power steering box leak

[73dreambronco]

What does rebuilding the power steering box entail, ive never done one? It has a slight leak on the bottom by the pitman arm.

thanks, matt

 

[Bully Bob]

Sbolt19 just went thru this....see if you can catch him with a "PM"

I would guess the PS box is a bit technical .... :huh:

 

[Broncoholics]

If the box doesn't need a rebuild 9 times out of 10 you can drain the fluid and add the power steering fluid with stop leak. This curred mine several years ago and its still dry with no problems.

 

[S_bolt19]

AHHHH Yesss, the PS box rebuild. Actually it isn't as intimidating as you think it is. It actually took longer to get the dust boot and seal out than it did to pull the box, put it back together and reinstall the box. I did this 2 or 3 weeks ago and haven't had any problems. Here is what you need to do:

Get the pitman arm seal rebuild kit from Checker/Schucks/Kragen/Advanced Autoparts/Parts America - Anywhere from $14-19 depending on what store is closest to you.

Tools you will need:

A heavy hammer, snap ring pliers, a 12-15 inch drift or brass rod, misc. sockets to get the top of the box apart.

Pull the box from the vehicle. DONT TRY TO DO THIS IN PLACE!!!

Once the box is on a work bench or something:

Make sure the steering box is at the center steering position. There are 4 bolts holding the pitman arm in place on top of the box. (Figure with circle) remove all four of those bolts. Dont remove or move the steering adjustment bolt. Take the snap ring off of the pitman arm gear at the bottom of the box (picture w/arrow). Now pull the pitman arm gear out. There is a rubber seal under the aluminum pitman arm cover, dont lose it, it should be in good enough shape to reuse it.

Now, the hard part. There will be (looking down from the top of the box) 2 sets of roller bearings, the actual pitman arm seal and a dust boot. Take the drift and try and drive the dust boot out of the collar/shaft that the pitman arm gear was in. The best way to do this is to knock it sideways. Be careful not to scar up the side walls or you will have to hone it out. Next do the same thing with the seal. Once you do this, put it all back together the way it came apart.

Everything is actually pretty simple, it is just a pain in the rear to get the seal & dust boot out. I talked to Chuck at BC Broncos & he had never done anything like this so he gave me encouraging words and a pat on the back...lol. In all reality, if you have a garage and the proper tools, it shouldn't take more than 3 hours. 1 hr to remove & reinstall the PS box & 1 hr to b*tch and complain about how hard those seals are in there and 1 hr to drive them out. If you got questions about it, just PM me.

 

[73dreambronco]

View attachment 1507View attachment 1508AHHHH Yesss, the PS box rebuild. Actually it isn't as intimidating as you think it is. It actually took longer to get the dust boot and seal out than it did to pull the box, put it back together and reinstall the box. I did this 2 or 3 weeks ago and haven't had any problems. Here is what you need to do:
Get the pitman arm seal rebuild kit from Checker/Schucks/Kragen/Advanced Autoparts/Parts America -  Anywhere from $14-19 depending on what store is closest to you.

Tools you will need:

A heavy hammer, snap ring pliers, a 12-15 inch drift or brass rod, misc. sockets to get the top of the box apart.

Pull the box from the vehicle. DONT TRY TO DO THIS IN PLACE!!! 

Once the box is on a work bench or something:

Make sure the steering box is at the center steering position. There are 4 bolts holding the pitman arm in place on top of the box. (Figure with circle) remove all four of those bolts. Dont remove or move the steering adjustment bolt. Take the snap ring off of the pitman arm gear at the bottom of the box (picture w/arrow). Now pull the pitman arm gear out. There is a rubber seal under the aluminum pitman arm cover, dont lose it, it should be in good enough shape to reuse it.

Now, the hard part. There will be (looking down from the top of the box) 2 sets of roller bearings, the actual pitman arm seal and a dust boot. Take the drift and try and drive the dust boot out of the collar/shaft that the pitman arm gear was in. The best way to do this is to knock it sideways. Be careful not to scar up the side walls or you will have to hone it out. Next do the same thing with the seal. Once you do this, put it all back together the way it came apart.

Everything is actually pretty simple, it is just a pain in the rear to get the seal & dust boot out. I talked to Chuck at BC Broncos & he had never done anything like this so he gave me encouraging words and a pat on the back...lol. In all reality, if you have a garage and the proper tools, it shouldn't take more than 3 hours. 1 hr to remove & reinstall the PS box & 1 hr to b*tch and complain about how hard those seals are in there and 1 hr to drive them out. If you got questions about it, just PM me.

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Thanks for all the info guys, I was checking out a total rebuild kit at jeffs b g do you think thats overkill?

matt

 

[S_bolt19]

yeah, I do think it would be overkill. If it is only leaking at the pitman arm, just do that rebuild. I thought mine was leaking from both but when I looked the rear was sealed good & the pitman arm seal was the only one leaking. I wouldn't know how to do the rear, but I would assume that it is similar to the pitman arm seal.