The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Driveline '50 3100 steering box seal replacement.

Its time to fix my leaky steering box. It is leaking behind the pitman arm.
The steering box is in great condition with no slop. I would like to know if I can remove the pitman arm and change the seal with the steering box in the truck?
Carl

Not sure, but the repair manual has the sector shaft packing replacement in the section where the steering gear is disassembled. It says there's a packing retainer, and packing behind that. If you can get the packing retainer out undamaged with the shaft still in place, you might be able to do it. Or maybe there's a modern lip seal that will fit. You can be the guinea pig for that upgrade. We could call it the 52Carl mod.

Carl ,

Take a look at Chevy of the 40's .

They have some pitman shaft seals .

Originally there's a Packing & a Retainer to seal the end

of the sector shaft .

Something like in this photo showing a sector shaft & packing & retainer .

PIC

https://i.postimg.cc/4dhYdkkR/Pitman-Shaft-NOS-3.jpg



Go to ebay & in the search box type...............262156 pitman shaft

PIC

https://i.postimg.cc/wjmJMmhG/GM-262156.jpg

&

https://i.postimg.cc/L5rygZs6/262156-b.jpg

That maybe the retainer you need . Check your parts manual .

If that's the retainer for your truck...........BUY IT..........super rare part .



I may have a source for the packing GM # 270289 if that's the

correct one for your truck .


George
'54 3600

Carl,

Although I am not familiar with new trucks like your 1950, the manual Saginaw boxes I have messed with would have to be removed to adequately service the sector shaft packing (or seal if you decide to go that route). Yeah I know it is a pain to remove, but in the long run it is the best route.

Paul

Go to NAPA and order this seal, https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NOS11055, might get two because the bend real easy. It fits all GM manual steering boxes up to the '70s. Pull the pitman arm, and very carefully drill a small hole in the old seal just big enough for a screw to go into. Start the screw then pry out the seal with the screw. Pull out any old packing material, clean and replace seal. Check oil when done, wouldn't hurt to change it if it's still original. Most on here have real good luck using John Deere Corn Head grease, one tube is about $4 and is enough to fill the box. This grease is a 000 grade grease, it flows back to level after moving. DO NOT use any grease that is not 00 or 000 grade, gear oil works if the seals are good. Grease is thick and doesn't come out even with semi good seals.

Joe

I recently rebuilt mine, but I removed it first. My guess is that you could get the pitman shaft out without removing the steering box, depending on whether the exhaust manifold/pipe is in the way. Here are a couple good picture of the internals if it helps.

New seal and thick oil/grease..........no leaks.

We have discussed the steering box “grease” (oil) at length.

I have replaced many seals the way Joe H mentioned above.
Just be sure you don't scar the shaft when drilling or with too big of screw.

So I guess the modern lip seal mod is now the "Joe H mod". Thanks Joe.

Good info. I'll likely do that to my steering box as a preventative measure before I reinstall it.

Stovebolt members rock!

I have a rebuilt, ready to go, with correct (to me) paint steering column/box in my inventory, but was looking for an easier fix than pilling the old one out and put the new one in.
I will pull the pitman arm and try the drill and screw method of pulling the seal retainer and packing out first. If that doesn't go well, I guess I will pull the whole thing out and install the rebuilt one.
Thanks everyone.

Carl,

If I can rebuild my whole steering box, you can also. Hardest part was removing all the nasty old grease. The rest is easy as long as you follow the steering box manual.

Chris

Good into to keep in mind when our steering box starts the leak.

My box doesn't need a rebuild. It is tight, it just likes to mark my trail. I rebuilt the one that I have in inventory. I agree that once you get past the apprehension of the task, rebuilding them is pretty easy.
What I am trying to do is just change the seal, avoiding having to remove the entire steering mast. [insert lazy Imodium here] (I am aware that "Imodium" is the wrong word, but it is funnier to me.)
Carl
worktose intolerant

Just ordered that pitman arm seal from RockAuto, not listed under Chevy AD truck years, but available as SKF 11055 for under $6.

You go, Kevin! Lets have a race to see who gets theirs done first so that we can offer what we have learned from it to the guy who comes in second place.
On your mark.
Get set.
Go!

I have recently replaced the sector shaft and seal in my 1952 Chev 1/2-ton without removing the steering box & column from the truck:
-Removed the pitman arm
-Disconnected the exhaust pipe from the exhaust manifold (to allow the shaft to clear)
-Removed the backlash adjuster lock nut and screwed the backlash screw in a couple of turns
-Removed the 3 bolts on the side cover
-Pulled the side cover and sector shaft
-Did not have to disturb the worm bearing adjuster
-Installed new seal
-Installed new sector shaft, reassembled, and adjusted the backlash (worm bearing adjuster did not need readjustment)

Did this fix the leak???? NO! (See new thread posted this evening on this forum)

Update.
Jacked up the truck and removed the left front wheel.
Pulled the pitman arm with a puller.
Drilled a small hole in the packing retainer and pulled it out using a small screw held in Visegrips. The packing came out with it.
Cleaned everything up with Gun Scrubber.
Installed the new double lipped seal with a length of pipe of the correct size.
Filled it with John Deere cornhead grease.
Piece of cake.
Thanks to everyone for the guidance!

Did you let the guy that talks to himself do the work, LOL?

Nice work Carl!

Where did you get the seal and what part number is it?

See my post above. Got mine thru Rockauto.

Thanks Kevin!

I tuned in late and didn't read the entire thread.....

I got mine from classicparts.com. Its the only pitman arm seal which they offer.

Napa sells the seal, #11055. GM used the same seal for all the manual steering boxes up into the '70s, so they are still fairly common. Not sure I have seen a double lip seal, that would be a good choice if you can find one, maybe someone can post the number for it.

I just purchased the seal from my local NAPA: NOS 11055 and/or OSN 27SS2251.

I just ordered the seal but NAPA says it's a power steering seal:
Power Steering Pitman Arm Shaft Seal
Part # :
NOS 11055
Product Line :
NAPA Oil Seals
$11.29

Carl, did the packing retainer seem to come out easily? Getting ready to do mine and wonder if it was pretty straight forward. I gather you used a small sheet metal screw and pulled the retainer straight out of the bore. And I guess installation was no problem either. Thanks for info, makes life a lot easier. Ed

The 11055 is for the manual gear boxes, thats what I have used numerous times. The seal is really small and it doesn't take much to bend them, I usually order two of them just incase. Some sort of installer tool would be nice to have that would slip over the pitman shaft and drive the seal straight in.

Replaced my leaking seal with the SKF11055 seal from NAPA. It went very smoothly. Drilled a 1/16" hole in old seal casing, inserted a screw, attached vise grips and pried out old case w/packing using screwdriver and vise grips. Popped right out! Used a deep 1 1/8" 1/2" drive socket to seat the new seal. Went well. Must say I would not have attempted this without all the info in this post. Thanks to all for sharing.

I ruined one new seal last night trying to get it into the steering box. Which direction should the new NAPA seal go in? It made the most sense to me for the metal to be facing out on the seal since the lip of the seal would be in towards the oil, but I can see where i might be easier installing it the other way. I was trying to lightly use a punch, maybe i need a pipe the same size as the seal to drive it in evenly?

I always install seals with a big socket the same diameter as the seal. Tap it in lightly and it goes in straight and evenly.

Metal in, seal out, thats the way they install. Now you know why I order two at a time, the bend real easy!

I put mine in with the metal casing to the outside.

That's the way the original packing was installed, and IIRC, the lip on the new seal faced toward the inside that way as well. Check yours to see which way the lip faces.
There should be a slight chamfer on the housing so you can get the open end of the seal cup started in place. Definitely use a round pipe or socket the same diameter as the seal if you're doing in with the shaft in place. I did mine with the sector shaft removed and used a piece of wood to drive it in straight.

If it is a double lip seal, I don't think that it matters to the seal which way that it goes in. It will keep grease in and dirt out either way.

Here is a close up of the seal. It installs with the rubber towards the outside and the lip facing in.

Ok, i got the new seal in! Next question, i cant get the pitman are on all the way so the spliced shaft is flush with the outside of the pitman arm. I recall removing it and it was not flush either. It seems like it maybe should be?

http://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/shop/1948_51truck/51ctsm0903.htm

As far as I can tell, the splined sector shaft is not tapered (picture).
The pitman arm lock washer and nut, when tightened, should obviously have thread underneath all of the nut.
I've seen the nut and shaft end being flush. I've also seen the nut in a little bit.

I make sure the splines are clean and not damaged before I put the pitman arm back on.

Everything is clean all the way around. The end of the shaft is a little proud of the nut when tightened.

They are tapered, everyone I have ever worked on was. You won't get it flush and you will see splines at the back. If it took a puller and lots of work to come off, it's tapered !