anyone ever have a problem with the power steering fluid leaking around the pittman arm? the shaft that the pittman arm connects to that extends down from the main steering box will swing from side to side when the wheels are turned, is this normal also depending what position the wheels are turned i lose a lot of fluid, can this be fixed or is it time to replace the whole gearbox? thanks for any help
the strawboss.

 

Hey Boss, You can get a complete seal kit for your gear, I got one from Advance Auto, and it should take care of the leaking.

John

 

I kinda have the same problem with my truck. But I dont know how to fix it. Mine is leaking at the very top of that colum. but its a slow leak.

 

Pretty common on older trucks. Easy to fix if you have a puller to remove the pittman arm. Instructions come in the box with the seals, at least they did with the seal kit I got.
TomC

 

thanks for the reply, could you answer the ? about what to do about the shaft of the gear moving from side to side, this is causeing the truck to have a lot of play and wandering from side to side.
thanks. strawboss.

 

>Pretty common on older trucks. Easy to
>fix if you have a puller
>to remove the pittman arm. Instructions
>come in the box with the
>seals, at least they did with
>the seal kit I got. TomC
>will this fix the looseness in the steering as it moves from side to side?

 

You will remove the sector shaft when replacing the lower seals. When you reassemble the box, that is when adjustment is done that will usually remove the excess play. Go to the library and copy the portion of the shop manual dealing with this repair. Follow the instructions closely and do not think that tighter is necessarily better!!
Do be sure to wash the sludge out of the box before you put it back together and/or put a temporary filter on the return line before the line enters the pump (the hose with the hose clamp fitting).

 

Thanks Tom, is the sector shaft the main shaft that runs from top to bottom? if so, the move ment that i'm getting is at the pittman arm end. is this side to side movement caused by the bad seal or is thier something else causeing it to swing, i know that when i turn the wheels the shaft has a walloed out movement, please give all your thoughts to this problem.
ps, i used to be known as the joker if you've seen any of my other msg's.

 

The sector shaft is what the pittman arm mounts on. If the bushings are worn in the bottom of the steering box, they can be replaced. The ususal wear found is in the sector teeth and that causes "loose steering". An adjustment will take up most of that. Worn bushings will probably need a machine shop to change these if they have to be reamed to size after replacement. If things are really worn in your steering box, a professional rebuild or replacement may be worthwhile. Get yourself a decent shop manual before you tear into things... TomC

 

I had an article from Ford Trucking Magazine
where a guy fabricated a brace that kept the
lower shaft from moving side to side. In his
article he explained that the steering gear
box does not have a lower bearing but utilizes
two seals. From his article I to fabricated
a brace with a 3/8" sephirical rod end joint
and a home made bracket that i bolted/welded
to the frame. I had to drill and tap the lower
shaft and bolted the rod end to it. The male
end of the joint was adjusted and bolted to
the bracket. It does work. It keeps the lower
shaft from moving side to side when the steering
is moved and it does not bind since the end
attached. Its been under my 78 f150 for 2 years
so far.


>The sector shaft is what the pittman
>arm mounts on. If the bushings
>are worn in the bottom of
>the steering box, they can be
>replaced. The ususal wear found is
>in the sector teeth and that
>causes "loose steering". An adjustment will
>take up most of that. Worn
>bushings will probably need a machine
>shop to change these if they
>have to be reamed to size
>after replacement. If things are really
>worn in your steering box, a
>professional rebuild or replacement may be
>worthwhile. Get yourself a decent shop
>manual before you tear into things...
>TomC