Update on Loose 240 U Steering Problem

JimN and Dave asked that I report back what I discovered about the loose steering on my 240 Utility.

I previously reported that I had about 360 degrees of free steering before I made contact with anything. I had removed the worm shaft and discovered that it looked brand new! Since then I removed the front axle to gain access to the steering box. The first thing I noticed is that the Pittman arm was loose and wobbly. Removing the cotter pin and castellated nut, the Pittman arm dropped off into my hand! I discovered the bore of the arm, and the tapered shaft of the worm gear were both badly scored. And the Woodruff key port on the tapered gearshaft was much wider than the key. Apparently the arm was too loose on the tapered shaft, and the Woodruff key gradually wore a wider width, allowing more slop in the steering. A friend experimented with his good 240 and told me a full steering wheel revolution only moves the Pitman arm about 6 degrees . . . so just a little bit of shaft looseness creates a whole lot of steering wheel movement. Even though, as JimN suggested, the worm gear looks like new, just like the worm shaft, with a worn and loose taper shaft all I can do is replace it, because even if a new keyway is cut into it (there already were two and both were worn wide)if the taper fit is loose the problem will only re-occur.

scotty