Fun71

The pitman shaft seal on my '71 started leaking, and now it's getting to the point of needing to be addressed. The steering gear box is one of the few things that I have not changed or rebuilt in 35 years, so I guess it's about time.

I know there are steering box mods, like the Jeep GC swap, but if it's not too difficult I would like to replace the leaky seal now so I can keep driving the car for the month or so of good weather I have left, then start working on upgrading the gear box later.

Does anyone have any tips on replacing this seal?

don71

Manual says you'll need snap ring pliers. Pages 9-39 and 9-40.

This is the short version.

Lift the front up.

Remove pitman arm and washer snap ring.

Start engine crank steering to the left until full stop. If you do this once or twice the seal should blow out on its own under pressure.

Clean up mess and bore of box and lube new seal.

Install new seal. A piece of pipe or large socket of just the right size should do the trick when tapping it in there. Just enough to get snap ring back on. don't go too far.

joe_padavano

THAT is quite the understatement...

don71

I thought you guys down there always had good weather.

I will admit the weather up here is quite good. ...for the time being.

The mess isn't quite that bad. Just be prepared for it.

Fun71

I don't have an air conditioned garage, so I don't work on the car during the summer when it's this hot out:

120degrees2.jpg

Fun71

Does anyone have experience with what size is needed for this? I can't imagine any of my sockets have a large enough drive hole to fit over the pitman shaft, so this leaves me with a piece of pipe. Any ideas on what size pipe? I'd like to assemble the necessary tools beforehand.

don71

I don't recall the size. The manual doesn't list it either. I might mention the manual recommends putting tape on the splines of the shaft as not to damage new seal when installing.

If memory serves me right, I used a piece of PVC pipe or plastic conduit or heck it might have been a piece of top rail from chain link fence.

If you have the seal in hand, I would try the local hardware store. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Fun71

Thanks for the info. I was wondering how much force was needed to install the seal and if wasn't too much, maybe PVC pipe would work.

I don't have the seals yet - local store didn't have it so is getting it from the warehouse.

Fun71

Went on a journey today to locate a 1 5/16" socket for the pitman shaft nut. Had to buy a 3/4" drive socket and a 1/2" to 3/4" adapter so it would fit my breaker bar.

Also looked for a suitable instrument for driving the seals in. Learned there is a $160 seal driver tool out there. Might as well buy a new gear box for that price. Found something that I hope will work; time will tell.

Bought the heaviest duty snap ring pliers I could find and they still look too frail for the size of the snap ring. Guy at the parts store said they worked on his truck with a similar sized snap ring so again, time will tell.

Searched the net for some pitman shaft seal installation videos and learned most people should not be allowed to work on vehicles. Man there are some clueless folks out there. Do a search on pitman shaft seal installation and you'll see what I mean. I didn't find anything showing the actual installation of the seals into the gear housing, which is what I really wanted to see.

So now I have the parts and tools on hand. Tomorrow I get greasy.

Fun71

Well I completed step 1 - remove pitman arm from pitman shaft.

Took me an hour to get that done. The nut came off easily using the impact, then the arm came off the pitman shaft splines easily using the puller, but then I struggled getting the arm over the threaded end of the shaft. The center link had no play in it and even after pulling the center link off the pitman arm, the arm was stuck between the downward facing pitman shaft and the upward facing center link stud. It took quite a bit of maneuvering to get the arm off both of them, and now I am wondering how I'm going to get it back on.

Anyone been through this and have any suggestions, other than taking all of the steering links apart?

joe_padavano

Moving the LH tire one way or the other will usually allow the center link to move up or down enough to clear. Failing that, remove the two bolts holding the idler arm to the frame.

Fun71

Thanks, Joe that may give enough wiggle room. I turned the wheels fully to the left and still had to wrestle the arm out, so I was concerned about getting it back in without damaging the center link stud and grease boot.

Fun71

It's all back together now.

Moving the wheels fully left gave plenty of room to get the arm back on. I must not have leaned on the center link hard enough when I was removing the pitman arm because it went back on a whole lot easier than it came off.

Went for a drive and checked when I got back and NO LEAKS! The pitman shaft and nut are completely dry.

One thing I will mention for anyone who plans to do this: when you turn the wheel to the left to blow the seals out, it will make a huge mess. I was somewhat prepared and instead of putting a drain pan under the gearbox as I had initially planned, I stuffed a 5 gallon plastic bucket under the pitman shaft area. It barely fit and I had to shove it in but I am so glad I did that as it contained most of the spraying fluid. The underside of the car still got splattered - there was fluid dripping off the sway bar, front of the oil pan, frame crossmember, and even the passengers side lower control arm. It's gonna need a good degreasing tomorrow.

Octania

evidently that seal has to contain a good bit of pressure then.

I was wondering about strapping a diaper, either literally or a substitute, around the seal area above the 5g pail to help contain the spray.

too late now

Fun71

I was thinking about some sort of baffle on the top of the bucket to contain the spray. Your diaper idea may work for that.

The CSM (page 9-30) says the pressure when cornering is typically under 450 psi but when parking (?) pressures can reach 900 to 1350 psi "depending upon road conditions and the weight of the car".