My box is leaking a bit also and I figure I may as well rebuild this when my pump is gettig swapped.

Besides that the rebuild kit is about $35 vs $160 for a gear box!

Did anyone who rebuilt theirs take any pics or do a Tech How-To?

Thanks!

 

alright heres my 2 cents on that issue. my truck was also doing the same thing. leakingpower steering fluid and i had the same option as you. either way it costs alot because you have to get the vehical re-aligned (i think). i went ahead and bought the new box and it just makes a huge difference in the tightness of the steering. so for me personally i was satisfied with the results, its not hard to switch either.

 

If your steering box is not worn-out you may just replace the sector shaft seal.

I have replaced the bottom seals in a couple steering boxes on older Ford trucks. It was really easy. Pull the pitman arm, take the snap-ring that holds the seal, put the pitman arm back on loosely, crank truck, turn wheel, pressure blows seal out. Install new seal.

 

that sounds alot easier, do it like hardscrabble said, i asked my uncle after i posted the first thing i said and he said replace the seal also.

 

You might make sure it's the bottom seal that is leaking before you go to all that work. It is most likely it though. I've done two of them. Worst part is getting the Pittman arm off. Good Luck.

 

crappy instructions from powercraft rebuild kit

STEERING GEAR ASSEMLY
typical of ford, lincoln, mercury & t-bird 1965-up

GENERAL:
DISASSEMBLY

1. Secure the gear in a soft-jawed vise. Turn worm shaft to both stops and count turns; return halfway,
to center (1 3/4 to 2 turns).
2. Remove the sector shaft cover bolts. loosen sector shaft by tapping lower end with soft hammer and remove
cover and shaft.
3. Remove valve housing bolts and pull the valve assembly, worm shaft and piston from the housing as an
assembly. NOTE: DO NOT AllOW THE WORMSHAFT TO ROTATE OUT OF THE PISTON.
4. Rotate the worm shaft throughout its entire range, to check for roughness or binding.
5. Unscrew the worm shaft from the ball nut, allowing the ***** to fall inside the piston. Remove the
ball guide and place the ***** in a cleaning fluid. The design of some worm shafts will not allow the
worm shaft to be removed from the ball nut with the ***** in place. To service these units, remove the
ball guide clamp, invert the ball nut over a cloth and rotate the shaft in both directions to allow all
27-29 ***** to fallout.
6. Remove the lock-nut and retaining nut. Separate worm and valve assembly from the valve housing and
remove the centering shim from the housing.
7. Discard all "0" rings, sealing rings, dust seals and oil seals.

REASSEMBLY

THOROUGHLYCLEAN ALL PARTS WITHSOLVENT AND DRY WITH COMPRESSED AIR, BEING CAREFUL TO REMOVE
ALL SOLVENT FROM GROOVES AND PORTS. PRE-LUBRICATE ALL PARTS BEFORE INSTALLING. INSPECT ALL
PARTS FOR WEAR, NICKS OR SCORING, REPLACE WHERE NECESSARY.

1. Check the worm shaft bearing and sector shaft bushings for looseness or roughness.
Replace if necessary
2.Press a new wormshaft seal into the valve housing and replace the snap ring.
3. Assemble the new dust seal in the valve housing with the rubber side facing out.
4. Carefully insert the valve spool in the valve housing, rotating slightly to eliminate binding. The
spool should move freely in the housing. If burrs or roughness are found remove by using crocus cloth
or a hard stone in a radial motion.
5. Install the spool on the worm and valve assembly and replace the snap ring. The deepest groove in the
valve spool should be away from the snap ring and clearance between the snap ring and spool should be
from .001 to .005.
6. Place new "0" ring and teflon ring on the ball nut. .Extreme care should be taken to avoid stretching
the teflon ring excessivly.
7. Install the inner seal and spacer washer in the sector shaft housing, seal first and washer second,
press into the housing together. Repeat this procedure with the outer seal and washer. Install a new
snap ring in the housing groove.
IMPORTANT:WHEN USING-LATER DESIGN SECTOR SHAFT SEALS WITH PRECISION GROUND SPACERS,INSTAll AS
SHOWN IN FIGURE A' ON FRONT PAGE
8. Locate the centering shim, and worm and valve assembly in the valve housing, rotating the valve spool
slightly to avoid binding.
9. Install the retaining nut and torque to 50 ft. lbs., tighten the lock nut to 35-45 ft. lbs.
10. Place the worm shaft in the ball nut until the first groove in the worm shaft is visible through the
hole closest to the center of the ball nut.
11. Install the ball guide and slowly rotate the wormshaft in a clockwise direction while feeding in the
*****. It may be necessary to rotate the shaft counter clockwise in order to feed in all the *****.
Be careful not to back off more than 3 turns..
12. Install the ball guide clamp after all the ***** (27-29) have been fed into the ball nut.
13. Replace the "0" ring on the valve housing and fluid passage groove and carefully guide the ball nut
into the housing. Align the fluid passages in the valve and gear housings and install the retaining
bolts.
14. Locate the sector shaft cover "0" ring in the housing, rotate the wormshaft and ball nut to align the
teeth of the sector shaft and ball nut. Install the sector shaft and cover in the gear housing.
Install and tighten the sector shaft cover bolts and tighten the valve housing retaining bolts.
15. Wormbearing preload 2-8 in. lbs. Total meshload over mechanical center 17 in. lbs. (max.).
meshload over wormbearing preload 11-13 in. lbs.
Total

 

Hrm...I am gonna replace my pump first. I think that is leaking more than anything. I hope my box doesn't need to be rebuilt as I haven't an idea how to pull the pittman arm.

 

If your pump is quiet and works well, it is pretty easy to replace the seals and they are cheap. A rebuilt pump is always a little chancy.

Sounds like a good degreasing would help see where your leaks are, most of my PS leaks have been hoses.

Pulling the pitman arm is easy, you need a pitman arm puller. I used the rent/loan program at a local parts store.

 

I know my pump leaks...I can see the fluid that runs out of the front seal. I don't beleive my hoses leak too bad but the seal by the pitman arm leaks too!

My first task will be to replace the pump and both hoses then go from there.

 

Keep a close eye on your fluid level between changing your pump and changing the lower seal on the gearbox. You don't want to burn up your new pump if too much fluid leaks out of the box.