Steering box refurbishment

[Old52]

In the process of restoring the old petrol FM, I decided to open the steering gearbox, mostly to clean and seal it. This is what I found. Also, there were no shims fitted to either the side plate or the steering wheel shaft. At the moment, the steering does not have much play in the gearbox, most is from the spindles I think, but this does not look right. Thoughts / suggestions?

https://postimg.cc/4KW8j0Pw

Regards,

Bob

[Billy26F5]

No shims suggest high wear, but there probably would be play if that were the case. If everything looks ok and there is no play just keep it as it is, I should also say there should be as little preload as possible, but never any play. If there is play with no shims the bearings probably need changing.
Sandy

[Old52]

Thanks Sandy. That was pretty much my plan, don't try to fix what isn't broken (yet). I was concerned by the significant wear on the plate with the curved slot in it, which is not meant to be there from what I can see in the parts book...

Bob

[Billy26F5]

The manual agrees with that but I don't think you'll find many boxes without it as the load on that area is quite high.
Sandy