[PurelyGTO68]

So I am having a weird problem with the retaining ring that secures the pitman arm shaft seal.. It keeps popping off and allows the seal to eject from the case enough to leak fluid all over the place. I have replaced the seal and retaining ring and it still dislodges when pump pressure builds up.

Had anyone had this problem before? If so, what was your solution?

[Verdoro 68]

I remember that ring being kind of tricky to seat. Make sure the seal is seated all the way so the snap ring makes it all the way to groove. I have a later Jeep box in mine, but I went through a couple kits to find the right thickness washers and seals for the steering box so the ring would snap in at the right depth.

[dataway]

Yep I remember mine being a pain to get seated all the way. Make sure that groove is real clean. I remember taking a small punch and tapping on the open ends of the ring to seat it .... angled the punch way down and tapped on them in such a way to expand the ring in the groove.

[68ragtop]

Those doubled up seals are easy to get tipped in the bore. I seated mine with a press & they still wanted to go in crooked.
My guess is the last washer is Not getting all the way past the groove & not allowing the snap ring to seat all the way around.
Or maybe the snap ring is compromised or deris in the grove? It shouldn't be able to push back out once its properly seated.

[PurelyGTO68]

Okay thanks guys. I will check all suggestions and repeat that thing and hope three times is a charm.

Thanks again!

[68ragtop]

maybe put some marks or something on the bottom and ends of the snap ring so you can see how much seats into the groove?
Might not hurt to put it in place without the seals & washers too to test fit? (assuming they are out at the moment that is)

What happened to your Avitar picture?

[6869GTO]

Most likely not your issue but could be. Tru arc rings have a squared face and a slightly curved one if you look at them. Squared face should always be outboard of what you are retaining whether a bearing or a seal. Just an fyi.

[dataway]

Been using snap rings for years ... never realized that. Makes sense though.

[PurelyGTO68]

Issue resolved. Thanks for all the suggestions. There was some crud in the groove and the snap ring did have a soft edge on one side and hard edge on the other. The snap ring I was using is the one that came out of the unit but it was a loose fit so I swapped it out with one from the rebuild kit which was a bit larger so it fits much better now.

Holds pressure and doesnt leak so I think that did the trick. Thanks again for the helpful comments and suggestions.

[Verdoro 68]

Glad to hear it!

[dataway]

Egads ... major difference in OD ... I'm guessing you are good to go now.

[68ragtop]