I just put in a new power steering pump & hose's, now the gear box seal is leaking down by the pitman arm. Is it better to just rebuild the whole box are just put in both seals top & bottom. And has any one had one a part to put in the whole rebuild kit. Just wondering if the bearing's have to be pressed in & out.
Thanks Bill

 

Unfortunately this is a design defect for these steering boxes, there is no bearing or bushing for the sector shaft. The sector shaft rides directly on the cast iron housing. They wear egg shaped and the seals starts to leak.
You deffinitely DON'T want to teardown the entire box. It can be done but the chance of "getting it right" are fairly low. If done wrong, they can lock up in mid-turn.
If just the seal is leaking but the housing is okay, the seal can be replaced without disassembly. The same for the steering input shaft.
If the box is worn out don't get a rebuilt from the parts store. These units are resealed, not really rebuilt. Hard parts have been unavailable for years, the so-called "spray and pray" rebuilds.
Red Head Steering Gear in Seattle DOES rebuild them, they manufacture their own hard parts and also correct the bad housing design. They bore out the housing and press in needle bearings to support the sector shaft.
And on top of it, they're competitive with price. Mine was about $225.00 plus UPS charges. You can send yours for them to rebuild or you can buy one and use your old one as a core. In my opinion, money well spent.
www.redheadsteeringgears.com
If you do want to replace the seals, let me know and I'll explain how to do it without tearing the box down.

 

How can you tell if it is worn so much that new seals will not work. Right now if you put fluid in it drips out pretty bad, & with the engine running it runs in a little stream. From the way it looks it has been leaking for a very long time, the whole bottom of the truck is covered with it now. I just picked it up so I don't really know how long it has really been leaking. If it is not to hard to put in new seals I may try that for now to see if it will hold.
Thanks Bill

 

I replaced mine with a Red Head box last year. It made a Hugh difference. They do awesome work and they are quick!

 

It could be the seal is just old and hard. See if you can get a big screw driver or small pry bar down around the pitman arm and see if there is any play in the shaft, you might be able to do it by hand.
If there isn't any play I'd just replace the seals, it's really not very hard.

 

Subscribed to learn the trick.....

 

sit under the truck while running.
Have someone turn the wheel all the way over form one side to another.
If you see the steering gear shaft tilt ever so slightly when the wheel is hard over.... the problem is not just a seal.

 

If you do end up replacing the seals, it's fairly easy to do. I've done it before with the gear on the bench but I think it can be done on vehicle.
Remove the pitman arm from the sector shaft, then there's a snap ring that needs to be removed. Once that's out of the way there is a washer, then a seal, then another washer and another seal.
Remove the first washer exposing the first seal. Take a sharp center punch and pierce the seal, screw in a sheet metal screw and pry the seal out. You can do two screws 180 degrees apart too.
Once the first seal is out, remove the second washer and repeat the process.
To replace the seals, apply a thin coating of grease to the inner lip of the seal and a thin coat of sealer to the outside diameter of the seal (I like No. 2 Permatex non-hardening).
Slide the seal over the shaft and take a deep socket thats just slightly smaller than the OD of the seal and drive the seal in untill it seats. Replace the washer then the next seal, washer then snap ring.
Reinstall the pitman arm, hook up the steering linkage and that's it.
If you don't have a socket that's deep enough you can use a piece of pipe or tubing too.
Here's an illustration from the Ford parts catalog showing all the parts involved in the steering gear. The killer on these is getting everything centered. With the exception of the sector shaft Ford basically only sold the internals as an assembly.

 

Thanks for the info it sounds like it should not be to bad to do. I think I will replace the seals & try that before I get it rebuilt. I will let everyone know how it turns out.
Thanks Bill

 

Ok super man/parts all knowing mikeo0o0o0 where are some of those easy to change seal at parts wise? I'm asking cause I know you know, and you will tell us for sure.

Thanks in advance.

 

Uhhhhh, the parts store?

I'll check and let you know .

 

Rich, there are a ton of these kits still around.
I've listed five dealer/obsolete suppliers that have them.
I intentionally left Bob Allen Ford out of the list, they have them, but with this many available, why would anyone want to deal with them. They give "rip-off" a bad name .
Seal kit, steering gear sector shaft
Parts list #64, With gear ID SPA-AB, AJ, AN, BN, BS, BX, CC, CN
Basically this covers all 73-79 2WD F100-350 w/ power steering
D7AZ-3E501-A
Last dealer cost $29.41 List $43.71

Parts International, Farmers Branch, TX has 50 (972) 241-8730
Green Sales, Cincinnati, OH has 19 (800) 543-4959
Manderbach Ford, Temple, PA has 5 (610) 929-3683
Freese Motor Inc., Monticello, IA has 4 (319) 465-3541
Herb Chambers Ford, Westboro, MA has 2 (508) 366-8311

 

I knew I would not even have to leave recliner to get the parts number, cause you are good like that, lol.

As always, if not said enough, "Thank you".

 

Thanks Rich, always happy to help.

 

Always happy to help....come on down and help me change out 2 of these seal sets, and we will film it and put it on u-tube. Ol silver and #88 could use some new seals.

Thanks again for the pt# and replacement directions, who would of even knew it was so easy.