Hi Dick, often times the end plate is warped from being over tighten. The plate is made of mild steel and warps easily. The shims are fit to set the end float of the worm gear and are sealed between each shim with something like Indian head gasket shellac. There are usually 4+ shims of different thicknesses and sometimes on the end there is a very thin paper gasket. I would not take that apart while it is still in the car. Back in the day, people would remove the gear oil from the steering box and replace that with grease. If I remember correctly, Randall hated that idea. I think I remember you sent that unit to be rebuilt somewhere.
Steve