510 Steering box rebuild kit

General Discussion about the Datsun PL510
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mozhated
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510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by mozhated »

anybody know where i can get a steering box rebuild kit?
i have a 4 door 69 510 with 68 parts. i guess it was a batch of some of the last 68's left and they introduced it as a 69.
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okayfine
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by okayfine »

You can't. You can get the bearings from a bearing supply house, but the part you and everyone else need, the worm gear assembly, can't be bought. You can search here for some old threads about this - there is a company that will "rebuild" it for $300 or something, but that just includes new seals and bearings, not the worm gear.

If you have a couple pictures of your car, we can figure out for you what year your car is. There should also be a plaque on the driver's b-pillar with the production date stamped. If you have '68 trim and it's just titled as a '69 then generally your car was sold in '69 and where it was originally sold had a policy to title it as such.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
mozhated
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by mozhated »

so bearings from a bearing supplier, ok. and seals?? as far as the worm gear i dont know if its bad, how often do they go bad? teeth chip off??? probably this weekend i will tear it down and check it out.

as far as my car, the title says 69 and all the trim and the plaque denote 68 all over. so i guess i have a 68? smh... :? :oops: well thanks for the help.
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James
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by James »

You can tighten it up - might be all that it needs. There is a write up about it somewhere.......
Also - go by the trim plates - the titles were so wonky back then - they went with when the car was sold - not built.
Finished is better than perfect......
mozhated
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by mozhated »

when i got this car it was sitting for about 8 years and i dont know where the parts were sitting cause they werent with the car. but the filler cap on the steering box was like chewed off. so i put the steering together and i have to steer it little by little side to side until it loosens up. a couple of hours later its locked again.
Colbino
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by Colbino »

There are companies out there that make worm gears - Would it be impossible to get one made?
datzenmike
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by datzenmike »

The very earliest (72.5) up to 07 '73 610 used the same worm and sector shaft. All B-210s used the same worm and sector shaft. Might be worth grabbing any B-210 boxes you find to scavenge for parts later. But only up till the end of July '78... the 310 used R&P steering.
"Nissan 'shit the bed' when they made these, plain and simple." McShagger510 on flattop SUs
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bertvorgon
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by bertvorgon »

Here is my post on trying to adjust the steering box...


Roll the car forward a few feet, to make sure the wheels are pointing forward.
Then, take a wrench and loosen the jam nut on the top of the steering box, AT THE SAME TIME, put a slotted screw driver into the slot in the top of the screw, AND HOLD IT IN THAT POSITION! Now, carefully screw the screw down in the box, till you feel some resistance. ( you may have to back the nut off a hair more, to keep it from tightening up) Then, go grab the steering wheel and wiggle it back and forth, WHILE WATCHING THE WHEELS. You want to see the wheels move, with the steering wheel movement. IF not, tighten a bit more. When it seems ok, hold the screw in that EXACT position, and then you tighten the jam nut!
Now, this is whre you find out if your worm and sector gears are bagged beyond adjustment. You have to drive the car, to see if it wants to return to center, AFTER you try to turn a corner. IF it is sluggish, or just plain TOO TIGHT, you have to back OFF the adjustment, till it turns ok, but, if you loose the on-center tightness...YOUR BOX is dead. You will either have to live with that vague steering, try and find a better box, or, try to find a good HL510 box and put that on.

So try a few points , test drive.....GOOD LUCK!

While you can turn the wheels statically, I do recommend you actually drive the car to really see how it's working, and BECAREFUL when you first turn, as you may be surprised at how tight the box can become, past the on-center feel.

I've recommended too, that the stock oil needs to be cleaned out, and a gear oil put in, with some Moly-G. If the box has survived, you want to keep it in good shape, and give it the better lubrication.


Be very careful, when you test drive...as the steering could be sooooo...tight, that you might have to reef on it to get it to come back. A PERFECT box, is one that has virtually NO on-center slop, turns well, and, depending on castor, should come back to center by itself, if you let go of the wheel.
Keith Law
"Racing makes heroin addiction look like a vague wish for something salty" - Peter Egan

Keith Law
1973 2 Door Slalom/hill climb/road race / canyon carver /Giant Killer 510
1971 Vintage 13' BOLER trailer
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okayfine
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by okayfine »

mozhated wrote:so bearings from a bearing supplier, ok. and seals?? as far as the worm gear i dont know if its bad, how often do they go bad? teeth chip off??? probably this weekend i will tear it down and check it out.
Don't take the worm gear apart. You let out the balls and you'll never get it back together. It's no really user-servicable unless you are a machinist.

As was mentioned (and I forgot to suggest) - depending on your problem you may be able to do the routine adjustment to it, as described above. Your description of your problem wasn't clear to me.
datzenmike wrote:The very earliest (72.5) up to 07 '73 610 used the same worm and sector shaft. All B-210s used the same worm and sector shaft. Might be worth grabbing any B-210 boxes you find
The b210 box will bolt on. The pitman arm is a different length and will affect the steering somewhat. Ain't been a b210 in the local JYs in a good decade.
Because when you spend a silly amount of money on a silly, trivial thing that will help you not one jot, you are demonstrating that you have a soul and a heart and that you are the sort of person who has no time for Which? magazine. – Jeremy Clarkson
datzenmike
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by datzenmike »

The worm and sector shafts parts are the same though and you can put your 510 pitman arm on it.
"Nissan 'shit the bed' when they made these, plain and simple." McShagger510 on flattop SUs
goichi1
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Re: 510 Steering box rebuild kit

Post by goichi1 »

I just recently got some parts off a B210, I started pulling the steering box and saw that the shaft has the flange made as one piece, I didn't see any splines where it could slide off the box. So I stopped and left it, now after reading this, I may go back and pull the steering box and column just in case I can use some parts for my swap. That is if it's not crushed already. I'll check today.
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