I have completely rebuilt the entire front suspension and steering on my TR3. All new bushings, tie-rods, upper ball joints, trunions, idler arm, shocks, springs, bump stops, wheel bearings, rocker shaft and steering box bearings.
Sounds like it should be perfect, doesn't it? With the wheels off the ground, there still seems to be play (side-to-side) in the steering, but when I turn the steering wheel it appears that all of the input is sent to the wheels. One thing I did notice is that the worm gear (when the shaft is out of the car) moves up and down the shaft a bit. I assumed (yeah, I know what that means) that the top and bottom ball bearing and shims would eliminate that play. Should the worm gear have that play when it is not installed in the steering box, or is that the problem -- or one of the problems? I did not replace the worm gear because it didn't look worn although the pin in the rocker arm was worn (the pin was replaced with the new rocker arm).
Again, I realize it is difficult to diagnose a problem without seeing it, but any input would be helpful. I don't want to put the front end back on the car until I have this done right!
Sounds like it should be perfect, doesn't it? With the wheels off the ground, there still seems to be play (side-to-side) in the steering, but when I turn the steering wheel it appears that all of the input is sent to the wheels. One thing I did notice is that the worm gear (when the shaft is out of the car) moves up and down the shaft a bit. I assumed (yeah, I know what that means) that the top and bottom ball bearing and shims would eliminate that play. Should the worm gear have that play when it is not installed in the steering box, or is that the problem -- or one of the problems? I did not replace the worm gear because it didn't look worn although the pin in the rocker arm was worn (the pin was replaced with the new rocker arm).
Again, I realize it is difficult to diagnose a problem without seeing it, but any input would be helpful. I don't want to put the front end back on the car until I have this done right!