I have a '93 Bronco with a leaky sector shaft seal (lower seal). Fluid will just run out under pressure (engine running). I bought a lower seal kit last night. Any tricks on getting the old seals out? I read a procedure here which says to remove the snap ring and then turn on the engine. The fluid (under pressure) will push the seals out. Does this really work? Some have said to remove the sector shaft cover (two bolts on top), and pull the shaft out. You can then drive the old seals out. Any comments or tips you can shoot my way?
John

 

Hi John,

Yes if you disconnet the pitman arm and start the engine and turn the wheel from side to side you can sometimes get the seals out. You may have to hold it to a full stop to release the seal but it will only work with fluid in it. And it makes a mess when the seals come out. It has worked for me many times in the garage.
You will need a special tool or home made pipe to re-install the seals and make sure they go back in the correct order.
And yes you can pull the shaft out as well but it is a little more time consuming.

 

I finally got the seals changed. I was going to just remove the pitman arm, then the snap ring and start the engine to blow the seals out, but I could not get the pitman arm off. I broke a pitman arm puller (sure glad AutoZone has lifetime warranty loaner tools). I just removed the gear box from the truck, then tried again with a new puller. I did have to grind the puller arms down a little to get them to wedge between the pitman and the housing. I cranked down on the forcing screw with an 18" Crescent wrench. It would not budge. I sprayed WD-40 all around the splines. I tapped all around the pitman arm to no avail either. I got out a propane torch and heated the arm on the sector shaft end. I then hammered all over the pitman. Finally, it came loose a little, but I still had to force it off with the puller. I pulled the top cover (with the two bolts) and removed the sector shaft (made sure it was centered). There was a needle bearing in there which looked good and the shaft was clean too. I used 240-grit, then 400-grit paper soaked in ATF, then a Scotch-Brite pad to clean up the shaft where the seals were. I used a small crow-bar to remove the seals, then I sprayed carb cleaner in the needle bearing to flood out any dirt. I drove in the seals, coated them in grease and reinstalled the sector shaft. It was too dark last night to reinstall the gear, so that comes tonight.

I did not have the close to $200 to spend on a rebuilt unit, so I spent the $15 on a sector shaft seal kit. I was glad to see roller bearings (and in good shape too!) and not bushings on the sector shaft. There was no perceptible sideways play in the sector shaft. A dial indicator would be needed. The old seals were in such sad shape, I don't know how they ever sealed at all.

I'll let y'all know how it all comes out.

 

I installed the gearbox last night. Finally, no leaks at all. A couple of suggestions: When you bleed the system, leave the pitman arm off. Ford suggests to cycle the steering wheel from lock to lock 20-25 times with the pitman arm removed (or disconnected from the drag link), engine running of course. Also, use a new teflon o-ring (or seal) on the pressure hose connection at the pump. I had a few laying around from an earlier pump install on another truck. Picked these up from a Ford dealer for about $.50 ea. Don't know if any other parts store would have these. I have reused the rubber o-ring type seals on the older style pressure hoses, but these newer teflon seals get trashed on installation. BTW, the teflon and rubber type o-rings are not interchangeable. They use two different style fittings.
John

 

Not that this is relevant to what you are doing; but did you all know that all Ford truck power steering boxes 1980-96, Ranger to 1-ton, 2wd to 4wd are the same? Even the pitman arms have the same part number! I usually use a used Ranger box to replace a fullsize, they always seem to be tight and leak-free.
Hope this helps someone,
46cabover

 

Hi John,

Your story regarding the pitman shaft seal was oddly similar to mine... We almost broke the puller too! Anyhow, I waited a week for a seal and it was the wrong one. Waited another week and found out that although Ford showed three of the seals in stock on their computer, they really didn't have any... Now they're telling us that we have to replace the whole gear box since they stopped manufacturing this particular model in 94 (I thought it was odd that none of the drawings in the manuals showed the seal).

My question is... Where did you find the seal kit?

Thanks,

Nick

 

Autozone. I think it was $13. The kit was just an oil seal and a "dust" seal with two spacer rings. This kit must have been for several different models, because there was no way those spacer rings would have fit. There were no spacer rings that came out either. If you just can't find it anywhere, remove the seals and take them to a bearing and seal supply and see if they can help you out. I usually do this for motorcycle seals since factory parts are so expensive, but $13 for the kit was cheap! If you haven't been able to remove the pitman arm, install the puller and give it lots of tension, then tap (or mildly whack!!) all around the arm where the splines are with a hammer. Use some penetrating oil too. It took over an hour for me to remove the arm. I'd suggest renting two pullers since most are breaking the pullers. i broke one myself. Sure glad the loaner tools from Autozone have a lifetime warranty. Lastly I had to grind down the thickness of the ouller jaws a little so they would wedge between the pitman arm and the housing. Wouldn't fit other wise. Let us know how it goes.