm gear/shaft.

+1 on Martin's work
KTF
John

Is there a set way to measure the worm gear on a ZF box, I have two that look good, took a caliper and measured the width of the channel, but have no way to check the pitch and angle. Other than installing a new pin and then checking the lash at various points, and the contact points with blueing, is there a easy way to check the wear?

If the worm gear is worn, how is it repaired?

I believe the lash should be zero only at the center point.

Not about rebuilding but hopefully enough on topic: What do you all recommend for the gear box fluid, the standard 80/90 weight hypoid gear oil or a slurry mix of grease and gear oil? I have a small leak in my box and am thinking the grease will work its way to the bottom of the box and help seal the leak. Thanks in advance.

Grease will separate over time, the oil will drain out of the seals leaving the waxy base which has very little lubrication quality. In the old days we used 75% Stp and 90 weight lube, it worked pretty well, but then..... Now I use the 600 weight gear lube, which is made for Model A Fords, it will still leak past a bad seal however. Just replacing the seals may not fix the leak if the bushings are worn, the shaft will not center.

Thanks, Steve. I check the lube level regularly and will use the hypoid oil exclusively.