My gearbox is leaking out of the sector shaft which attaches to the pitman arm. Other than the leakage the steering seems to work fine. Can I get away with using a replacement seal kit or should I swap out the gearbox with a new one(I have over 130K). If I do decide to use the kit do I have to disasemble the gearbox. How hard is it to do this and is there anything to watch out for.

Thanks

WHaynes
93 F150 4.9L 4x4
4" ProComp StII Lift
BFG 33in 4.10's
Detroit TrueTrac's

 

How bad is the leak ? Its almost as easy to replace the entire box as it is to try and repair a leak esp if internal wear is causing the leak . But $$$ is usually the deciding factor in a case like this . Is the sector shaft tight ? Any steering play ?

 

There doesn't seem to be much steering play. The reason I ask is that the replacement seal is 27 dollars and I was quoted 250-300 dollars for a reconditioned gearboCore charge not incl.)If it is a huge hassle getting to the seal and there is a potential for me to be redoing work a short while down the road then going the extra mile/dollar might be better.

Thanks.

93 F150 4.9L 4x4
4" ProComp StII Lift
BFG 33in 4.10's
Detroit TrueTrac's

 

I just replaced the seals in my f-150 this past weekend, the seal kit from ford comes with 3 new seals and one lock ring clip and i paid $31.60 Candadian for the parts. You do need however a pitman arm puller to remove the pitman arm from the sector shaft and i think a 1 1/4" or 1 5/16" socket to remove the nut on the shaft. I had to take out the rad fan and fan shroud to provide clearance to remove the sector shaft from the gear-box itself. It took me about 2 hours to complete the job but relatively easy.

Hoppy

 

 

I myself had to change out the power steering gearbox not to long ago. However I went to Autozone and bought a rebuilt gearbox. It came with a lifetime warrantly. If it breaks down again I take it back to Autozone and get another one for free. Better deal I think!

 

That is a good idea, but for 31 bucks, you can't beat that price over the price of a new gearbox. and you don't have the trouble of lining up the box to the steering shaft or the frame.