55 steering gearbox leaking

Tom in TN

Tom in TN

Senior Member
First off- To One And All- if you’ve been posting answers to these questions of mine, I am eternally grateful.
I’m no rookie at working on old cars and woodworking machines, but I am smart enough to know that I don’t know everything. A good example was replacing that horn wire on my 55. I’m not sure I would have thought about using a ‘chaser wire’ and I darn sure would have had no clue about that step inside the bore, and how it could cause problems with an oversized chaser to horn wire junction. There’s no telling how much aggravation and maybe $$$$ and time that you guys saved me,
I just wanted to sincerely say thank you.

Now, same car and a related subject. Perhaps they did pack the gearbox with grease. I filled the gearbox with oil and the other day cranked the car and backed it out of the garage…and there was a palm sized oil puddle in the drip pan and a literal trail out the door. So, yes it leaks.

Checking my trusty shop manual, I see a seal at the bottom of the sector shaft, above the pitman arm.

Question: Can I pull the Pitman arm off, and dig out the leaking seal, by hook or crook, and install a new seal- WITHOUT removing the gearbox from the car?

My mind says that is what I want to try, but what does YOUR experience say?

Tia
 
Looking at my '55 Merc chassis parts catalog drawing, it may be doable if you can keep from damaging the bearing that's under the seal, and keep it from falling out of the housing. Pay close attention to the orientation of the seal and install the new seal the same way the old one was.
 
Even with a new seal, properly installed, it might leak. My 55 T-bird steering gear box had significant play and was bone dry. I sent it to Redhead Steering Gears in Washington to be rebuilt. They filled it with 00 grease. GM had the same warranty fix for early Corvette steering gear boxes. If you are not going to remove and rebuild, try 00 grease.
 
Hold on just a second.
Just because the gearbox is leaking doesn't necessarily mean that the steering sector shaft seal in leaking.
Clean the garage floor, then clean the bottom of the gearbox real good. Pull the car back in and let sit for a while then crawl under and look at the front of the gearbox where the horn wire comes out. It there is a drip coming out from under the tube where the horn wire is, that tube has become loosened in the housing.
If so, the only way to fix it will be to remove the gearbox for repairs.
Some gearboxes have a thinwall tubing. If so, it may not be enough to expand the end of the tubing for a tight fit. You may need to mig-weld it in and grind smooth to allow for the horn wire to pass thru.
Inspect your steering shaft to see if it is perfectly straigh. If it is bowed or bent, it will cause the tube to crack or loosen again and is likely the cause of the problem in the first place. Check to make sure there is no looseness of the shaft in the gearbox once it is all assembled. If the shaft jiggles in the gearbox, remove paper shims from the bearing preload hub at the back of the gearbox until the shaft is stable in the gearbox. Don't remove too many shims making it difficult for the shaft to turn. There should be not more than 1-5/8 pounds of force at the wheel rim to turn the wheel. Lastly, adjust the steering gear mesh at the top of the gearbox. The Car shop manual can be helpful with some of this stuff.
 
!!! THE INFO IN THIS POST IS INCORRECT !!!​

See Following Post On This Thread Below -

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The biggest problem (IMO) is the use of gear oil instead of steering box lubricant. The box (seals) was not designed to retain a fluid. It is not vented. The vent will be the input shaft dust seal and when the lubricant expands will most likely leak there (a$$-u-me(ing) the box is sealed correctly to begin with.

If the box is loose, it needs a rebuild.

ADDENDUM (Fr) -

One cannot go by lubrication specs printed in a fifties SHOP MANUAL. Lubricants have changed dramatically.

Read This - https://www.midweststeering.com/sag...r-tech-tip-1-gear-oil-or-grease-which-to-use/
Click to expand...
 
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As stated, oil isn't the lubricant to use. The easiest and simplest thing to do would be to drain all the oil out of the box and replace with the proper grease. John Deere cornhead grease is cheap and high quality stuff. Visit your local JD dealer, TriGreen Equipment in Murfreesboro.
https://parts.west-equip.com/corn-h...A3OG_Kw31UPCk8_HrIoEDqn0uGARLtLAaAiVHEALw_wcB

I packed mine full of cornhead grease when I rebuilt my '54 box.

7GHOEQGl.jpg

That should take care of your problem. If all else fails, pull the box and rebuild it properly. Here's a good article on rebuilding a box.....
http://1954ford.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=3105
 
More info on lubricant -

Excerpt from offered URL above -

458554


The refiner shown above is the major supplier to FORD MOTOR COMPANY. So in short, if the chosen lubricant does not have the FORD SPEC on the container, I would stay away.

There is also a specific procedure to add/fill the box while on the vehicle. Refer to appropriate SHOP MANUAL.
 

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if you decide to change seal pulling the pitman arm requires a very good quality puller.I pulled mine (box)after bending a good puller blocked in my 50 ton press and it let go at 35 tons.it got my attention the rest went easy (rebuild)I think yours may be the oil you put in corn head seem to be the go to.
 
Thanks guys- once again, you bring knowledge to the table that I don't have.

Now, the followup to this. I have always put 90wt in my steering boxes. Some leak, some don't. (the 50 ford doesn't leak, the 34 does)
Is Lithium Grease (or cornhead grease ) suitable for all old car steering boxes? or should it only be used with certain gearbox designs?
 
KULTULZ said:
Did you read POST #9?
Click to expand...

Because if you did, I had the lubricants reversed. 1957 and prior took 90W GEAR OIL. The 58/ uses a grease.

If pre-1958 won't hold the oil, it needs to be re-sealed.

I sincerely apologize for the misinformation.


It seems I may need a handler ... :o
 
KULTULZ said:
Did you read POST #9?
Click to expand...

Because if you did, I had the lubricants reversed. 1957 and prior took 90W GEAR OIL. The 58/ uses a grease.

If pre-1958 won't hold the oil, it needs to be re-sealed.

I sincerely apologize for the misinformation.

It seems I may need a handler ... :o
 
1957 and prior took 90W GEAR OIL. The 58/ uses a grease.
If pre-1958 won't hold the oil, it needs to be re-sealed.
True. But not due to any major differences in design between the '54 thru '58 gearboxes.
The only thing they changed was in 1956 they went to a 3-tooth gear, but operating design and friction was was identical, so why did Fomoco decide to change to grease in '58?
I suspect they did it because Ford dealership repair shops received too many complaints about steering gearboxes leaking on the '54 thru 57 models, so Ford changed to grease in 1958.
I had a discussion with a well-trusted auto mechanic/machinist about swapping from 90wt oil to axle grease in my gearbox years ago and it was decided that as the gears turned, the motion and friction would PUSH the grease AWAY from the gears and leave you with dry gears ever after, substantially increasing wear on the gears.
I also suspect Fomoco would have been aware of this too, but they decided that cars would still last ten years and that's all they cared about. By the time the gears wore out, the engine would be shot and you'd be back to the dealer for a new car, which is what they wanted.
 
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