Power steering input shaft free play

[dmjlambert]

Additional stuff: I was not overhauling, I was only replacing the seals that were leaking and other than the leaks my gearbox was behaving fine and did not have any free play. Using this method of tightening the input seal cartridge and backing it off by a measured amount does not properly calibrate the thrust bearing preload. I decided to accept the risk for my gearbox by using this shortcut method.

I think the only way to correctly do it is using 3/4 inch 12 point socket and an inch pound torque wrench, probably requiring a 0-20 inch lb range beam type torque wrench. I'm not sure about using a clicker type torque wrench, it may actually be better. A clicker torque wrench would require more patience to use it for measuring torque, because you would have to dial in a bunch of values and test over and over, rather than what the clicker is designed to do (let you turn a nut to set torque).

I would probably want to have an inch ounce torque wrench also, so I could measure the valve drag, which I think is measure the average torque required to smoothly move the input shaft through the range, with the over center preload adjustment backed all the way off. Then also use the inch ounce torque wrench to tighten the cartridge to add .5 to 2 inch lbs of drag on the input shaft. The over center preload may require an inch lb torque wrench.

I am thinking about inch ounces because I understand that torque wrenches do not give the best accuracy when using them at the low or high ends of their range, and also reading how many index marks .5 to 2 inch lbs looks like on the torque wrench would be challenging because it is probably one little tiny index mark of the full scale. I could be mistaken and the whole job may be doable with a 0-80 inch lb torque wrench. I was kind of hoping somebody thoroughly familiar with doing these settings by the book may read and reply.