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Chris: Very seldom are the worm and gear worn. If there is no end to end movement in the steering wheel shaft those bearings are fine. 98% of the time the problem is on the vertical shaft, both inside and outside the box. Inside the box the gear is keyed to shaft using a woodruff key. On the outside the steering control arm can be loose on the shaft, it may be as simple as tightening the nut at bottom. Two systems were used over the years where steering control arm mounts to tapered shaft. A and early SA used a square tapered shaft, and those can be tightened using thin shim stock. The later models have a round tapered shaft using a woodruff key. I have seen them more than full turn on wheel and whole problem was right on that vertical shaft. Usually those keyways need repair, or grind oversize keys to make them fit tight. Close to 20 years ago, I did my SA, ground oversize woodruff keys. For the gear I welded key in place and ground it enough so gear had to be pressed on with hydraulic press. For the steering control arm I was able to get a tight fit, grinding an oversize key. It is still tight as new in steering. When your finished, forget about gear oil in the gear box. Place a grease zerk in drain port, and pump the box full until grease comes out the fill port, probably 3-4 tubes of grease, then every time you grease tractor, give the steering box abot 6-8 pumps. Your steering will stay tight, and you'll never have an oil soaked front end again. Best to use moly grease in that gear box, doesn't get stiff in cold weather.
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