Steering System - Manual: Overhaul: Disassembly

Place steering gear in vise, clamping onto one mounting tab. Worm shaft should be in a horizontal position. Rotate worm shaft from stop to stop while counting total number of turns. Turn worm shaft back to exact center position.
Loosen pitman shaft adjuster screw lock nut. Remove pitman shaft side cover bolts. Remove pitman shaft and side cover assembly from housing.
Loosen worm bearing adjuster lock nut. Remove worm bearing adjuster with lower bearing cup, bearing and bearing retainer. See Figure . Remove ball nut and worm shaft assembly.
CAUTION: DO NOT allow ball nut to rotate down to either end of worm shaft, as ball guide ends may be damaged.
Remove remaining upper bearing and bearing cup from housing. Using screwdriver, pry lower bearing retainer from worm bearing adjuster assembly and remove lower bearing. Remove pitman shaft adjuster screw lock nut.
Hold pitman shaft side cover from sector assembly by turning adjuster screw clockwise. Remove pitman shaft adjuster screw and shim from pitman shaft. Pry out and discard both pitman shaft and worm shaft seals. Remove pitman shaft needle bearing and worm shaft upper bearing only if replacement is necessary.