I had to add fluid last week, the pump was near empty, then yesterday I noticed a few small drips in the garage. I’m Leary of going to the track this Saturday as I don’t want to spray oil on the track. IF I can get a seal by Tuesday, is this something pretty straightforward to do?
Usually they are pretty easy to do, especially if the seals can be blown out using the pump pressure. Remove the pitman arm and snap ring, clean the shaft, start the engine and turn the steering wheel lock to lock and the seals usually blow out. If they don't, you'll have to dig them out and sometimes drill a small hole in the seal or washer so you can use a pick. If the shaft is corroded where the seals ride, it may still leak. The kits, at least the GM's back in the day, would have different seals to service multiple vehicles which sometimes allowed you to use a different thickness one to hopefully avoid the corroded area on the shaft. When you are done, the snap ring needs to be touching the washer to hold the seal in place. If you end up using a thinner seal, you may need to use the old washer in addition to the new washer to make up the difference.
No, leave the box in the car. Just pull the pitman arm off of the box and remove the snap ring. After the snap ring is removed and the shaft is cleaned, fill the PS, start the car and turn the steering wheel lock to lock. 90% of the time the seals blow out. You can reinstall the nut on the pitman shaft a turn or two to keep the seals from dropping into the pan.
I replaced the seal on my 89 TTA and had trouble getting the correct seal. Ended up stacking 2 seals to get the correct width. Hey, it'll never leak!
Well, that didn’t work, it laughed at me! You forgot to mention it works 90% of the time except for me I had to take the box out. Laying on my back looking up into the sun wasn’t working, I tried blowing it out, start the car, turn the wheel full lock, nothing, not even a drop of oil. While it’s out, (here we go) may as well do the steering shaft seal.
As long as it’s out I may as well replace the O-ring on or behind that metal cup on the end, I don’t know what that’s called tho.
I don't want to tell you what to do, but if it is not leaking, leave it alone. When you start taking the box apart, it will need to be readjusted. It's not as easy as it looks. You have to get a feel for it. When it's not adjusted correctly, steering can be scary! There is a lot more than just adjusting pitman shaft preload. If it's leaking, go for it but follow the manual.
The big O ring was discontinued 15 years ago I was told by a parts store that has guys our age working there, so I’m leaving that alone. Got the pitman shaft seals out ( was a bitch) new ones in. Got the collar that has the input shaft seals removed, I’m done for tonight, this thing scares me I made punch marks on the big lock nut and collar and shaft so I have some reference.
Every seal and o-ring was included in the two kits I’ve bought recently. Even the big O-ring. The kit I bought from O’Reilly Auto Parts also included a new lower bearing for the pitman shaft but I didn’t install it since mine still felt fine to me. The entire thing is straightforward to disassemble and reassemble except this part circled in the photo was very tough to get back in with the new seal on it. There must be a trick or a tool to make it easier but I did finally get it in after damaging the seal on the first attempt. I watched a few YouTube videos and when I took mine apart (‘67 model) the internals were slightly different than the boxes in the videos but the basic principles were the same. Good luck with yours.
That part your showing looks like mine except mine has 3 Teflon seals on it, and the collar that has the input shaft seals on it has an O-ring that is included in the kit I got from O-Reillys, the input shaft seals were like 8.99 and the Pitman shaft kit was 13.99
Thank you, I feel more confident now I know someone else has done this. Hydraulics has always been a mystery to me for some reason, maybe it’s all the weird grooves and passages, maybe why I don’t mess with auto transmissions.
Wrong input shaft seal….. too small o.d I’m dead in the water till I get home tomorrow, IF they get the correct seal. No track for me Saturday
Well I got the correct seal kit (Edelman) from Federated parts for the input shaft seal/s I must have looked and critiqued how the parts went back in a dozen times, I try to understand what goes where and why, it’s just me lol. I consulted my ‘71 service manual, which is good I did, it said to make sure the return hole is FULLY exposed, which initially it wasn’t, I tapped that big round valve looking thingy and it seated further down exposing the return hole the manual showed in the gear housing. I also noticed a flat on the splined steering coupler (rag joint) that keys with the splined input shaft, so you really can’t put it on clocked wrong ( which I was concerned about, that’s why I prick punched it) Also the pitman arm has 4 flats 45* apart that correspond to the 4 key ways in the pitman shaft, something I never would have noticed had I just lined up my punch marks. Interesting stuff for sure, well to me anyway, LOL. Filled the pump, started it up, checked fluid level again, added more, and everything seems good, haven’t driven it yet, maybe later.
Is there a easy way to center the steering box? I need to R/R mine and want to make sure it goes back in "centered"?
On mine I just made sure my steering wheel was straight ahead when I removed the pitman arm. I also used a punch to mark the arm and shaft and the box. Also I punched the coupler (rag joint) and box. The punch marks will give you reference when reassembling ( and peace of mind) If you look closely at your pitman arm, and your steering coupler, there are flats on them, there not real obvious, but look and critique your parts, and you’ll realize, they only fit one way, if your hammering those two parts on, you got something messed up. After you reattach the coupler, the box (mine anyway) is approximately 3.5 turns lock to lock, so count how many turns and divide by two, and the punch marks you made on the pitman shaft and housing should line up. When you get ready to set the box back onto the frame, make sure your steering shaft is oriented correctly to mate with the coupler on the box, this way is easier than trying to pry the steering shaft towards the firewall and finagle the coupler into position, it’s like installing the GM starter with one arm, it’s kinda bulky. ALSO, remove your front sway bar BEFORE. You start working on the box, the sway bar is smack dab in the middle of EVERYTHING!
ALSO on mine, I separated the inner tie rod and pitman arm from the center link to be able to remove the pitman arm from the box, even at that, it was a squeeze getting the linkage to move enough to reattach the arm, but it gave me more wiggle room with those parts disconnected.
