Manual steering box seal failure

[Richard Zahra]

over the past 2 weeks a slight weep from the bottom oil seal of the steering box increased dramatically so much so that the box emptied itself into 2 puddles the size of a plate. Since I don't have the time to overhaul the steering box before the end of Summer, yesterday I removed the top plate and filled it with Fuchs Renolit MO 2 grease using a syringe to minimize air pockets. I have a 400 mile trip planned for early September and preferred grease to nothing at all. There doesn't seem to be much wear from what I saw so, hopefully, when the time comes it will be a straightforward overhaul.

 

[rockdemon]

there is a specific semi liquid grease which copes with shearing forces iirc?

 

[sdibbers]

You can get replacement oil seals for the boxes from JR Wadhams (possibly others too). It's a bit of a pain to replace but worth it. Definitely a box out job. You'll need a drop arm (aka pitman arm) puller

 

[Richard Zahra]

there is a specific semi liquid grease which copes with shearing forces iirc?

I admit I didn't shop around and the Fuchs agent offered me a 5 Kg tub of semi liquid grease which was too much for a one time application of around 300g. I then opted for a small tub of Moly grease.

 

[Richard Zahra]

You can get replacement oil seals for the boxes from JR Wadhams (possibly others too). It's a bit of a pain to replace but worth it. Definitely a box out job. You'll need a drop arm (aka pitman arm) puller

I'll be doing the overhaul after September when hopefully I will have more time on my hands. I'll order the kit this week and check what pullers are available locally.