chaning Steering Box, Pump, and Hoses...I have ???'s

[79 FSJ]

I just bought a new Pump, Hose's and Gear Box... I have a serious leak somewhere, I have cleaned it twice to find the leak and can not find the big one, the pump has a small leak, the box has a small leak, and the hoses seem fine... but once in a while I will leave a half quart puddle under the Front... I think the EPA is looking for me know...(Laughing)

Well I can change the Pump and Hoses easy, but what about the Box, how hard is the box to swap out...??? I know that I will need some kind of puller for the pitman arm? or whatever is is connected to, but the shaft and stuff, can I really screw this up, or is it pretty straight forward...???

Thanks
79FSJ
Dave

[ElkHunter]

I found a leak in the adjusting nut on the top of the gear box. The adjusting nut is a 5/8" nut with a hex screw in the middle. That nut had come loose and was leaking fluid.

As to changing the box out, there's pretty easy. I can't think of any gotchas. I do recommend LocTite for the bolts that hold the box to the frame. And do it someplace that you don't mind getting messy.

Otherwise, everything goes on only one way, so it's hard to mess it up.

Drop the Pittman arm.

Remove the nuts holding the steering column in place. (These are different sizes, by the way. One is 1/2" and the other, 9/16")

Remove the power steering hoses.

Remove the four bolts holding the box to the frame. (I think these are also different sizes--two are 5/8" and two are 9/16"--but I could be wrong.)

Installation is the reverse.

The Pittman arm will only go on one way, so connect the steering column and turn the box until it lines up with with Pittman arm. There's a "wide space" on the arm that must line up with the gear. (You'll see what I mean once you get it off.)

Tighten everything down to spec and you're done.

ElkHunter

[79 FSJ]

Thanks, sounds pretty easy and straight forward... as I was hoping...

Thanks,
Dave

[Bob Barry]

You WILL need a puller for the pitman arm; not surprisingly, it is called a "pitman-arm puller", and can be bought or rented at most auto-parts stores. You'll also need the Big-@$$ socket to loosen the nut on that pitman arm shaft.

If the pitman-arm seems to refuse to come off at first (and it likely will refuse), put tension on it as you can with the puller, and then tap (hit) the side of the pitman arm with a 2-lb. sledge. That is assuming you soaked the shaft in PB-Blaster or Kroil or something to clear up the corrosion that may be holding it on.

[irbob]

:eek: Guess I shouldn't have used that 4 foot wrecking bar and 5lb. sledge to get my pitman arm loose ha?

Well what else could I do? The puller and tapping the side of the pitman arm didn't work. :D

Lets talk bleeding the air out. That's the hardest part hands down. These gear boxes are notoriouse for holding air pockets and being hard to bleed. Some mechanics even have to power bleed them to remove all air. Trust me on this. I did this last year after replacing three GB's thinking they were bad. Then I just lived with the poor stearing thinking that it was another Jeep quirk I had to live with. Then last year internal preasure caused my GB to dump all the fluid out destroying itself and the PSP. A mechanic friend told me to do this. If u do decide to replace the gear box please do b4 installing it.

<<<<<<<< CAUTION: Only do if you want to turn the wheel with a pinky finger...LOL >>>>>>>>>>>>

Put the new gear box in a vice with hose ports up higher than the rest of the box. Add PS fluid to it and rotate the stearing shaft all the way right and left. This is called bench bleeding. As u rotate the shaft keep adding fluid until full.

Now put your hoses on the GB and fill those up with fluid. Keep rotating the shaft.

Install your new PS pump, if changeing it. Now here is the key to getting all the air out of that stinking GB. Hook the hoses up to the PS pump but don't mount the GB yet. Be carefull not to drain the fluid out of the hoses. Fill up the PSP with fluid. Have someone turn the stearing wheel stop to stop (at least 20 times) while you rotate the GB all around (without engine power for now). Mount the GB, raise the front tires off the ground, Rotate stop to stop again 20 times. Now start the engine and see how easy it is to turn the wheel. Rotate the wheel a few times stop to stop for good measure and let the front end down. Please be sure not to let the fluid in the PSP get low or all you have done will be in vaine. Now drive it like u stole it.

If this don't work try something else...LOL, good luck.

[Blackjack]

Just a hint for getting the pitman arm off if you haven't yet...heat, ie oxy/ace., tap, puller repeat. I just went the project you're into 79FSJ. It's really pretty simple. The hard part for me was finding a box mount that worked with my frame. All set now.
Marc

[79 FSJ]

Thanks for all the info, Great stuff as usuall

I'm off to get all the parts.. Box, Pump, and hoses... and one of the pullers...

I just built my bench with a big Vise so the bleeding will be a snap... and well, I just hope it all goes well... this is a Jeep... and well, we all know what that means... but this this is just so much fun...

Thanks again...
79FSJ
Dave :cool:

[bentpushrod]

Just want to reinforce the idea of using loctite on the mounting bolts. I almost lost a steering box on my '78 F250. About a month after I changed it, I got some real funky steering. Crawled underneath and the box was hanging loose on the frame. All four of the bolts loosened up. When I had swapped the box I happened to be out of loctite, and planned to get some at a more convenient time. Of course I never did and I almost lost the steering box because of it. Could have been deadly.

[Sgt. Dave]

Use NEW bolts, washers & nuts when you mount the steering box! Never say "never", but never reuse fasteners in critical applications (Like the steering)

[irbob]

Sgt. Dave...I love that quote in your sig. Don't mind if use it every now and then do ya...LOL. :D

[Sgt. Dave]

Feel free! I paid the bill on it many times before I learned :D