The Stovebolt Site Forums The Parking Lot Big Bolts leaking steering gear box

I've put about 1500 miles on my 46 C O E over the last 5 years or so and I've developed a grease leak on the bottom of the steering box. It's coming out the bottom bearing ajustment thread at the bottom of the lock nut. The grease is coming out around the threads. The gear box is good and tight and so is the lock nut. I don't want to disassemble the box. Is this normal?

You might want to put John Deere corn head grease in it, see if you can get the old stuff out. I had a drip on my '40 and I put corn head grease in and no more problems.

Yup, like Don says, corn head works like magic. My steering box leaked like a sieve. Whatever you poured in the top (including STP) ran out the bottom onto the driveway. corn head stays put, and its extra slippery too.

I put proper steering box lube in mine. Like corn head grease its about 600 weight oil, it flows like treacle. After 6 months it started coming out through the thread ofvthe lower adjusting nut. Without too much hassle I unbolted the steering box enough to lift it up a bit, remove the lower adjustment nut and screw, drain the oil (leave it for a week dripping in to a container). Then I wound PTFE plumbing tape around the thread with a skim of RTV around the nut face. Reassembled it and all good now.

anyold iron,

What brand steering box lube did you use? Penrite's lube is supposedly equivalent to 1200w oil.

anyoldiron,

What brand steering box lube did you use? Penrite's lube is supposedly equivalent to 1200w oil.