Went to learn on a spare steering box I have by taking it apart .I don’t know about taking the part with all of the ball bearings apart but the rest looks not bad .I took one apart a little looked at the one in the truck and it looks like they are not that worn so I put some corn head grease in the one in my truck and will see how it goes if it leaks a bit that is okay. I am curious if anyone has tried to replace the seal as it looks very thin or has anyone replaced any other parts in the box ,what was the experience like .Thanks Kevin
'57 GMC 102, Original 347 V8, HydraMatic, 3.08 rear gear, added A/C, disk front brakes, HEI, AFB carb, '98 Honda Black Currant paint. T-boned and totaled 10/12 '52 GMC 152 Stake Bed, Original 228, SM420, added A/C, HEI, disk front brakes, '67 Chev 3.55 rear gear. Gets used as a real truck.
I rebuilt my steering box, including a new sector shaft seal and gaskets, with a total cleanup. I should have put some gasket sealer on the adjusting nut, as I've got a little seepage there and down on to the frame. I didn't replace the sector shaft bushings as they seemed to be OK. No seepage at the sector shaft, so the new seal did it's job.
Kevin 1951 Chevy 3100 work truck Follow this saga in Project Journal Photos 1929 Ford pickup restored from the ground up. | 1929 Ford Special Coupe (First car) Busting rust since the mid-60's If you're smart enough to take it apart, you darn well better be smart enough to put it back together.
I was going to say, order two seals, they are thin and easy to bend, and having a second one on hand makes the job go easier. Just follow this manual, https://chevy.oldcarmanualproject.com/booklets/52mts20/index.htm It shows every step you need to take and what not to do when cleaning and servicing your steering box. On the seal, GM used the same size seal for years, most all the manual steering boxes use the same one, cars and trucks. Rockauto has them as low as $ .99 . The 11055 is a good seal you can get locally.
On the seal, GM used the same size seal for years, most all the manual steering boxes use the same one, cars and trucks.
Even used on Corvette boxes of the era. Makes your truck go faster.
Last edited by Bill Hanlon; 05/30/20261:55 PM.
'57 GMC 102, Original 347 V8, HydraMatic, 3.08 rear gear, added A/C, disk front brakes, HEI, AFB carb, '98 Honda Black Currant paint. T-boned and totaled 10/12 '52 GMC 152 Stake Bed, Original 228, SM420, added A/C, HEI, disk front brakes, '67 Chev 3.55 rear gear. Gets used as a real truck.
99 cents I wish .going to look locally shipping for this is 22 on a 7.99 seal
Try your local GM dealer using the GM part number. I bought 2 at my dealer that way, but it has been 10+ years.
'57 GMC 102, Original 347 V8, HydraMatic, 3.08 rear gear, added A/C, disk front brakes, HEI, AFB carb, '98 Honda Black Currant paint. T-boned and totaled 10/12 '52 GMC 152 Stake Bed, Original 228, SM420, added A/C, HEI, disk front brakes, '67 Chev 3.55 rear gear. Gets used as a real truck.
Kevinski - Here's a Canadian source for the Steering Box Seals (under SKF 11055 which is same as CR 11055) that may save you the shipping and associated fees to get one to you from this side of the border.
Otherwise, maybe look at Rock Auto SKF 11055 as the least expensive US price I could find (only $5.23 USD +shipping, etc.).
The original GM# 7801626 looks to be still available from GM stocks, but your going to pay a bigger price from a dealer than most being offered on ebay and other vendors.
~ Dan 1951 Chevy 3 window 3100 Follow this story in the DITY Gallery "My Grandpa Carl's Truck and How it Became Mine" 1966 Chevelle (Wife's Hot Rod) | 2013 Chevy Silverado (Current daily driver) US Army MSG Retired (1977-1998) | Com Fac Maint Lead Tech Retired (1998-2021)
Rock auto is 22 shipping and the parts avatar is 16 and 11 for the part and tax for about 30 so about the same as rock auto Amazon has free shipping so if I can’t find one local I will get one on Amazon I think they were 13 .
Like I said, the same seal was used for all manual gear boxes, 1977 Chevy trucks with manual steering use the same seal. Not sure how long GM used manual steering, but keep looking on Rockauto, go to the newest model you can find, then head to your local parts store and see if they can help you.
My sector gear was in good shape with plenty of meat left on it but my adjuster bolt had run out of length. I rebuilt the entire box with new balls except the sector gear. They are expensive and it was fine. The rest of the parts were pretty reasonable. I made a longer adjuster bolt out of an ARP bolt. If I remember correctly the internal clearance on the bolt was .004"-.006. Rebuilding the entire box was pretty straight forward. I rebuilt the box several years ago when I didn't have a press. A local guy charged me $20 to remove and press in the races and seals. I got 250 weight synthetic gear oil for it.
