Sector Shaft Mesh Load
- Deactivate driver's side air bag system. To deactivate air bag system, disconnect and shield negative battery cable. Disconnect positive battery cable. To avoid accidental air bag deployment, wait one minute before proceeding, allowing back-up power supply to deplete. Remove nuts securing air bag module. Install Rotunda Air Bag Simulator (105-00010) to harness at top of steering wheel.
- Mark pitman arm-to-sector shaft relation for installation reference. Disconnect pitman arm from sector shaft. Disconnect fluid return line at power steering reservoir and cap reservoir line. Place steering gear return line in clean container. Rotate steering wheel stop to stop several times to discharge fluid from steering gear.
- If vehicle is equipped with tilt steering wheel, place wheel in center tilt position. Turn steering wheel to within 45 degrees of left stop. Using an INCH-lb. torque wrench on steering wheel nut, measure rotational drag required to turn gear about 1/4 turn from 45-degree position. Record reading.
- Turn steering wheel to center position and measure torque required to rotate sector shaft back and forth across center position. Reading should be 8-12 INCH lbs. (.9-1.4 N.m) on vehicles with less than 5000 miles.
- On vehicles with more than 5000 miles, reading should be 5-9 INCH lbs. (.6-1.0 N.m) greater than torque reading obtained when turning away from position 45 degrees from left stop.
- If adjustment is necessary, loosen adjuster lock nut. See Fig 1
.Turn adjuster screw to adjust sector shaft mesh load. Tighten adjuster lock nut. Recheck rotational turning torque. Reconnect return line. Add fluid and reconnect pitman arm. Tighten pitman arm retaining nut to specification. See TORQUE SPECIFICATIONS
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- Reactivate driver's side air bag. To reactivate air bag system, disconnect and shield negative battery terminal. Disconnect positive battery terminal. To avoid accidental air bag deployment, wait one minute before proceeding, allowing back-up power supply to deplete. Disconnect air bag simulator. Reconnect air bag connector. Install air bag module on steering wheel. Connect battery terminal. Turn ignition to ON position. Air bag indicator light should illuminate for about six seconds, then go out. Wait one minute. If light does not illuminate again or warning tone does not sound, air bag system is functional.
Courtesy of FORD MOTOR CO.