Steering gear box leak

[arveetek]

There is power steering fluid leaking out of the top of the gear box. It's not much, just enough to cause a drip on the pavement. Is there a seal that I can easily replace? I'ver never messed with the gear boxes.

Casey

[Dieselboy]

There is a seal under the top four bolt cover that houses the slack adjustment. When you go to change the gasket, be sure to mark where your adjustment screw was set so that upon reassembly the steering will feel the same. If the adjusting nut is backed too far off, there will be a dead spot in the steering either side of center.

It's been a while since I worked on the steering box, so I'll look through my GM service manual for any other important details I may have missed.

[dieselcrawler]

I've got a bit of slop in the steering of my truck, and have been suspecting the box. How do you adjust it? You mention that you have the books, and are gonna look it up, right? Let me know what the deal is, maybe I can make the ol' DieselCrawler a little more highway friendly... all over the road as it is now. Everything else is tight... must be in the box.
Greg

[Dieselboy]

There is a slack adjustment inside the box. Look at the top of the box and locate the four bolt cover. In the center, there is a very large nut. It is holding the hex keyed bolt that adjusts the lash between the worm gear and shaft. Loosen the nut, then adjust the lash in 1/16 - 1/8 turn increments. This will make the steering tighter.

As always, there'a a catch. The worm gear and shaft do wear, and not always is a perfectly even pattern. This means that that after making an adjustment there is a good chance the steering will feel good as much as 20* either side of center, and super stiff everywhere else. The manual is very specific about the resistance that should be calibrated into the adjustment.

My experience:
Around the time my steering box turned 300,000 miles, it had more than its fair share of play. I tried out he adjustment procedure, and couldn't get it to feel right. Eventually I had my box rebuilt, and they had to replace either the worm gear or shaft (I can't remember) since it was out of spec.

I feel your pain, but wouldn't invest any more into upgrading my front to back steering if it came to getting another box. If it came to that, it would be the perfect time to make the jump to crossover. The difference is night and day, and I can't wait to do mine.

[dieselcrawler]

Yeah, cross over is the way to go... I just need to find a good 2wd box... it's in the works!

Anyone know of any diffrences between a 1/2t, 3/4t, and 1 ton steering gear boxes? If there is, say, if one is stronger, or better ratio, I'd like to know befor I just go pick up one out of a buddy's (junk) truck. I do know that I have to get a newer one, as there is diffrences in the hose fittings from the older ones to the newer ones. I think they changed around 1980?

Greg

[Dieselboy]

Actually, you can get any 2wd box from any 2wd GMC or Chevy matching your body style (73-87 PU/73-91 Blazer & Sub). It will bolt up, handle the hydroboost, and work just fine provided there are no internal mechanical problems. I'm not sure about the hoses hooking up. There must have been a switch from English to SI thread somewhere along the line. Other than that, everything should work.

That's where I plan to start, but eventually upgrade to an AGR straight ratio 20:1 box. Check out West Texas Off-Road. Matt Hodges is a good guy, and they run a good outfit. They offer the "Redneck Ram" for those of us without money trees in the back yard.

[ 01-16-2004, 10:08 AM: Message edited by: Dieselboy ]

[crew84]

The steering boxes are the same on 1/2, 3/4, and 1 ton 4X4 trucks. I looked it up in the GM factory parts guide. The early models had a different sealing seat for the hose fitting to the box. I was told that GM dealers had the adapter fittings. I went to Autozone and got one of their rebuilt boxes with a lifetime warranty. After a couple of weeks I took it off and returned it because it leaked. It also felt like hardly any assist when turning. They gave me another box and when I tired to put in the fittings they would not work. :mad: I removed it and took it back. The guy there told me I needed the adapters. They did not have the right one and had to order it. I told him I wanted my money back. After that I went to Kragen and got the box from them. Autozone and Kragen use the same rebuilder. I have not had any problems with this last box. Feels good. :D

[arveetek]

Thanks for the tips and advice guys.

My gear box was actually leaking where the steering shaft goes into the box. I bought a repair kit from the auto supply, and tore into this weekend.

All in all, it wasn't that hard of a job, just tricky to get to with the unit still on the truck, and time consuming since I didn't really know what I was doing.

I had to remove the rag joint, remove the coupler from the splined shaft on the box, remove the large lock-nut holding the bearing assy. in place, unscrew the bearing assembly, and pull out the stub shaft with the worm gear. Once I had all that out, I was able to remove the spring clip and pull the bearing assy. off of the stub shaft. There's an oil seal and a dust seal behind that spring clip that seals over the stub shaft. There's also a large O-ring that goes over the whole bearing assy. The repair kit I got came with a new O-ring, oil seal, dust seal, and new spring clip. I could see once I got the unit apart that the dust seal had a chunk missing out of it, and the oil seal was worn out. I replaced the seals and spring clip.

When I pulled the worm gear/shaft assy. out, a thrust washer fell out. I put some grease on the washer to hold it in place until I could reassamble the whole unit. I reinstalled the worm gear/shaft assy, and put all the parts back on. I also installed a new rag joint, which wasn't too easy because the old one was riveted on. I had to grind the rivets off to take it apart. The new rag joint came with new bolts to replace them with.

I did not have to touch the upper plate where the slack adjustment is or the pitman arm or anything. All of the steering stayed in position.

It's all back together and working great with no leaks! It had gotten pretty bad lately, leaving a large grease spot on the driveway where it's been parked. The steering feels much tighter now, not loose at all. When I put it back together, I was able to tighten the bearing assy. down even more than originally, which took out some slack. Plus, the new rag joint helps I'm sure.

I'm very pleased with the results.

Breakdown of costs:

1 steering box repair kit: $7.00

1 rag joint: $7.99

Couple hours of time with no more oil leaks and tighter steering: priceless!

Casey

[arveetek]

I just wanted to update this thread.

My gear box fix was not successful. After two weeks, the gear box failed and left me stranded.

Read this thread (http://forum.thedieselpage.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=2&t=002663#000003) for more information. I ended up having to replace the gear box.

Casey