The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk exactly what fluid for steering box?

Does the stock steering box take regular power steering fluid, hydralic fluid or....
Thanks!

lazy j,

We are talking power steering, right!

We always put ATF (DEXRON) in it, but I understand that actual power steering fluid might contain one or two extra goodies that address the steering system specifically.

ATF did work fine for lots of people for many years..and it doesn't get any tougher than inside a automatic transmission.

Stuart

If it is not power steering, it uses gear lube. You can buy small squeeze bottles at auto parts. If it is power steering, regular power steering fluid should be ok.

Sorry for the confusion. not power steering, the original steering box mounted to the frame. Just 80/90 gear lube then?

80/90 would be OK if the seals are perfect. It has been my experience that most of the seals are NOT perfect, so the 80/90 tends to make a mess.

I use John Deere Corn Head grease in my manual boxes. Recently someone else recommended a specific steering box lube. If you do a search on steering box grease you should come up with the discussion, which was either last week or the week before.

lazy j,

Yes, typically this would be the recommended lube. Because the sector is only bushed and sealed where it exits the steering box, it becomes a high wear/leak point.

If you do a search you will find lots info for different products that are thicker than gear lube and won't run out as easily.

In a nutshell, any double-ought grease will do the chore. This would be a NGLI-00 grease. You can buy it in 14 1/2oz tubes and squeeze it in.

Stuart

Look under Steering Box Lube in the Engine and Driveline section.

If the grease is leaking past the seals and bushingds try STP oil treatment. Even though its not intended for this kind of use it will work great. It takes forever for the stuff to run past the worn seals and bushings and it will give the gear box better lubricating and less effort to turn the steering wheel. believe me !! I have tried many suggestions and I found this to do the job. It takes all summer for the stuff to leak out compared to a small week with all the other suggestions.

Amen to STP

I'm using John Deere Corn Head Grease. It appears there is regular grease in the box which is impossible to get out so hopefully you can mix the Corn Head grease with the old stuff!? I also used the Corn Head grease in my winch. Bought 10 tubes on Ebay for a pretty good price.

The old gear lube probably has turned to a thick semi fluid through the years, but originally it was gear lube, probably 90w. If gear lube leaks out, something like stp would probably help. I had one leaking real bad that I took the cover off and cleaned it with a pressure washer and then filled it with semi fluid synthetic grease such as Mobil lith 007. We run this in our trailer wheel bearings and usually forget about it for 1/2 million miles. Synthetic does not mix with petroleum based lubricants and you must re adjust your sector if you remove the cover. It probably needs adjustment any way. I take the drag link off, tighten it to where you can just feel a little drag when you turn the steering wheel with one finger. Be sure that you try it from stop to stop. There is probably a worn spot in the middle and if you tighten it too much it will not return on its own when you turn. Not scientific, but it worked for many years.

There's the the correct product for this application, and then there's everything else. 90w is ¼ the viscosity of Steering Box Lube and is not the product for that application. You can slather the frame and bottom of the truck with everything else for a while or, you can start with Steering Box Lube and be done with it.

I use Alemite Hi-Temp #2 semi fluid lubricant, part # 9025-01, Works very well and does not leak. It's also good in U joints that require a semi fluid lube.

If 90w is totally wrong, I find it strange that GMC maintenance manuals of the 50's recommend steering gear lubricant at complete over haul time but "Multi-purpose ...gear lube may be used when additional lubricant is required." MP being described as 90w in summer and 80w in the winter. After this being said, I still like mobil lith 007.

You bring up an interesting point Bill, which is about the semi-fluid U-joint lube. In spite of what the factory service manual says. Back in the 50’s and 60’s I worked and hung out in dealerships, parts houses, service stations (when they offered service) and auto repair garages and to this day I have never seen anyone ever pump a semi-fluid into a U-joint. Everywhere and everyone that I’ve been or seen has used chassis grease. I worked at four different Chevy dealerships back in that time period and my first job at Chevy was as a greaser and we never used anything but chassis grease in the U-joints during service.

And in support of the 90wt gear lube for a steering box, if we had to add anything to the steering boxes in any of the service facilities it was just that, 90wt gear lube. If your 90wt gear lube is running out of the side then you quite simply need to replace the bushing, bearing, seal or shaft to make it right. and if it’s still running out the side than you missed something or did something wrong. And if your don’t want to take the time to fix it properly then you may get away with using something of a higher viscosity like Penrite.

Is there anything wrong with using Penrite steering lube or corn cob grease? Absolutely not! I have a tube of the John Deere grease if it ever gets that bad and I use the Penrite myself because my seal is worn. If you read the Penrite label it clearly states that it is intended for “Veteran, Vintage and Classic automobiles” which probably have worn shafts, seals or bushing, which in my case I might get around to fixing the right way one of these days.
Denny Graham

I hear you on that, Denny. I use chassis lube in pretty much everything at the shop I work at, too. But on the '55, I use the semi-fluid grease mainly because I actually have it on hand at home. I only brought it up as a point of interest. Strangely enough, I went to Alemite's site, the don't seem to offer that particular grease anymore. I'm certain there is an equivalent being made by somebody, though.
One more thing, I'm not knocking any of the suggested lubes, only passing along what worked for me

Hey Bill ya got a link to that Alemite site? And what are you using to inject that semi-fluid goop into a U-joint?? I've never found a grease gun that was tight enough to hold anything that fluid.
I think the steering lube thing is way over played. It's just basicly a ball bearing that hardly moves at all and is not highly loaded as a wheel bearing would be. A grease is a definitly a no, no in my book unless it is some thing like the corn head grease. And the heavy 90w-140w hypoid oils are really what is suited to the application.
Denny Graham
Sandwich, IL

http://www.alemite.com/
I'm just using a regular grease gun, that's most likely older than I am . It hink it might have come from my Grandpa's shop. It's a pretty tight gun, though. The lube I have is in 14 oz. tubes. It's really not a grease, but a very high viscosity lube, probably in the 140 range.

Bill,

I don't want to get into this scary discussion, but I'm confused. As near as I can tell, Alemite does not make grease...only implements to pump it with!

I can't even find out through Mr. Google who the heck makes Alemite grease...I can't even find Alemite grease. Have you been sniffing the Brake-Kleen again!

Stuart

He said that they don't make the grease that he used anymore, but yeah, I couldn't find any grease either.

Since ebay links are forbidden, type in "alemite grease" and go to ebay, you should find it.

[quote Have you been sniffing the Brake-Kleen again!

Stuart [/quote]
Shhh! Tha's s'posed to be a secret!!
I'll have to see if I can find one of the tubes that's not in a gun, maybe I'm wrong on who amde it. I could have sworn it said Alemite though. Maybe that's what brand gun it's in

A-HA! I knew I wasn't hitting the Brake Kleen to much! (besides, I think it was actually carb cleaner )
http://rides.webshots.com/photo/2147321800092261295htHcFU

The proper lube has been listed and now you guys are into silliness. Take it to the greasy spoon. We discuss trucks here. Thread locked.