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Recirculating ball
 
 
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Recirculating ball, also known as recirculating ball and nut or worm and sector, is a steering
Steering

Steering is the term applied to the collection of components, linkages, etc. which will allow for a vessel or vehicle to follow the desired course....
 mechanism commonly found in older cars
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
 and some truck
Truck

File:Red truck USA.JPGA truck is a type of motor vehicle commonly used for carrying goods and materials. Some light trucks are relatively small, similar in size to a passenger automobile....
s. Most newer cars use rack and pinion
Rack and pinion

A rack and pinion is a pair of gears which convert rotational motion into linear motion. The circular pinion engages teeth on a flat bar - the rack....
 steering instead, but some significant manufacturers (including Chrysler
Chrysler

Chrysler LLC is an American automobile manufacturer that has manufactured automobiles since 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler ....
 and General Motors
General Motors

General Motors Corporation , founded in 1908, is the world's second-largest automaker after Toyota, ranked by 2008 global unit sales. GM was the global sales leader for 77 consecutive calendar years from 1931 to 2008....
) still use this technology in some models, e.g. the Jeep Wrangler
Jeep Wrangler

The Wrangler is an SUV produced by United States automaker Chrysler under its Jeep marque. It is a successor to the famous Willys MB vehicle by way of the Willys civilian Jeep in the 1950s, later produced by Kaiser-Jeep and by American Motors ....
 and the Crossfire
Chrysler Crossfire

The Chrysler Crossfire is a rear-wheel drive, sports car marketed by Chrysler as both coup? and convertible and built for Chrysler by Karmann of Germany....
.

recirculating ball steering mechanism contains a worm gear inside a block with a threaded hole in it; this block has gear teeth cut into the outside to engage the sector shaft (also called a sector gear) which moves the pitman arm
Pitman arm

The Pitman arm is a steering component in an automobile or truck.The Pitman arm is a linkage attached to the steering gear sector shaft, that converts the angular Motion of the sector shaft into the linear motion needed to steer the wheels....
.






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Recirculating ball, also known as recirculating ball and nut or worm and sector, is a steering
Steering

Steering is the term applied to the collection of components, linkages, etc. which will allow for a vessel or vehicle to follow the desired course....
 mechanism commonly found in older cars
Automobile

An automobile or motor car is a wheeled motor vehicle for transportation passengers, which also carries its own car engine or motor. Most definitions of the term specify that automobiles are designed to run primarily on roads, to have seating for one to eight people, to typically have four wheels, and to be constructed principally f...
 and some truck
Truck

File:Red truck USA.JPGA truck is a type of motor vehicle commonly used for carrying goods and materials. Some light trucks are relatively small, similar in size to a passenger automobile....
s. Most newer cars use rack and pinion
Rack and pinion

A rack and pinion is a pair of gears which convert rotational motion into linear motion. The circular pinion engages teeth on a flat bar - the rack....
 steering instead, but some significant manufacturers (including Chrysler
Chrysler

Chrysler LLC is an American automobile manufacturer that has manufactured automobiles since 1925. From 1998 to 2007, Chrysler and its subsidiaries were part of the German based DaimlerChrysler ....
 and General Motors
General Motors

General Motors Corporation , founded in 1908, is the world's second-largest automaker after Toyota, ranked by 2008 global unit sales. GM was the global sales leader for 77 consecutive calendar years from 1931 to 2008....
) still use this technology in some models, e.g. the Jeep Wrangler
Jeep Wrangler

The Wrangler is an SUV produced by United States automaker Chrysler under its Jeep marque. It is a successor to the famous Willys MB vehicle by way of the Willys civilian Jeep in the 1950s, later produced by Kaiser-Jeep and by American Motors ....
 and the Crossfire
Chrysler Crossfire

The Chrysler Crossfire is a rear-wheel drive, sports car marketed by Chrysler as both coup? and convertible and built for Chrysler by Karmann of Germany....
.

Mechanism

The recirculating ball steering mechanism contains a worm gear inside a block with a threaded hole in it; this block has gear teeth cut into the outside to engage the sector shaft (also called a sector gear) which moves the pitman arm
Pitman arm

The Pitman arm is a steering component in an automobile or truck.The Pitman arm is a linkage attached to the steering gear sector shaft, that converts the angular Motion of the sector shaft into the linear motion needed to steer the wheels....
. The steering wheel connects to a shaft which rotates the worm gear inside of the block. Instead of twisting further into the block, the worm gear is fixed so that when it spins, it moves the block, which transmits the motion through the gear to the pitman arm, causing the wheels to twist.

Ball bearings

The worm gear is similar in design to a ball screw
Ball screw

A ball screw is a mechanical device for translating rotational motion to linear motion. A threaded shaft provides a spiral raceway for ball bearings which act as a precision screw....
, the threads are filled with ball bearings that recirculate through the gear and rack as it turns. The balls serve to reduce friction and wear in the gear and reduce slop. Slop, when the gears come out of contact with each other, would be felt when changing the direction of the steering wheel; causing the wheel to feel loose.

Power assistance

Power steering
Power steering

Power steering is a system for reducing the steering effort on vehicles by using an external power source to assist in turning the wheel.The earliest known patent related to power steering was filed on August 30, 1932, by Francis W....
 in a recirculating-ball system works similarly to in a rack-and-pinion system. Assistance is provided by supplying higher-pressure fluid to one side of the block.