Steering gear box experiment

[Mark_vaughn]

My steering gearbox is about shot, leaks all the oil out in days and is fairly "grindy" with oil in it. So here is what I am going to try.

I am going to replace the plug bolt with a grease fitting and fill it with grease, which shouldn't leak out and should lubricate enough. The only problem I see is maybe heat.
I know this is not the right thing to do or whatever, but I want to see if it works.

Let me hear your comments on what will happen and I will let you know the outcome when it is back on the road.

Mark

[Mark_vaughn]

So far so good. I put 3 small tubes of general purpose lithium grease in it. It pressed all the other oil out the bottom as it went in. The steering wheel turns better. It has a better "feel" to it.
I haven't driven it yet b/c I am still replacing the passenger front suspension bushings/ball joints/shocks/etc... Tires are on their way from Tire Rack. 195/60HR13 Sumitomo HTR 200. Anybody used them?
Also, ordered some Brembo vented brake rotors from Tire Rack. $16 each!! Great buy.
I hope to have it back on the road with new rubber and an allignment by the end of the month.

[Mark_vaughn]

So far so good. I have put a few miles and a few parking lot dohnuts behind me. I am trying to use up the last of these tires before changing, no cense in wasting them.

The steering is tight and the leaking has stopped. I don't know long term yet but it looks and feels promissing.

[124cso]

If your steering is shot, FIX IT ! Have you ever driven a vehicle and suddenly lost steering control ? Think about it ! Doh !

[Mark_vaughn]

If your steering is shot, FIX IT ! Have you ever driven a vehicle and suddenly lost steering control ? Think about it ! Doh !

Thanks for the advice. Doh!

[So Cal Mark]

my only concern with using grease would be in cold weather. Will the grease get so thick that it's hard to turn? Other than that, go for it

[spider2081]

I would jack the car and check the steering box for noise, smooth operation and play. If it is ok then I might try the grease. There are a lot of new synthetic lubricants that are less temperature sensitive. When I purchased my 81 the steering box had a lot of play and a deffinite catch near the center of travel. I replaced mine with a used box. Opening the removed steering box I found both bearing races cracked and the bearings shot. Also the worm gear was worn causing the play. Car was probably operated with a dry steering box for a long time. It had 130,000 miles on it.

[Henk]

So far so good. I have put a few miles and a few parking lot dohnuts behind me. I am trying to use up the last of these tires before changing, no cense in wasting them.

The steering is tight and the leaking has stopped. I don't know long term yet but it looks and feels promissing.

We are now a few years later. Is it still good the grease in the steeringbox?

[TX82FIAT]

I wonder if anyone else has done this in the past few years or if someone else can chime in. My steering box operates fine. However, I did notice it leaking when i was under the car the other day. It is a slow leak and is now empty when last filled about a year ago. I had my doubts it would hold oil since it was bone when I filled it last year. The idea of putting a light lithium grease in the box has me intrigued. In Texas, I don't want to spend too many hours working on the car in the hot garage over the next few months. In the end, I will most likely install a new steering box since it is highly likley this car was run for a few years without oil in the box. In the interum during the warm months, it cant really come up with a reason the lithium grease would not work.

What is the time commitment to remove the steering box and replace with a new one? Are there any tricks to do this without removing other components?

[digitech]

As long as the box is pumped full of grease and it's light enough for cold weather operation, I can't imagine there being an issue.