Thank you again for a peaceful, insightful and entertaining episode Jethro, many will agree with me here, other 'tubers could learn a lot from your approach to content creation - zero hype - 100% quality.
@@JethroBronner My '69 GTV is supposed to have 165 tyres. For a time I had 185 tyres fitted instead. The additional grip is PHENOMENAL, but only body builders can turn the steering wheel at parking speeds. (I exaggerate for comic effect, but not by much.)
I've enjoyed this video even more than usual, and that's exactly because of its niche topic :) Steering components hardly ever get any attention, and I have learned why these 'boxes sometimes fail. Great work, keep it up!
Thanks for the patient used to produce a video like this. UA-cam really needed this. I wish in more videos like this one. Kind regards from a mechanical restorer from Italy
Hi Jethro, many thanks for taking the Burman steering apart and explaining what the issues are with this type of steering box. Have been doing similar repair recently and can confirm that there is no other reasonable video on that topic out there yet. Now it is. Many thanks. Machining the rear end ball bearing surface is quite a reasonable thing to do with a good lathe available and a well grinded chisel. Using grease to get all the balls in the nut is unavoidable as well as getting the balls in the bearings. 7.144 balls are standard and can be purchased from specialised sources. Even oversizes are available. These balls are available in different tolerance classes. Thanks for not using background music.
Excellent video! I had my box literally blow apart as I steered into my driveway on my 72' GTV. Previous owner had fitted very wide large tires and the added stress and age of the box did it in. Thank god it didn't happen while on the road. This was 20+yrs ago and I still have the outer shaft which I use as a breaker bar. Replaced it without the use of a lift. What a PIA....
I've enjoyed your videos for years, classy high quality productions. Just this week my dear longtime friend and alfa guru Vince Sartor passed away at 52 years of age from cancer In Melbourne Australia. Now that he is no longer with us, I thank you for taking the and effort in making these videos in a way that even the inexperienced among us, can get the courage to take on some of the less daunting jobs on these classics. At the end of the day we are the custodians of these fine cars, keeping them for the next generation . Thank you my guru...Serge
@@JethroBronner Hey again ,I dont normally post anything ,but this time I felt it necessary. Maybe I was just venting, but I meant it. Keep on keeping on ... Regards from the other side of the world Sergio
I find your presentation so refreshing. And thanks for the explanation about the binding and shims in the box. You turned on the light bulb, and now it's time to take another run at the steering box in my old '63 Avanti.
I’m just echoing what everyone is saying. I don’t want to big this up too much but I watch a lot of UA-cam restoration videos and yours redefine the genre. I love the calm, measured, logical and thoughtful way in which tackle the projects on these beautiful Italian cars. Your passion for these Alfas is contagious and linked to top quality video production they’re like works of art, very classy. Many thanks, looking forward to more Alfa adventures.
@@JethroBronner As You said, there's no other serious dealing with this problem to find, so it was very interesting and a paragon seeing what You do with that steering box. We all can't do without any inspiring tech support all the time, so thank You for Your worthy contributions, no matter how "niche" (often the more "niche" the more interesting if done the Jethro-way!). "What would Jethro do?" could easily become a standard for 105 Models this way - only slight irritation is the steering wheel's location in Your cars, recurrently seeming like somehow ..... mirrored, hay? 😁Cheers
I come here for the soothing Zen of an artist creating automotive perfection. Now I find Jethro’s Zen hits a hard stop when it comes to grease in the steering box. But, somehow, knowing his Zen has limits makes it all the more real, and I appreciate it more because of it. ;-)
Seeing the hairline fractures in the casting reminded me of the Monty Python film skit "just a flesh wound". Mine had a 1mm gash with black grease coming out of it and having to guess which way the car would be pointing. Fortunately I had a spare steering box.
One of the more satisfying automotive videos I've watched recently. Relaxed, thorough, detailed. Well done. You were concerned, I liked what you created.
Hey Jethro, good to see the Myford getting some proper use! It’s nice to watch stuff that doesn’t totally rely on a musical backing track, also I like the technical detail. Thanks
Great job on this!! One thing I have always seen as helpful that I didn't see you do on your video is to make sure that the box will still operate smoothly when you apply force to the steering arm, and not just the wheel. A small difference in the shims can make it difficult to "motor" the box from the arm, which would of course mean that there wouldn't be much feel of what the front wheels are doing on the road, and possibly not enough freedom for the steering to self-center due to caster. Great job on these videos. I really enjoy them and admire your care and pride in a job well-done.
Just came across your channel...I' an owner of 1970 1750 GTV which I restored 20 years ago...i replaced the idler a number of years back plus all of the steering gear and a new suspension kit and have had no steering issues..but....for whatever reason I worry about the steering box as it is original and I'm thinking fatigue may be setting in. As with brakes...steering failure not something you want. The steering box is the last remaining (significant mechanical) original part on this car...mainly because I have had no steering issues. I thought about putting in a new re-original jus for peace of mind...not terribly expensive for that. Going o have a look and see if there are any fissures or cracks...its always been on my mind.
That was tremendously satisfying, which of course is the stratum above highly informative! As for that scissor action ball joint puller, I don't know how much you were tightening that but for the record, it's important to snug them up and then tap on the assembly in the spot of your choice and then tighten a bit more, etc. This way, you make use of resonance to break the parts free without ever using tremendous force which will definitely break the tool one day. (My first one was an 18G1063 BMC factory service tool for the Austin and Morris minis that I picked up in 1971. A very old mechanic gave me this tip about loosening parts at that time and I've been passing it on ever since.) 🙂 One day I wandered into a shop where they had tightened the hell out of a puller on a Jag XJ12 halfshaft which still refused to budge. Distress was building among the staff but they wouldn't let me near it, so when everyone was at the other end of the room, I gave it a tap with a hammer. It popped right out and I was offered a job on the spot. Fun times.
Ball joints are broken free by hammering where the tapered bit fits after loosening the nut. Real mechanics never use a ball joint puller, but a hammer
FWIW, years ago I sent by steering box to Burman in the UK for a rebuild. It did come back really "tight", meaning tough to turn. On the lift, it was very hard to turn the road wheels side to side. No problem from the steering wheel. But it drove fine and "loosened up" after some road time. Assuming Burman knew what they were doing with the rebuild, that might indicate to rebuild these on the "tighter" side.
Great video. Something I need to fix the leaky seal at the bottom of my Burman box but not just yet. Lots of jobs to do. Refreshing to watch these videos without all the nonsense. Very soothing viewing!
This video helped me rebuild my Burman box. And I’m so glad I did. The main nut was so worn. Keep this content coming and more people like me will be brave enough save an Alfa.
Forgive me -- you may have already answered this question somewhere. Exactly how many ball bearings are supposed to be in a Burman box? Many moons ago, when restoring my '74 Spider, the box came apart with... let's say, much less finesse, than what you have demonstrated. :) At the time, I thought I had gathered all the ball bearings off the shop floor, but exactly how many there were supposed to be has haunted me for 25 years. (The terrible blue-and-yellow manual was of little assistance!). As an aside, the bottom seal on my Burman has never stopped weeping and it PAINED me to put grease into it as a solution -- I wholeheartedly agree, packing grease into the box is at best inelegant. Borrowing courage and conviction from your video, I will retackle the job sooner rather than later! Cheers, Jethro!
I think it was either 54 or 57, I can’t quite remember. I just made sure I filled up the bearings until there wasn’t space for anymore ball bearings to fit. I guess one benefit of the grease is that it stops the ball bearings falling out when you open the box.
Great work Jet I think it’s the one component I’ve not touched either.. But thanks to your ingenuity and future proof consistency I’m feeling confident to do one as well. Thankyou Keep me up to date on your Australia visit if you are still considering one .. All the best Geoff
I have always loved the way each video tells a story and is a life lesson on dedication, overcoming wrongs, and a beautiful reward at the end. In this work, your filming and editing was taken to a higher level. Mastery of that is as impressive as your engineering, which is high praise. Your work has grown so much that I can only imagine where it will go. As a psychiatrist, all I hear is woe. You are a very bright light that inspires others. Thank You Sir !
Thanks for putting such a logical and easy to follow segment together on these steering boxes. It's helping us on the refurb of our project car as we tackle the box. 💪
The holes in the steering wheel are for another type of puller, but your little tool is fine too. I use a small puller with threaded rods to suit, put 'em through a harmonic balancer puller, but your solution uses the same mechanism, and works!
In the 1970s I worked on a number of Alfas prepared for racing in the U.S.A. In many instances the steering boxes had ribbing built up from weld to prevent the cracks your example has. All the Autodelta built cars I serviced had this feature. I believe there was a technical bulletin on how to add this reinforcement mentioned in the ALFA ROMEO COMPETITION REFERENCE HANDBOOK curated by Don Black. I’ve enjoyed watching your videos and it brings back many fond memories.
The whole time I was working on this I was thinking "How did they run 9 inch wide tyres on the GTAm cars!?" So you've answered that for me haha. I'm going to have to keep an eye out for a copy of that book.
7.14mm = 9/32" for the ball bearing, and it is probably easier to find 9/32" ball bearings than the equivalent metric, just about all ball bearing from this time period used imperial units. Great and interesting video.
My father-in-law had two of them in his garage when he died. I wanted so much to fix them (one of them was my wife car 30 years ago when she was going to university in Oklahoma City). We now live in Canada, so can’t do. But I kept his Alfa keychain.
Wonderful Jethro - I actually was thinking how useful this was to be committed forever to the internet - please don't apologise for the length! Your attention to detail is mesmerising - can't wait for the next one!
Thank you Jethro for the video, Just re-welded the cracks on my box today. it wasn't easy at all. here my tips on how to TIG weld it: Clean the box at least 5 time with fresh thinner. grind to white metal all area to be welded. preheat the box 80-100deg c. use low heat input, I started at 135 Amp and it was way too much. The more amps the more porosity you end up with. The first pass is the most difficult due to the base metal gazing out unreasonably the remaining pass are more manageable. I found that having too much AC balance would generate more pores. Overall I feels like this alloy possibly contains zinc (like a 7000 serie) it is not designed to be welded! I used 5356 filler as that's all I had, 4043 is probably better. I wish I would have been told this is a pain to weld! I would have been more carful with the amp settings. Take care and be prepare for a few rude words :)
I have my box still disassembled on the table and had it for a few months until now that I'm nearing completion of rust repairs in the engine bay and welding in of reinforcement plates from alfaholics on my car. You video is right on point to finally get it back together, thanks a lot. 🙂
Cheers from California, Jethro. Excellent video. I have a spare box in my garage, I now have the knowledge to dig into it. Keep it up, I await the next videos. Love the single cylinder Hondas too. My first bike was a CB125.
Anyone who enjoys this type of video, should check out Allen Millyard's You Tube channel. He works on motorcycles, not cars, but his approach is similar, as is his laid back style, and his engineering skills are off the charts.
My shaft had the same bottom pitting as yours, I installed a 17mm Internal Dia 47mm OD 15mm thick tapered roller bearing in place of the old one, the rounded edge of the inner bearing opening rests against the pitted groved part of the shaft (less than optimal contact surface perhaps, but not terrible either), and it's smooth without any play, no other modifications needed
@@JethroBronner the solutions in the thread (as far as I can see) involves a lathe and a shaft that is a PITA to turn, I made it work without any modification with the mentioned bearing. I don't have a lathe, and would probably have gone the "proper" route if I had access to one, but this $5 no-effort solution was a pleasant surprise
Wow, what a fantastic video! Your production quality is off the charts and it continues to amaze me how much you know about the smallest of details. I've always been fascinated by automobiles and their mechanical complexities and you deliver absolutely peerless content.
yeahsss!!!! - Amazing work here - especially the machineing on the end of the worm gear. Having mine out in the past, and knowing what it looked like, I can tell this will be in my future 'someday' because - Nothing is ever perfect, and nothing is ever done, and nothing lasts forever.
Cheers Jethro, very interesting video as always! It’s fascinating to see what kind of tricks are needed to keep these beautiful cars running, years after their intended service life. You must’ve been quite happy that the shims were spot on even after the rather invasive surgery.
Hi Jethro, By my uninformed logic surfacing the face of the box at the bearing cap tightens the clearance and is the equivalent of adding a shim rather than the reverse.
You did a great job reconditioning that steering box.I agree the box should have oil inside and must not be packed with grease.The mechanic who had been there before you was a slap happy joker as some ball bearings were missing from some of the bearings,there were cracks in the aluminium steering box,he had packed the box with grease and the worm gear needed to be machined smooth which he hadn't done.Your attention to detail is impressive.
Great video. I rebuilt my burman box a few years back and found the same cracks around the bolt holes during the process. At the time the billet aluminum boxes were less costly so I bought one and completed the rebuild accordingly. The result was excellent. By the way, I also decided to reinforced the attachment points for the box and the steering idler by adding 1/8 inch steel plates where the three bolts pass thru the front wheel wells. I was told this is an old trick many racers used back in the day. By doing this the opportunity for the box to flex or twist is further reduced. No issue in the last five years. I also agree with you regarding the use of oil vs grease -- not a solution only a band aid. Thankfully the new box and seals do not leak, so far.
Those strengthening plates are a very good idea and I will welding some into my 1750 GTV project for sure, however I’m going to keep this Spider factory, as it’s not mine to modify.
@@JethroBronner Welding is fine but panel bond, IMHO, is a better solution. The bond is super strong and no H2O nor oxygen can get between the metal to promote rust.
Jethro, Thanks a lot for this, I need to rebuild a ZF Steering box on my Porsche 356 and this has given me some very good idea's. Have a 916 Alfa and 156 Busso as well. Thanks from Sydney, Aus. Steve
What a excellent example of doing it right. Well done on your video and perfect restoration not just getting in done haha. The lathe part was impressive. I have a Datsun 1978 310 (140Y) that I’d like to restore. I could only wish to be able to have the time and patience that you show with your Alfa projects.
Great video, clear and very useful to understand how the preload works. I'm restoring my steering box following your suggestions and your video is really an effective guide to correctly address all possible issues. Thanks for sharing information on such niche topic, it will save me time and money. Let's wait for you next video....
Jethro.... good to see you back on the channel... Interesting topic today, on a subject that very rarely come up.... these cars are not built to last forever, Its good to see that you are here to give them a few more years.... great vid
We've got to keep this skills around for the future, it may be hard to learn them in person in the modern age, but at least we can create archives online for the future.
Went through this about 25 years ago so my memory is a bit dusty but it's likely that once the car is full weight on wheels you're going to find a dead zone in the center caused by wear on the part of the upper arm that interfaces with the carrier which is very difficult to restore. You can take some of it out with a shim under the spring plate but this tightens the entire mechanism. there was a guy in LA way back when who was machining new arm faces but don't know if he's still around. Also, as was my case, there may be cracks in the housing beyond the ones that were visible. It would require dye penetrant or some other NDT detection method to see them. If the housing breaks it will do it when you are turning the wheels when stopped such as trying to squeeze into or out of a parallel parking spot. Another option is to replace with a ZF box but I think they may only fit into a 115. A problem with these boxes, especially the LH drive ones which are on the exhaust side, is that the oil most likely drained out of them a year or two after they left the dealership floor and nobody ever bothered to check. As far as I know there was never anything in the service manual telling you to top off the steering box oil.
Exactly. And on the RHD cars you have to remove the carburetors just to top up the oil. So this oil seal conversion should help it enormously in the fight to keep the oil level up.
@@JethroBronner I used some stuff that was being suggested at the time. (sorry can't remember the name) It was a red colored liquid and best described as being about halfway between gear oil and grease. It has been in there for over 20 years now so seems to have worked well. The leftover tub is around here somewhere I'll see if I can dig it up.
Excellent content Jethro I always wondered how complicated steering box repairs and tuning were as a lot of Japanese cars in Australia using recirculating ball steering often had issues even from factory with excessive play - fascinating work as I’m no engineer yet your approach to maintaining yet refurbishing is an art and incredible to watch - well done 👍
Recirculating ball steering seems to have a bad reputation, but I really like the way the Alfa 105 drives, it has a great steering feel. But yes, you do need to maintain and repair them, certainly more work than rack and pinion steering.
@@JethroBronner I've got a '69 GTV. I don't know if it's got the same box. It's commonplace for GTV boxes to start coming adrift and become wobbly, robbing the car of its intuitive feel. After mine was firmly reattached, the steering was utterly transformed.
Thanks for your very interesting video. Interesting to see how the box works and how you fixed it. No collapsible steering column! The Fulvia series 1 also intrigues me. I had one but sadly sold it. It is well looked after though.
Thank you again for a peaceful, insightful and entertaining episode Jethro, many will agree with me here, other 'tubers could learn a lot from your approach to content creation - zero hype - 100% quality.
This post says it well, zero hype and high quality. I never get over how refreshing this approach is.
Yes. No loud guitar music or silly skits/ scripted dialogue. Just classy well done production. Very nice to watch.
Thank you for taking the time to watch my videos! And for the very kind words!
@@JethroBronner My '69 GTV is supposed to have 165 tyres. For a time I had 185 tyres fitted instead. The additional grip is PHENOMENAL, but only body builders can turn the steering wheel at parking speeds. (I exaggerate for comic effect, but not by much.)
Work can wait a few more minutes. You could do audiobooks and I'd choose your version over anyone else.
That's very kind!
I've enjoyed this video even more than usual, and that's exactly because of its niche topic :)
Steering components hardly ever get any attention, and I have learned why these 'boxes sometimes fail. Great work, keep it up!
They don't get any attention from mechanics either! which is why they often end up in such poor repair.
This video is not just informative, but it’s a mini work of art.
Thanks for the patient used to produce a video like this. UA-cam really needed this. I wish in more videos like this one. Kind regards from a mechanical restorer from Italy
Hi Jethro, many thanks for taking the Burman steering apart and explaining what the issues are with this type of steering box. Have been doing similar repair recently and can confirm that there is no other reasonable video on that topic out there yet. Now it is. Many thanks. Machining the rear end ball bearing surface is quite a reasonable thing to do with a good lathe available and a well grinded chisel. Using grease to get all the balls in the nut is unavoidable as well as getting the balls in the bearings. 7.144 balls are standard and can be purchased from specialised sources. Even oversizes are available. These balls are available in different tolerance classes. Thanks for not using background music.
The blinking eyes of....... Anticip........ pation.
Your channel is probably one of my favorite things on the whole internet, the cinematography/editing is perfect.
That's very kind, thank you!
Excellent video! I had my box literally blow apart as I steered into my driveway on my 72' GTV. Previous owner had fitted very wide large tires and the added stress and age of the box did it in. Thank god it didn't happen while on the road. This was 20+yrs ago and I still have the outer shaft which I use as a breaker bar. Replaced it without the use of a lift. What a PIA....
I've enjoyed your videos for years, classy high quality productions. Just this week my dear longtime friend and alfa guru Vince Sartor passed away at 52 years of age from cancer In Melbourne Australia. Now that he is no longer with us, I thank you for taking the and effort in making these videos in a way that even the inexperienced among us, can get the courage to take on some of the less daunting jobs on these classics. At the end of the day we are the custodians of these fine cars, keeping them for the next generation . Thank you my guru...Serge
I'm sorry to hear that. Yes if I can help people keep these beautiful cars on the road for generations to come I think that will be time well spent.
@@JethroBronner Hey again ,I dont normally post anything ,but this time I felt it necessary. Maybe I was just venting, but I meant it. Keep on keeping on ... Regards from the other side of the world Sergio
That face you made when the ball joint popped off? Priceless!!
They were so tight! And that was after using a little heat too.
The Gran Turismo vibe of car repair videos. Love it.
I find your presentation so refreshing. And thanks for the explanation about the binding and shims in the box. You turned on the light bulb, and now it's time to take another run at the steering box in my old '63 Avanti.
I’m just echoing what everyone is saying. I don’t want to big this up too much but I watch a lot of UA-cam restoration videos and yours redefine the genre. I love the calm, measured, logical and thoughtful way in which tackle the projects on these beautiful Italian cars. Your passion for these Alfas is contagious and linked to top quality video production they’re like works of art, very classy. Many thanks, looking forward to more Alfa adventures.
Thanks for releasing such a "niche" project. Very interesting and entertaining!
Glad you enjoyed it!
@@JethroBronner As You said, there's no other serious dealing with this problem to find, so it was very interesting and a paragon seeing what You do with that steering box. We all can't do without any inspiring tech support all the time, so thank You for Your worthy contributions, no matter how "niche" (often the more "niche" the more interesting if done the Jethro-way!).
"What would Jethro do?" could easily become a standard for 105 Models this way - only slight irritation is the steering wheel's location in Your cars, recurrently seeming like somehow ..... mirrored, hay? 😁Cheers
I come here for the soothing Zen of an artist creating automotive perfection. Now I find Jethro’s Zen hits a hard stop when it comes to grease in the steering box. But, somehow, knowing his Zen has limits makes it all the more real, and I appreciate it more because of it. ;-)
Seeing the hairline fractures in the casting reminded me of the Monty Python film skit "just a flesh wound". Mine had a 1mm gash with black grease coming out of it and having to guess which way the car would be pointing. Fortunately I had a spare steering box.
1mm! Yikes! That must have been close to bursting!
One of the more satisfying automotive videos I've watched recently. Relaxed, thorough, detailed. Well done. You were concerned, I liked what you created.
Wow, thank you!
After a terrible 2 weeks stretch, it makes me happy again watching you doing delicate work in a calm, assured way. Thank you sir !
Welcome back! Thank you!
Thank you Jethro. Nothing is ever perfect. Nothing is ever finished. Perhaps this video is both. 😎
Wow, thanks! Haha but I don't think it's quite that good.
Hey Jethro, good to see the Myford getting some proper use! It’s nice to watch stuff that doesn’t totally rely on a musical backing track, also I like the technical detail. Thanks
Great job on this!! One thing I have always seen as helpful that I didn't see you do on your video is to make sure that the box will still operate smoothly when you apply force to the steering arm, and not just the wheel. A small difference in the shims can make it difficult to "motor" the box from the arm, which would of course mean that there wouldn't be much feel of what the front wheels are doing on the road, and possibly not enough freedom for the steering to self-center due to caster. Great job on these videos. I really enjoy them and admire your care and pride in a job well-done.
Absolutely stellar video and commentary. Bravo!
Thank you!
Like a guided meditation for engineers....Bliss.
This will be much more relaxing for me than it was for you.😉 Great work as always 👏
haha! it was not relaxing for me at all!
@@JethroBronner for me watching the carbide bite the worm gear very relaxing, for you.....much less so. Very, very gutsy move.
Just came across your channel...I' an owner of 1970 1750 GTV which I restored 20 years ago...i replaced the idler a number of years back plus all of the steering gear and a new suspension kit and have had no steering issues..but....for whatever reason I worry about the steering box as it is original and I'm thinking fatigue may be setting in. As with brakes...steering failure not something you want. The steering box is the last remaining (significant mechanical) original part on this car...mainly because I have had no steering issues. I thought about putting in a new re-original jus for peace of mind...not terribly expensive for that. Going o have a look and see if there are any fissures or cracks...its always been on my mind.
That was tremendously satisfying, which of course is the stratum above highly informative! As for that scissor action ball joint puller, I don't know how much you were tightening that but for the record, it's important to snug them up and then tap on the assembly in the spot of your choice and then tighten a bit more, etc. This way, you make use of resonance to break the parts free without ever using tremendous force which will definitely break the tool one day. (My first one was an 18G1063 BMC factory service tool for the Austin and Morris minis that I picked up in 1971. A very old mechanic gave me this tip about loosening parts at that time and I've been passing it on ever since.) 🙂 One day I wandered into a shop where they had tightened the hell out of a puller on a Jag XJ12 halfshaft which still refused to budge. Distress was building among the staff but they wouldn't let me near it, so when everyone was at the other end of the room, I gave it a tap with a hammer. It popped right out and I was offered a job on the spot. Fun times.
Ball joints are broken free by hammering where the tapered bit fits after loosening the nut. Real mechanics never use a ball joint puller, but a hammer
FWIW, years ago I sent by steering box to Burman in the UK for a rebuild. It did come back really "tight", meaning tough to turn. On the lift, it was very hard to turn the road wheels side to side. No problem from the steering wheel. But it drove fine and "loosened up" after some road time. Assuming Burman knew what they were doing with the rebuild, that might indicate to rebuild these on the "tighter" side.
Great video. Something I need to fix the leaky seal at the bottom of my Burman box but not just yet. Lots of jobs to do. Refreshing to watch these videos without all the nonsense. Very soothing viewing!
3 videos inside a month, you’re spoiling us 😁
This video helped me rebuild my Burman box. And I’m so glad I did. The main nut was so worn. Keep this content coming and more people like me will be brave enough save an Alfa.
The end result is a mechanical work of art that was probably the last thing on the engineer's mind and is why I loved my 67 Beetle.
Thanks for this excellent tutorial. Your videos are the ultimate Alfa owners guide. I wish you all the luck in the world.
I held my breath throughout the whole of the bearing face lathe work section. Great work!
The black art of steering boxes
Haha yeah it's something like that. Once you get into it it's not so intimidating.
Terrific work, so satisfying. Working like a switch watch now!
Forgive me -- you may have already answered this question somewhere. Exactly how many ball bearings are supposed to be in a Burman box? Many moons ago, when restoring my '74 Spider, the box came apart with... let's say, much less finesse, than what you have demonstrated. :) At the time, I thought I had gathered all the ball bearings off the shop floor, but exactly how many there were supposed to be has haunted me for 25 years. (The terrible blue-and-yellow manual was of little assistance!). As an aside, the bottom seal on my Burman has never stopped weeping and it PAINED me to put grease into it as a solution -- I wholeheartedly agree, packing grease into the box is at best inelegant. Borrowing courage and conviction from your video, I will retackle the job sooner rather than later! Cheers, Jethro!
I think it was either 54 or 57, I can’t quite remember. I just made sure I filled up the bearings until there wasn’t space for anymore ball bearings to fit. I guess one benefit of the grease is that it stops the ball bearings falling out when you open the box.
Great work Jet
I think it’s the one component I’ve not touched either.. But thanks to your ingenuity and future proof consistency I’m feeling confident to do one as well. Thankyou
Keep me up to date on your Australia visit if you are still considering one ..
All the best
Geoff
I have always loved the way each video tells a story and is a life lesson on dedication, overcoming wrongs, and a beautiful reward at the end. In this work, your filming and editing was taken to a higher level. Mastery of that is as impressive as your engineering, which is high praise. Your work has grown so much that I can only imagine where it will go.
As a psychiatrist, all I hear is woe. You are a very bright light that inspires others. Thank You Sir !
I think good art, no matter what it is, should tell you a little bit about what it means to live well in the world.
Thanks for putting such a logical and easy to follow segment together on these steering boxes. It's helping us on the refurb of our project car as we tackle the box.
💪
The holes in the steering wheel are for another type of puller, but your little tool is fine too.
I use a small puller with threaded rods to suit, put 'em through a harmonic balancer puller, but your solution uses the same mechanism, and works!
In the 1970s I worked on a number of Alfas prepared for racing in the U.S.A. In many instances the steering boxes had ribbing built up from weld to prevent the cracks your example has. All the Autodelta built cars I serviced had this feature. I believe there was a technical bulletin on how to add this reinforcement mentioned in the ALFA ROMEO COMPETITION REFERENCE HANDBOOK curated by Don Black. I’ve enjoyed watching your videos and it brings back many fond memories.
The whole time I was working on this I was thinking "How did they run 9 inch wide tyres on the GTAm cars!?" So you've answered that for me haha.
I'm going to have to keep an eye out for a copy of that book.
The first time I saw the reinforcement weld, I thought it was a crappy repair job...
Incredibly high quality work! Both filming and mechanicing.
Thank you very much!
Very nice work Jethro , the proof will be in the driving...👍🏼
Yes! The real test will be how it feels out on the road.
7.14mm = 9/32" for the ball bearing, and it is probably easier to find 9/32" ball bearings than the equivalent metric, just about all ball bearing from this time period used imperial units. Great and interesting video.
Yes these Burman steering boxes were built in England, and use all imperial hardware.
My father-in-law had two of them in his garage when he died. I wanted so much to fix them (one of them was my wife car 30 years ago when she was going to university in Oklahoma City). We now live in Canada, so can’t do. But I kept his Alfa keychain.
And here I was thinking about filling my Ra28 steering box with grease!! Great video, cheers from Ireland.
Haha yeah don't do it!
Wonderful Jethro - I actually was thinking how useful this was to be committed forever to the internet - please don't apologise for the length! Your attention to detail is mesmerising - can't wait for the next one!
Nice work Jethro! Love the "couple sandwiches short of a picnic..." bit 😂
I love the squinting as you apply what seems like *a little too much* torque to the ball joint separator. We've all been there!
It's like waiting for the bomb to go off
Brilliant clip. Goes far beyond what I'd learned on the BB. Many many thanks
I'm just happy to help build up some knowledge of these cars online.
An excellent channel.
The man is proper uncompromising top tier engineer.
Thank you Jethro for the video, Just re-welded the cracks on my box today. it wasn't easy at all. here my tips on how to TIG weld it: Clean the box at least 5 time with fresh thinner. grind to white metal all area to be welded. preheat the box 80-100deg c. use low heat input, I started at 135 Amp and it was way too much. The more amps the more porosity you end up with. The first pass is the most difficult due to the base metal gazing out unreasonably the remaining pass are more manageable. I found that having too much AC balance would generate more pores. Overall I feels like this alloy possibly contains zinc (like a 7000 serie) it is not designed to be welded! I used 5356 filler as that's all I had, 4043 is probably better. I wish I would have been told this is a pain to weld! I would have been more carful with the amp settings. Take care and be prepare for a few rude words :)
love watching your vids your doing a realy great job so relaxing watching you work haha
Thank you so much 😀
I have my box still disassembled on the table and had it for a few months until now that I'm nearing completion of rust repairs in the engine bay and welding in of reinforcement plates from alfaholics on my car. You video is right on point to finally get it back together, thanks a lot. 🙂
lovely work on that worm gear… love your machinists with more experience that I have years on the planet… but at the end if the day…
Gotta do what you've gotta do.
Thanks Jethro! Great info! Thank you for sharing!
Cheers from California, Jethro. Excellent video. I have a spare box in my garage, I now have the knowledge to dig into it. Keep it up, I await the next videos. Love the single cylinder Hondas too. My first bike was a CB125.
Happy I could help! I love the little Hondas, soon I'll have some videos about them on the channel.
Anyone who enjoys this type of video, should check out Allen Millyard's You Tube channel. He works on motorcycles, not cars, but his approach is similar, as is his laid back style, and his engineering skills are off the charts.
My shaft had the same bottom pitting as yours, I installed a 17mm Internal Dia 47mm OD 15mm thick tapered roller bearing in place of the old one, the rounded edge of the inner bearing opening rests against the pitted groved part of the shaft (less than optimal contact surface perhaps, but not terrible either), and it's smooth without any play, no other modifications needed
That's a solution I've considered as well. In that AlfaBB thread I linked there are some photos of that conversion too.
@@JethroBronner the solutions in the thread (as far as I can see) involves a lathe and a shaft that is a PITA to turn, I made it work without any modification with the mentioned bearing. I don't have a lathe, and would probably have gone the "proper" route if I had access to one, but this $5 no-effort solution was a pleasant surprise
As usual, your calm demeaner and technical expertise make for an enjoyable video. Now can you please rebuild my steering box on my 69 VW Beetle? ;)
Haha I'll give it a go!
Wow, what a fantastic video! Your production quality is off the charts and it continues to amaze me how much you know about the smallest of details. I've always been fascinated by automobiles and their mechanical complexities and you deliver absolutely peerless content.
Great work. Nice to see you resurface that bearing area! Patience is key…
Graceful and fluid disassembly and reassembly, just like the movement of the steering after the repair.
Thank you!
Mate fantastic work and great quality video 👌
Thanks a lot!
Jethro you amaze as always with your cerebral approach to whatever challenges come up on this restoration. The quality in this video is top notch!
Thanks again. Hopefully I'll be at the end of this project soon, and it can go back on the road where it belongs.
I just completely relax with these videos. Love them
Glad you like them!
Jethro is pure Zen.
yeahsss!!!! - Amazing work here - especially the machineing on the end of the worm gear. Having mine out in the past, and knowing what it looked like, I can tell this will be in my future 'someday' because - Nothing is ever perfect, and nothing is ever done, and nothing lasts forever.
thank you Jethro ! Another quality video !
Thanks again for watching!
That steering box is huge compared to my pick up trucks.
Cheers Jethro, very interesting video as always! It’s fascinating to see what kind of tricks are needed to keep these beautiful cars running, years after their intended service life. You must’ve been quite happy that the shims were spot on even after the rather invasive surgery.
Beautiful video! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for watching!
Hi Jethro, By my uninformed logic surfacing the face of the box at the bearing cap tightens the clearance and is the equivalent of adding a shim rather than the reverse.
Yes it tightens it, but adding shims loosens the clearance, because it creates more space between the bearing race and the gear.
You did a great job reconditioning that steering box.I agree the box should have oil inside and must not be packed with grease.The mechanic who had been there before you was a slap happy joker as some ball bearings were missing from some of the bearings,there were cracks in the aluminium steering box,he had packed the box with grease and the worm gear needed to be machined smooth which he hadn't done.Your attention to detail is impressive.
Thank you. Yeah unfortunately this was far from a thorough job. This car seems to have picked up a lot of this type of work.
Great video. I rebuilt my burman box a few years back and found the same cracks around the bolt holes during the process. At the time the billet aluminum boxes were less costly so I bought one and completed the rebuild accordingly. The result was excellent. By the way, I also decided to reinforced the attachment points for the box and the steering idler by adding 1/8 inch steel plates where the three bolts pass thru the front wheel wells. I was told this is an old trick many racers used back in the day. By doing this the opportunity for the box to flex or twist is further reduced. No issue in the last five years. I also agree with you regarding the use of oil vs grease -- not a solution only a band aid. Thankfully the new box and seals do not leak, so far.
Those strengthening plates are a very good idea and I will welding some into my 1750 GTV project for sure, however I’m going to keep this Spider factory, as it’s not mine to modify.
@@JethroBronner Welding is fine but panel bond, IMHO, is a better solution. The bond is super strong and no H2O nor oxygen can get between the metal to promote rust.
your videos and approach is probably the best out there. thank you for your time and efforts.
I appreciate that! Thank you for watching!
Oddly fascinating to watch, and a remarkable job, done very well. Keep 'em coming!
Thanks, will do!
Jethro, Thanks a lot for this, I need to rebuild a ZF Steering box on my Porsche 356 and this has given me some very good idea's. Have a 916 Alfa and 156 Busso as well. Thanks from Sydney, Aus. Steve
Good luck! The 916 is a great car, congrats.
the longer the video the better 😍 therapeutic
Thanks!
Nice, loved the rant.
Nicely done! Always a pleasure to see you tackle projects such as this with absolute aplomb.
Many thanks!
Good job ! Congratulations from Milan ! 👍
Oh to be living in ZA, I'd buy anything you had restored. Hope you're charging appropriately for this level of expertise.
Haha the owner is a friend, so I'm being very reasonable on the cost.
Great build, just rebuild the steering box on my Landrover interesting to see the differences.
What a excellent example of doing it right. Well done on your video and perfect restoration not just getting in done haha. The lathe part was impressive.
I have a Datsun 1978 310 (140Y) that I’d like to restore. I could only wish to be able to have the time and patience that you show with your Alfa projects.
Thank you! I think the key to a restoration is just to tackle things one job at a time, and keep consistent.
Great video, clear and very useful to understand how the preload works. I'm restoring my steering box following your suggestions and your video is really an effective guide to correctly address all possible issues. Thanks for sharing information on such niche topic, it will save me time and money. Let's wait for you next video....
Thank you!
Always look forward to your videos, informative and narration is just right, look forward to the next one.
Thank you very much!
Jethro.... good to see you back on the channel... Interesting topic today, on a subject that very rarely come up.... these cars are not built to last forever, Its good to see that you are here to give them a few more years.... great vid
Thanks! Yes a few more years is a good goal, nothing lasts forever.
Great video! Thank you so much!
Yes very important information! One more skill aquired! Got to keep these skills handed down because once there gone there gone.
We've got to keep this skills around for the future, it may be hard to learn them in person in the modern age, but at least we can create archives online for the future.
Your videos are inspiring me to get to work, thanks from JDS in AZ usa
Go for it! Thank you
Went through this about 25 years ago so my memory is a bit dusty but it's likely that once the car is full weight on wheels you're going to find a dead zone in the center caused by wear on the part of the upper arm that interfaces with the carrier which is very difficult to restore. You can take some of it out with a shim under the spring plate but this tightens the entire mechanism. there was a guy in LA way back when who was machining new arm faces but don't know if he's still around. Also, as was my case, there may be cracks in the housing beyond the ones that were visible. It would require dye penetrant or some other NDT detection method to see them. If the housing breaks it will do it when you are turning the wheels when stopped such as trying to squeeze into or out of a parallel parking spot. Another option is to replace with a ZF box but I think they may only fit into a 115. A problem with these boxes, especially the LH drive ones which are on the exhaust side, is that the oil most likely drained out of them a year or two after they left the dealership floor and nobody ever bothered to check. As far as I know there was never anything in the service manual telling you to top off the steering box oil.
Exactly. And on the RHD cars you have to remove the carburetors just to top up the oil. So this oil seal conversion should help it enormously in the fight to keep the oil level up.
@@JethroBronner I used some stuff that was being suggested at the time. (sorry can't remember the name) It was a red colored liquid and best described as being about halfway between gear oil and grease. It has been in there for over 20 years now so seems to have worked well. The leftover tub is around here somewhere I'll see if I can dig it up.
Excellent content Jethro I always wondered how complicated steering box repairs and tuning were as a lot of Japanese cars in Australia using recirculating ball steering often had issues even from factory with excessive play - fascinating work as I’m no engineer yet your approach to maintaining yet refurbishing is an art and incredible to watch - well done 👍
Recirculating ball steering seems to have a bad reputation, but I really like the way the Alfa 105 drives, it has a great steering feel. But yes, you do need to maintain and repair them, certainly more work than rack and pinion steering.
@@JethroBronner I've got a '69 GTV. I don't know if it's got the same box. It's commonplace for GTV boxes to start coming adrift and become wobbly, robbing the car of its intuitive feel. After mine was firmly reattached, the steering was utterly transformed.
amazing work
Thanks a lot!
Jethro, you remind me of my son Noah but sadly he's a BMW aficionado. Great work as usual, filled in with your Bonnerisms.
Haha I've recently got my hands on an old BMW too
Great video. Great work. Hope to hear that reparation was good driving.
Thanks for your very interesting video. Interesting to see how the box works and how you fixed it. No collapsible steering column!
The Fulvia series 1 also intrigues me. I had one but sadly sold it. It is well looked after though.
Fulvias are lovely cars, this one belongs to my brother.
WoooHoo! Saved to savour later!
Thanks Jethro.
Thank you!
Very well done and best of a luck with the left over restoration!
Thank you!