The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline 1938 steering box grease leak

Glen the original GM Steering Box lubricant was sold up through the mid 90s at GM dealership parts departments and I always figured it was really just 00 grade oil mixed with some lithium soap and stress additives. There used to be a sticker on it warning to use nothing but GM lubricant and if that isn't available to be certain to use a self-leveling lubricant until you could get the GM stuff (self-leveling meaning if you pour some into a test tube and then slant the tube the lubricant will remain level with the ground). Corn head grease is not self-leveling...it wasn't designed to be. It is thixotropic grease--for a specific reason. It becomes somewhat thinner when it is stressed but when allowed to rest goes right back to the normal chassis grease-like consistency. If it didn't, the picker (header) would leak all over the place and if the grease is too thick the heads would be ruined. It isn't bad stuff and I usually mix it with 90 weight oil until it is about like Karo syrup. I want it to spread and run into every crevice all the time. Sometimes the worm gear adjusting nut on the front will leak. You can use thread sealer (Permatex) to stop that. You can also use sealer on the side cover bolts. Those will weep when the box gets hot and it can make you think the problem is the gasket when it might not be. Use a good gasket sealer like Permatex 300 or similar and it should be okay. Good luck!