1972 Manual Steering Box Adjust/Rebuild Replace

[jackwagon]

Hey guys, I haven't made any changes to my '72 LUBR in a while and finally was going to replace the manual steering box.
Mine has a fair bit of slop in it. I was all set to send to Toms and get a rebuilt box back, but they said they didn't have enough parts to do a rebuild.
I've been digging through the archives to find recommendations for vendors for a replacement.
Then I started reading about adjusting the mesh. I don't know how to tell if that is the issue or if the gears are worn.
And I didnt want to tear into and then lose the core value of the box.
(The rest of steering linkage is new. To me its fairly obvious that I can turn the input shaft a few degrees before output shaft will start rotating.)
Is this something a local mechanic could look into as far as the mesh? Seems like there aren't many guys in my area that work on old stuff.
OR does it make sense to find a new or rebuild unit?
CJ Pony Parts and Red-Head Gears have boxes in stock. Some of the other vendors with rebuilt or remanufactured units I'm leery of.
These aren't cheap, but if it's the right move to get another 50 years of fun, I'm willing to do it.
Any thoughts / advice?
Thanks

 

[thegreatjustino]

https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threads/rebuilt-manual-steering-boxes.320012/

 

[jackwagon]

https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threads/rebuilt-manual-steering-boxes.320012/

Thanks for the info. I will check them out.

 

[Don Quixote de La Mancha]

https://classicbroncos.com/forums/threads/rebuilt-manual-steering-boxes.320012/

I'm fortunate to see that you are currently posting Early Bronco wisdom! I liked your responses to Trapperbob10 in early November of 2008--especially this quote: "If you are just trying to replace the (manual steering) box, why are you taking the coupling apart? Just take the bolt out of it at the box and slide the whole shaft off the box into the column."
Where is this bolt? The only bolt I see at the coupling is the bolt that tightens or loosens a clamp where a shaft from the front of the coupling enters the back of the steering box. I took this bolt completely out to loosen up the clamp--but the coupling doesn't budge even though the clamp is now loose.
I then loosened a similar but smaller clamp on the steering shaft located right where the steering shaft enters the steering column and slid this clamp about halfway down the steering shaft. I then tightened this clamp to use as a place to tap upwards on the steering shaft with a modest hammer. The steering shaft did not move out of the coupling or into the steering column either. I guess I should add that I had already removed the pitman arm from the steering box and the three half-inch bolts that attach the steering box to the Bronco's frame. When I began getting nowhere with sliding the steering shaft upwards into the steering column, I slid the three frame bolts back through the steering box and the frame but I have not placed the nuts back on them--this steadied the steering box while I tapped upwards on that clamp that I had slid halfway down the steering shaft and re-tightened it.
None of this worked (or I wouldn't be asking for your help!) and I don't know what else to try. I think my error is that I do not know where the bolt is that you say to "Just take the bolt out of it ("it" being the coupling) at the box and slide the whole shaft off the box into the column."
Some additional info: Back around 1999 or 2000 I had a repair shop install a floor shift conversion kit so there should not be any shifting rods getting in the way up in the steering column.
What am I doing wrong? Or what have I not done that will allow the steering shaft to slide out of the coupling and into the steering column?

 

[thegreatjustino]

The steering shaft has likely never been off of the steering box over the past decades. Pry it off with a pickle fork or something similar wedged between the box and coupling.

 

[Don Quixote de La Mancha]

thegreatjustino: Thank you for your response! I agree that the steering shaft has likely never been off of the steering box. If the pickle fork will be used to pry the coupling off of the steering box that must mean that the coupling should remain attached to the steering shaft when that shaft is slid up into the steering column. I'll tackle that next week and post how simple/difficult that turns out to be.

Note #1: I finally wound up using a 14" pipe wrench (which didn't work until I slid a four-and-a-half-feet-long steel pipe onto the pipe wrench handle to gain about 42" of additional leverage) to break loose and unscrew the large nut and washer that are used to attach the Pitman Arm onto the steering box shaft.

Note #2: I have a gear puller that belonged to my late father. When I got that large nut off the steering box shaft, the Pitman arm just fell off the steering box shaft without requiring the gear puller! The Pitman arm remained attached to the rest of the steering assembly, but I was surprised that the Pitman arm just fell loose from the steering box shaft! Should it have been tightly attached to the steering box shaft? If the Pitman arm should have been tight enough that a gear puller woulda been necessary to remove it from the steering box shaft then one of the prior owners may have replaced the original Pitman arm with a Pitman arm that was not meant for a '66 Bronco with non-power steering...What are your thoughts on that?

Thank you once again for your advice! Have a great breakdown-free week!

Don Quixote de La Mancha