ross steering repair in 71 cj5 V6

I recently saw Moses Ludel's slide show which is great for rebuilding the ross box but doesn't show the removal of it. My steering gave me a scare a few days ago so I decided its time for a rebuild/repair. I did this about 20 years also but that is about 19 years and 11 months out my memory range so I am no expert.

First step is to pull the steering wheel horn button, nut, washer and horn contact cup. The nut is a 1.25" hex.
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Next is to remove the steering wheel. I replaced this wheel 20 years ago so it was easier to remove than some of the stories I have heard but I did have to use the hill-billy jack and strap method as described on other threads here. Oh and I pulled off the turn signal switch too.

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Then I pulled off the floor pan above the tranny cover. easy-peasy. Also disconnect the throttle linkage, remove the brake pedal pad and pop off the gas pedal- it just lifts of the pivot balls.

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Time to crawl under. Pull off the drag link.

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On the V6 with stock exhaust, the exhaust has to be moved or dropped. I was hoping to be able to separate the front section and drop it down, but all of the joints are rusted tight and I don't want to get the torch under the greasy jeep and I don't want to cut it so I just dropped the whole thing down, cherry bomb and all. Also had to drop the plate under the tranny. this has been the hardest part of the job so far.
hopefully the exhaust is far enough out of the way. the steering box and tube has to come out through the bottom on a V6.

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Here is why the ross box is different on the V6. Very close quarters. Like Moses Ludel said, this frame was designed around a 4 cylinder, then adapted to the V6.

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the last thing I did today was pull the bolts from the ross box. No major problems.

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thats all for now, will add more as I can get the work done.

 

Today I was able to drop the box and steering tube. I did not have to jack the jeep up to do it even though the factory service manual says you have to on a v6. Probably because my jeep has about a 2" lift from heavier than stock springs and the tires are a little taller than stock but not much.



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Then I loosened the side cover bolts and removed the side cover. I was surprised to see it was still full of gear oil!


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I should have done this before I pulled off the side cover, but next I pulled of the pitman arm nut and pitman arm. It was tight, I used a tie rod separator fork to pop it off.

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next removed the top cover, being careful to keep track of the shims.

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I took out the bearings, they were all in good shape. .312" dia (5/16), 9 on each end 18 total. Then I soaked and cleaned all the metal parts. The inside of the case is coated with red glyptal paint for corrosion protection, so I was careful not to remove this on the inside. I did not remove the horn wire tube because I though it would do more harm than good to remove it, it is in very solid right now. I will add some wicking lock tight to the outer edges of it when I rebuild the unit just to make sure it has a good seal.

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I will give the outside a more thorough cleaning when it is time to re paint.


I noticed the cam has some chipped edges. I hope this isn't a show stopper for this cam, they are expensive to replace. If anybody has seen this condition before let me know if they work okay like this.

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Now its time to start hunting down parts. The narrow sector shaft for the V6 box seems few and far between, hope I can find a good one, mine is a bit worn in the usual spots.

 

Still waiting on parts from Kaiser-Willys.com. In the mean time I went ahead and tapped out the old bushings. They measure 1.060" when installed, I tapped them out with 13/16" plug socket that measures 1.055" OD. The bushings came out real easy, they are the split type. You can see the wear in the close up picture. Wall thickness was originally .062, the worn area are down to about .055".

I won't be replacing the sector shaft, new ones just don't exist for the V6 ross. I thought about trying to rotate the pins like I have read about on here, but all I need is to screw this shaft up and be completely out of luck. My plan now is to replace the bushings, bearings, rebuild the drag link, bell crank, King pin bearings and start saving money to put in a saginaw conversion in a few years.

I had a 1980 Cj-5 for a couple of years in the late '80s when I was rebuilding the engine on the 71, it had p/s and was SO much easier to drive.

Well that's all Ive got till the brown truck comes.

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MY parts came tuesday, so I have had a chance to get a little work done. The new bushings did not have an oil groove in them. They are not oil lite, they are solid brass, so I use a rat tail file to put a small groove, about .025" deep into them. Pressed them in easily, grooves oriented so they will be at the bottom when box is installed. Also put in the ball bearings. I used the original plastic bearing retainers because they make assembly easier and have no effect on the bearings performance. Got the shim stack height worked out. needed about .010" more stack than original. shaft turns easily with very slight resistance, no end play.



next got a gasket cut. I didn't realize how rough the edges look till I looked at this photo, but it will work fine.



Applied gasket sealer. I also put some on the shims when putting them on, but forgot to take a picture.



Then I put the cover on. Blue loctite on the bolts, for thread retention and to help seal.



Then I primed and painted. Just rattle can, rustoleum engine enamel, high heat. RED so everybody will know I can steer.





thats all for now till I get time to install back in the jeep.

 

Thanks. Looks good. This is good reference.

 

In my haste to get the last post up before my laptop battery died, I forgot to mention I put a little grease on the cam during the test assembly. Also I put a little JB weld around the edges of the horn wire tube flange/casting interface just for re-assurance it won't leak.

 

I might have to do my steering box in a couple months now, looks good and great wright up.

 

Need to tackle the same on my '69 V6. What a killer write up & pics! - will print this out and keep in my garage thanks!!