TR3ATR250 said:
I have a 1960 TR3A that I plan to replace the worn gear box and have a spare. To possibly save some time is it possible to remove the worm gear without removing the steering box?
I'm a little confused here ... are you replacing the box or just the gear ?
Either way, IMO you should remove the box from the car with the gear still inside it. Which, fortunately, is possible without removing the front apron (since you have a later split-column car). On my 59, I took both motor mounts loose to get clearance to move the lower steering tube out of it's mount to the suspension tower, but I think it's only necessary to loosen the LH mount. Otherwise, it was a straight-forward job.
Adjusting the box is best done on the bench, IMO. I consider myself pretty good at 'feeling' clearances and such, but my best efforts were off by .004". Which doesn't sound like much, but can translate to a fair amount of play (or binding, depending on which way the error goes). Don't forget to back off the peg before setting the end float; then set the peg so you can just barely feel the tightness as the clearance goes to zero. Should be on-center if you replace the worm, but I reused my old one which got tight off to one side.