Rob

I don't mean to scare you at all; I'm not interested in killing you either. Messing with something as important as this is leaves little room for experimentation. Get onto Sheppard's website as what you are wanting to do if the gear is not worn out, (hard parts) is quite simple but you really do need to know and follow the procedure(s). Us that are old enough to remember working on these types of repairs know what happens when the inexperienced get hold of these things. As 41 chevy has mentioned and I assume you have verified the "play" is in the steering gear? The integrity of the drag link, tie rod ends, king pins, thrust bearings, wheel bearings, need evaluated also. A good old fashioned grease job and short drive to seat parts before checking is always nice.

Are you wanting to manually unlatch the end gate or do it with hydraulic pressure?

They are tight to work with and on. It's easier to remove the gear if the engine is out of the truck for sure but it can be done with the engine in the the chassis also.The B series always was one you climbed all over it to work on it's innards. That is an R.H. Sheppard gear for certain. Sometimes the identification numbers were stamped into the ptiman shaft as I stated earlier. Take a stiff wire brush and clean that area off to see if there are numbers stamped. Adjustment procedures are online and Sheppard has a website. Look up RH Sheppard steering gear to help you along. It will be geared toward their newer stuff but much is the same as old. I'm old enough to remember when you had one of those come into the shop, you ordered gaskets and seals, removed it from the truck, disassembled the unit replacing worn parts and reinstalled/adjusted the things. It's heavy but not hard. In you first photo you see that locknut with a screw in the center of it? Don't touch that or the one in the other end of the gear as those are the pressure relief adjustments. Very easy to hurt yourself, or someone else if these are not set correctly as internal system pressure is controlled with these. Just removing the play in your over center action of the steering wheel is the tip of the iceberg as there are many more factors at play; slightly too tight and the steering wheel locks in a turn and sometimes manhandling it won't bring it out. You really need to obtain an adjustment procedure and do the adjustments correctly as life can depend on it.

You should be able to move the forks and internal shift mechanisms with a gentle pull or pry with a screwdriver if there is no binding.

Any play in the worm and gear is incorrect. The "play" you mention is internal to the sensing valve and is about .090 each direction of the centered position. This routes the hydraulic fluid to the proper porting but is not something you can adjust. it is a design feature. The adjustments you have access to are depth of mesh in the pitman and worm gears, and hydraulic pressure relief valves which cut back system hydraulic pressure when the wheels are cut fully one way or the other. In Sheppard's old numbering system you very well could have a model "49" gear which I believe is still supported. Snap a photo and I can probably identify it. Clean off the sector, (Pitman) shaft also and look for numbers stamped into the flat area of the splined shaft.

I usually send my water pumps to waterpumprebuilders.com outside of Houston, TX. Usually right at a hundred and a guarantee. They even have parts for some oddball stuff too. Sent the pump in for one of my B-61's and the housing was too corroded for them to work with but they had another. I didn't think $15.00 was too bad for the bare casting purchase. Think I've used them nine times now.

I still have my old "Western Flyer" in the basement, but I'll bet it's tires are flat on the bottom side too. Pretty certain I'm too damned lazy anymore to pedal that thing anyways.....

Weather has been wild for certain. 77 on Thursday, 62 yesterday, and 42 right now this morning. Supposed to be about 52 today.

I'm still riding the black Royal Star I loaded at your place. Been a really good bike and have done nothing to it. Thinking about replacing it with an Indian Roadmaster this, or next year.

What you will see with wear, (and the angle of the photo appears to display) is the right side land for the joint, (looking from rear towards front) is a gap. All the torque is absorbed through the right side of the universal joint mounting flange. As those flanges wear or stretch, or twist, this happens and you usually here the damage as a "knock" in the driveline between upshifts sometimes but moreso as a knock when transitioning from forward to reverse, vice versa. Slips and spline wears sound similar but higher pitched usually.

I have a tri-plex trans out of a truck setting on my woodpile inside the shop I can photograph if you like. Been setting there for years and is my spare. It would show you the area unencumbered by a truck.....

They always want a bunch of money for those around here. There are several of the black and silver ones around Peoria for sale seemingly all the time.

I didn't even think about it today. It was actually a very good day for me getting a lot accomplished, and a relaxing motorcycle ride in to boot.

90W gear lube in all. I use GL-4 as that was what was available when those trucks were on the road. GL-5 has extreme pressure additives that is not, (or used to be not) so easy on brass parts inside of transmissions. I stay with GL-4 for this reason.

That area doesn't retain any liquid. You could dam it up with modeling clay but really scrubbing rust with fine grit sandpaper is what is needed. The plating is worn away the shafts originally had which kept them from corroding. If they are kept lubricated they will do fine. Setting for long spells without movement usually renders this result.

All I've worked with are. 2" 10 spline.

I'd go with a nine speed myself but that's just me. The 10 speeds are seemingly too fast for slow maneuvering to me. Given the truck never pulls anything heavier than the camper you don't need a close ratio transmission to stay in the engine torque band and I assume you're looking for a taller overdrive ratio for road speed. What model trans is in the truck now? Is it possible this new trans can use the same bell and be a slip fit without removing the clutch? I installed an RTO-12609, (IIRC) into a B-57 years ago using the Fuller side mount bellhousing, fabricating/modifying the frame mounts from 1" plate steel. It worked well using an R model clutch setup for the pull style clutch.

Might be a little easier on you if you get some silicon carbide sandpaper, rip it into about a 3/4" wide strip, get it around the shaft(s) so you can grab each end of the sandpaper with each hand, spray a little lubricant onto the rails and work the sandpaper back and forth working the rust off the shaft(s). Wouldn't be really good to drag that rust through the bushings if they are still serviceable.

I've never seen anything with a 1.5", or 1.75" shaft from the mid 1960's and Mack Diesel myself. Earlier trucks with a TR-67 series trans, sure. Changed quite a few clutches and such over the years too. The Midliners used a metric shaft but I cannot remember the size but it was about 1.750" in diameter.

You will need to know the model of your Sheppard steering gear. It should be an M-XXX series and there are different procedures for different gears. To adjust for play you need to have the truck on stands and an inch pound torque wrench to measure over center torque. After this is set, then you need to adjust the relief plungers and they must be done in a particular order. There is a round collar around where the pitman shaft, (sector shaft) comes out of the gear and the pitman arm attaches to. This will be stamped with numbers to identify your gear.

Doesn't look seated on the right land to me. Yoke stretch or spread can cause that. Don't like working with those too much either. I always take a 5" grinder with a twisted wire brush, (very stiff) and clean the ears and seating area of the caps well so the new joint aligns easier before drawing it down.

If it were me I would get a dual unit for a water separator and fuel filter mounted behind the fuel tank on the driver's side of the truck. These old trucks tend to set a bit and condensation/moisture draw is more of a problem than something that runs the roads daily. There were no water separators on B series I'm aware of factory installed but these trucks weren't built to be collected/stored and set more than they were to run so the sump in the bottom of the tanks would suffice for water separation. Just had to drain them occasionally.

dont' get an OTC puller although they are less money. Seen four, (yes four) with broken puller jaws myself. Never seen a broken Tiger Tool although my #102 is getting to need a new pulling jaw. Some of those drivelines are TIGHT to get apart.

Unless you are worried about authenticity I would go with a new spin on type affair which are readily available. Nothing wrong with the type you have either.

They are now selling direct again. I purchased a lot in December of 2007 and they quite selling direct on 1,1,2008. The resalers jacked the pricing up through the roof and their sales plummeted. What is old is new again. Ask for a discount if you are a professional trucker or repair facility.