how to tell. . .

[whitneyj]

I tore apart one of my spare steering gear boxes and am just looking for a little insight on what to look for as far as wear goes. Primarily the worm gear, sector shaft, and the bore. Is the bore supposed to be perfectly smooth? When I pulled this box apart it looks like the previous owner used swamp water as power steering fluid, so the bore looks mirror finished in 2 small spots and the rest look machined, kinda, going around the bore. The sector shaft had side to side play in it, but I'm unable to tell if it's from a bad bearing, or the gears are excessively wore. If someone could shoot me in the right direction here. . . .

 

[whitneyj]

How about this: does anyone know if I can get oversized seals and rings for the steering gear box? If I hone it out myself I'd like to have the right sized seals to minimize blow by. . .