The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area General Truck Talk steering gear box

do all 41 gmc truck use the same gear box. I have 1-1/2 ton and the gear box leaks oil like a harley. thanks kat

the question should be 'do all old GM steering boxes leak like harleys', the answer would be yes need to regasket it and use a stickier oil [JD corn head grease works] in it

Bill

I believe the gear box is the same, but the steering shaft coming out of it will be longer for the heavier trucks.

Get or make a few new gaskets and get a seal for the sector shaft from any local auto parts house. GM used the same seal for a bunch of years. Add some thin grease and you are good to go.

Do a search for steering box grease or oil or lube, you will get a bunch of information.

Joe

I had a 68 Chevy 4x4 and the cardon joints leaked along with the steering gear box I put in some TRACK ROLLER LUBE this is a oily greasy mix and it stopped my problems of seepage. I picked up this stuff at a tractor equipment shop
62 Blue
Don

While you have the box out go ahead and replace the bushings for the sector shaft, this will make the new seal last longer and tighten up the box too. The bushings are cheap and easy to do.

I got a 79 Harly and the old saying is if she aint leakin she aint runnin , so there .


Pete

"Old Chevy Trucks do not leak oil, they mark their territory!"
As far as the boxes themselves go, according to the manual, they are the same. But most likely, all you need are new gaskets and seals. Also, try a heavier lube, such as Cornhead from John Deere, or the track roller lube mentioned, which is most likely the same type of lube.

thanks guys for the help. this old girl is new to me. she road 100 miles in 30 years. and I put 400 miles in less than a month. she's bound to cry a bit.

I had mine rebuilt professionally and it is filled with 80W gear lube. It doesn't leak at all. A seal will not hold fluid if the bushings are worn and worn bushing also cause some steering slop.

This may be a little off topic, but which part in the steering box would wear the most, the shaft & worm or the shaft & sector?
I have "bump steering" and can get a NOS shaft & worm, but can't seem to find the sector shaft.
Any help would be appreciated.
I have a 1939 Chev Suburban.
Thanks, Stan Norrish

You would need to pull it apart to see for sure. The shaft has roller balls that run in a groove inside a cage, the cage is what runs on the sector. Any one of the three can be bad or none of them, it depends on how it was maintained.

The sector bushings are the main wear items as they take the most load. The lower bearing on the worm shaft is also a wear item, its outer race is part of the adjusting nut on the bottom so check it close.


Joe

Sorry Joe, but 1939 was the last year for the solid sector shaft. It does not have the recirculating balls--that began in 1940. Thanks for the quick reply.
Stan

You are right, I missed that in the post, guess I didn't read it fully.

On the '39 the shaft and worm are one piece, no wear there except on the ends of the worm were the bearings ride.

The sector most likely has the most wear in the teeth since its stationary, the worm is always rotating which spreads the wear out among the teeth.

The 1 1/8" bushing on the sector is probably worn also. You can add a second bushing out at the end of the housing in place of the spacer for more support of the sector.

A good cleaning and adjustment does wonders for the old boxes. Even if its worn, the most you will have is a little extra play in the wheel at the straight ahead position.

Joe

Thanks, Joe. If I read this right, perhaps all I need to do is clean and replace all bushings and bearings.
I have a significant play as it is and want to correct as much of it as I can.
Thanks again,
Stan

I have a 45 1 1/2 ton that is stock but has a lot of slop in the steering. Where do I start to fix/take out slop?

Do adjustments described in the Shop Manual.
Here are better illustrations. Use the 1942-47 specs.

This Walmart fish scale can be used for one of the adjustments.

Start here also, it's a new manual for new boxes, but still applies. The steps are the same, https://www.flickr.com/photos/advance-design_parts_co/sets/72157632210242370/

Joe

Is there any way to copy that to a personal computer?

dg

Bottom right corner after you expand a picture; look for the download symbol. Looks to be one at a time for a download just like Brad Allen probably had to load them.

Yeah, done that many times, but I'm lookin' for the easy way
out. Guess some things in life just taint easy.

dg