Steering Box oil seal replacement.

esray

esray

Member
Dear All,

My steering box has obviously (judging by the fact that it was empty when checked and the area below and around it coated in oil) been leaking from (I believe) the Rocker Shaft oil seal.

How do I replace this seal without breaking open ball-joints etc :?:

Do I "go in" from over the top :?:

I read in a post on this site of an owner who successfully used Semi-Fluid Grease in place of Hypoid oil, thereby negating the need to dismantle half his car to replace this 50 cent O-ring......Can anybody comment o this possibility, please :?:

ATB Ray
 
Well, be carefull, Ray - if you mean Happy Days, we don't know that it had a leak beforehand, and we don't know yet whether he has a leak after filling the box up!

My own thought would be that P6 manual steering is heavy enough at parking speed not to want to add any more stiffness by thickening the lubricant, but that's just me...

I know that the O ring for the steering column input shaft can only be fitted from inside the box, and the diagrams in the parts book make it fairly clear that the crank arm at minimum is going to have to come off to replace the bottom O ring. so i reckon you might as well have the box out and do both. After all, both O rings are the same age and if you do the bottom one so that the box then holds oil, what are the chances of the top one being OK and not getting your feet wet? It's not too bad a job if you have a lift, but really pretty awkward if not.

Sorry

Chris
 
Chris,

Thank you for taking the time out to reply.

Your observations have certainly paused me for thought; my problem is that not only do I not have a lift, at this time of the year I also have to work on my Rover on waste ground (well, dust and cat sh*t et al) round the corner from my village house, in 40 degrees of summer heat :!:

Given this, I was obviously hoping to forstall the job 'til cooler times.

I think I might wait a couple of weeks to see just how tortured Willy's deascription of events is as he sorts his steering box out :!: :!:

Thanks again both of you.

ATB Ray
 
chrisyork said:
It's not too bad a job if you have a lift, but really pretty awkward if not. Chris
Click to expand...

Hi, Why do you need a lift? Apart from temporarily jacking up the drivers side to disconnect
the side rod from the steering arm, everything else can be done from under the bonnet.

Colin
 
The steering box has to come out. The basic drill is pretty much as described in the workshop manual, so study the book first. Here''s the general picture with some hard-won hints etc.:
1. Remove front wheel for access to ball joint.
2. Break ball joint off pitman arm. [Do not touch the pitman arm as yet - that will come later.]
3. Remove windscreen wiper motor [do not forget to label the wires!]
4. Remove steering wheel - optional but if your name is not Snake Hips you will probably need to do this get access: besides refitting the steering wheel after the job will get the wheel in a nice 8 and 4 o'clock position.
5. Remove knee bin under the steering wheel.
6. Loosen the pinch bolt securing the steering universal joint coupling. [Use a large screwdriver to loosen the grip - it will be tight. Pro tem refit the steering wheel and get someone to hold it steady if necessary.]
7. Unbolt the rest of the steering box from the body.
8. Extract box with its attached pitman arm from the car.
9. Place assembly in a bench vice and use a pitman arm puller to remove this item - NB!!! Mark the exact position on the box that the p-arm fits before removal!!!
10. Unbolt the steering box top cover and extract the contents - Follow the workshop manual instructions regarding dissassembly. Clean the inside to surgical standards.
11. Knock out the old seal. New seals are a standard size, so take the old one along to a seal and bearings shop together with the diameter of the drop shaft.
12. Fit new seal.
13. Wrap tape around the splined drop shaft when refitting to avoid damaging the new seal.
13. Reassemble the box as per the workshop manual. Hint: reseal the top cover with something like 3 Bond or red gasket goo.
14. Refit the pitman arm to its precise location [ref. 9 above]
14. Now the embuggeration bit - refitting the box and getting the splined shaft to connect up to the steering universal joint. Expect to spend a good long while doing this. Maybe loosely refitting the steering wheel and have someone hold the wheel steady whilst you try to get the splines lined up and inserted into a tight tight tight coupling if this helps. The problem is everything wants to move, visibility is poor [you are down in the footwell] and the connection is tight as.
15. Once 14 is done and buttoned up the rest is simply a matter of reverse order spannering and swearing.
16. Refill with suitable oil and adjust the box as per the workshop manual.
Done!
 
Hi I have not done anything with mine at the moment. It does have grease in it so was thinking of adding oil in to loosen the grease up, but as yet done nothing. Don't fancy having to remove the box.
 
happy days said:
Hi I have not done anything with mine at the moment. It does have grease in it so was thinking of adding oil in to loosen the grease up, but as yet done nothing. Don't fancy having to remove the box.
Click to expand...

Strong suggestion: If I were you I'd unbolt the top of the steering box, get that grease out and replace it with oil asap. Grease is not supposed to be in there as it does not lubricate the gubbins properly.
 
Keith,

Thank you for listing the order in which the Steering box can best be removed.

What replacement parts (obviously in addition to the two oil seals) do I need to order, please :?:

ATB Ray
 
What about some of that additive that rejuvenates oil seals ? I assume it's just a worn seal and not a worn bearing allowing the shaft to move around
 
Keith Coman said:
The steering box has to come out. The basic drill is pretty much as described in the workshop manual, so study the book first. Here''s the general picture with some hard-won hints etc.:
1. Remove front wheel for access to ball joint.
2. Break ball joint off pitman arm. [Do not touch the pitman arm as yet - that will come later.]
3. Remove windscreen wiper motor [do not forget to label the wires!]
4. Remove steering wheel - optional but if your name is not Snake Hips you will probably need to do this get access: besides refitting the steering wheel after the job will get the wheel in a nice 8 and 4 o'clock position.
5. Remove knee bin under the steering wheel.
6. Loosen the pinch bolt securing the steering universal joint coupling. [Use a large screwdriver to loosen the grip - it will be tight. Pro tem refit the steering wheel and get someone to hold it steady if necessary.]
7. Unbolt the rest of the steering box from the body.
8. Extract box with its attached pitman arm from the car.
9. Place assembly in a bench vice and use a pitman arm puller to remove this item - NB!!! Mark the exact position on the box that the p-arm fits before removal!!!
10. Unbolt the steering box top cover and extract the contents - Follow the workshop manual instructions regarding dissassembly. Clean the inside to surgical standards.
11. Knock out the old seal. New seals are a standard size, so take the old one along to a seal and bearings shop together with the diameter of the drop shaft.
12. Fit new seal.
13. Wrap tape around the splined drop shaft when refitting to avoid damaging the new seal.
13. Reassemble the box as per the workshop manual. Hint: reseal the top cover with something like 3 Bond or red gasket goo.
14. Refit the pitman arm to its precise location [ref. 9 above]
14. Now the embuggeration bit - refitting the box and getting the splined shaft to connect up to the steering universal joint. Expect to spend a good long while doing this. Maybe loosely refitting the steering wheel and have someone hold the wheel steady whilst you try to get the splines lined up and inserted into a tight tight tight coupling if this helps. The problem is everything wants to move, visibility is poor [you are down in the footwell] and the connection is tight as.
15. Once 14 is done and buttoned up the rest is simply a matter of reverse order spannering and swearing.
16. Refill with suitable oil and adjust the box as per the workshop manual.
Done!
Click to expand...

Keith

Thanks for this; I assume that a pitman arm and a drop arm are one and the same thing :?:
 
harveyp6 said:
Don't follow the procedure in the WM for adjusting the steering box.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Harvey, I've already seen your earlier post in which you recommend adjusting first of all with the wheels on the ground :!:

ATB Ray
 
If it's only the 2 seals being replaced, the box doesn't need dismantling at all. Or is it a good idea to make a proper job of it, cleaning and adjusting it while it's out of the car?
(Please say 'no'!)
 
"No".

Now, what was the question again? :LOL:

If the box was OK before, then if it ain't broke, then don't fix it......
 
harveyp6 said:
"No".

Now, what was the question again? :LOL:

If the box was OK before, then if it ain't broke, then don't fix it......
Click to expand...

Harvey, are you sayng that Willy and I can replace both seals without dismantling the box, please :?:

ATB Ray
 
raylish said:
harveyp6 said:
"No".

Now, what was the question again? :LOL:

If the box was OK before, then if it ain't broke, then don't fix it......
Click to expand...

Harvey, are you sayng that Willy and I can replace both seals without dismantling the box, please :?:

ATB Ray
Click to expand...

Willy has already prised out the seals so he can match them up for new ones, so they come out without dismantling the box, in which case they will go back in without dismantling it as well. I've even done the input shaft seal without removing the box from the car.
 
Dear Forum,

I attempted to remove the steering box from my donor car today; this should have been a relatively easy job, with no engine in the bay or in the way :!:

However, I found that my ball-joint separator worked fine on the outer joint, but the 'flats' on the inner joint are in the same line as the drop arm and there is no room between the joint and the bulkhead to come in from the other direction; should I just use a forked crowbar :?: Will I automatically need to replace the rubber boots or is it a case of if inspection says necessary :?:

The next problem I had was after moving the brake reservoir out of the way, I could only get a socket onto the inner of the two bolts securing the box at the front; the outer left no room between it and the box for a socket and was so tight, it opened up the jaws of my open spanner - I will have to buy a ring spanner to fit.

My final problem was removing the windscreen wiper motor and assembly; I ended up having to remove the air intake valance in order to wrench and prise the link-arm assembly out from between the base unit and the heater matrix - Is this the correct procedure, please - If possible, I would like to be a little more gentle when dealing with Roy the Rover :?:

I am glad I took the time to practice on my donor car and I would very much appreciate your advice before giving Roy a similar beating-up :!:

ATB Ray
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top