Bad experience with steering box seal...

[slow_90firebird]

hey guys its been a while,

so two years ago my power steering seal by the steering shaft goes on started leaking. In the end i ended up putting on a whole new box...
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=12182&p=95574&hilit=steering+input+seal#p95574

well, not 6 months later, that new box started leaking in the same spot! i have been getting by until now by using stop leaks like lucas or whatever, but it has gotten so bad the last few weeks that I decided to try changing just that seal.

So im living in an apartment in oklahoma now, and i am doing this in the lot. I finally got the steering shaft off (nightmare) and then got the big locknut loose with a punch. I used 2 punches and a screwdriver between to get the adjuster plug out, and when I pulled it out it came together with the part that has the white o-rings on it and the stub shaft. So i pulled that apart and changed the seal, dust seal, snap ring, and o-ring on the adjuster plug (with a kit made for that purpose).

Putting it all back together, i had trouble getting the adjuster where it should be. It looked too far out still, but i put the big nut on anyway. Then I realized that the weight needs to be off the wheels, so that im not fighting the worm gear when I set the preload.

Got it jacked up, tried to back off the big nut, and it hits a burr and becomes stuck with the adjuster plug. So I spent all last night and tonight fighting it to get it where the slack is gone when i get them tight together. Now I get it all together, and the steering doesent want to go left of center, only right. When I get it started up and top off the fluid, it has no power assist at all to the right, and when I try to make it go left, it will really strain the engine! Not to mention its belching fluid all out from the res!

Probably gonna have to get it towed to a shop and pay them to put on yet another new steering box!

[jerseybud]

You do not need to remove the lock nut and sector to replace the outer seal guard and seal itself. usually gently drill a hole thur seal after removing (easily with a pick) the outer seal , put 2 coarse thread screws in the holes and pry/pull out to remvoe seal. Sometimes need 2 screws on opposite sides

Since you removed the sector, the box is trash. consider a redhead or AGR or a nice JY stocker. And put a shock boot or guard of some type over the steering coupler to minimize the dirt there.

[PToombs]

I took that insert (adapter, sector?) out of my truck and put one in from another truck and had no problems. I replaced the seal and it started leaking again in about 2 weeks because the shaft was rusty and pitted. I bought a donor truck for the cab and removed that piece from it. I removed mine and screwed in the replacement one and gently bottomed it out, then backed it off about 1/8th of a turn. It felt a little tight so I backed it out a little more. I've been driving the truck 4 or 5 years now and it's been fine. I was flipping thru the service manual a few months after I did it and saw that I had done it just about like the FSM says to.