When out on the road, at speed, I have to rest my feet on the steering arms to stop front wheel wobble . The wheels wobble without the steering wheel moving, likewise there is significant play when turning the wheel before the arms move. The steering wheel fits the boss splines reasonably well. I replaced the ball bearings (imperial size) in the worm boss as a couple were missing but nothing is better.
Is the repair kit any good (see pic below) . I can't really afford to spend £50 of my pension to find out it's not the solution. I'm sure it will not fix 100% of the problem but what would be a reasonable improvement % to expect .
Any help and advice is appreciated.
Cheers
Alan
Well you could start by inpecting the races of that bearing.
If it looks bad,you could try to find slightly bigger balls.
This would be a temporary fix i guess.
If the races look good,you could move the steering arms by hand and see how much the bearings move up and down.
That would give an idea how much play there is in the bottom end of the steering box.
Check Stefan's site for photos.
The repair kit itself is pretty good,although i found one that the steering wheel wouldn't fit on,because of the splines.
I found that replacing the complete top bearing assembly as you pictured here cured some 80% of the play in my steering.
But my steering box was still holding oil.
If yours is dry i would suspect more wear down below.
Good luck.
Rob.
O and there's also the option of removing a or some shims from the top.But i guess you've been there...
I think that it is time to bring this thread back on track.
Your first priority is to establish whether the play is in the steering box or in the top nut. Stephan's web site has photographs of the wear that can occur in the steering box itself and also the method of repair.
If when you turn the steering wheel it tends to lift away from or pull itself into the column, then there is play in the top nut! Which depending on the condition of the nut and the bearing you may be able to cure by removing shims.
The top nut and bearing assembly should have 15 nos. 5/16" dia steel balls which run in a groove in the main nut and two bearing cups which fit around the nut. Over a period of time the steel balls wear and become elliptical and the grooves or tracks in the nut and bearing cups also wear to the extent that it is impossible to correctly adjust the bearing. Replacing the steel balls will not cure this as the wear in the bearing races will be uneven preventing the ball from seating properly. In which case the only cure is to fit a new nut assembly.
Your question as to whether the repair kits are any good, my answer is yes, it will remove play at the top of the column. However if you do purchase a new nut, examine it carefully as there have been a few problems experienced with them due to poor maching. Examine the splines to ensure that the steering wheel can be fitted, try screwing it onto the steering shaft to ensure that the threads are compatible!
I have looked at Stefan's site and together with what's been said I now have a better understanding of how things fit together - for example there were no shims, so this adjustment had obviously been done before. I will work on a few things today before spending the money and if I do invest I will get the steering wheel as well and ask the supplier to at least check this fits correctly.
. The wheels wobble without the steering wheel moving, likewise there is significant play when turning the wheel before the arms move. The steering wheel fits the boss splines reasonably well. I replaced the ball bearings (imperial size) in the worm boss as a couple were missing but nothing is better. 
. I can't really afford to spend £50 of my pension to find out it's not the solution. I'm sure it will not fix 100% of the problem but what would be a reasonable improvement % to expect 
