[Brent Flynn]

I gotta replace the seal on the input side of my steering box , on the wagon...
is it fairly easy to get the seal out? and where is a good source for seals? At first, i thought it was the lower seal, but its obvious that its the upper input shaft seal, thats leaking.Im gonna remove the box and do both seals...

[GStage1]

Easy job, takes all of 10 mins...you can get the $10 kit from NAPA....see my article:

http://www.buickperformanceclub.com/...BoxRebuild.htm

[2002Z4CSS]

Thanks for the link. I need to reseal the power steering box on my GT-37. Looks pretty easy.

[Lemans1970]

Can the input seal be replaced with the steering box in place, just disconnecting the rag couple?

[GStage1]

Yes, it can be done in the car but more work/effort.

[falcon4]

I did this only last week.....well I actually started 3 weeks ago, while the box was still in the vehicle.....what a PITA. I couldn't get the circlip out as it was on the low side and I had no clearence for the circlip pliers.

Best thing to do is unbolt it from the vehicle and do it in a vice. Then it should only take a few minutes. I pulled the circlip, picked out the dust cover and with a screw driver prised out the seal. Easy.

[Lemans1970]

Originally Posted by GStage1

Yes, it can be done in the car but more work/effort.

Couple of follow up questions:

1. When you say more work, do you mean just more awkward to get at the snap ring and dust seal. From your description it sounds like the inner seal in fitted into the jam nut, so I wouldn't think that too be problematic?

2. In your article you stated to "Use a lil oil on seal ID to prevent a dry seal contact with input shaft". Just to clarify, you mean motor oil and not power steering fluid as the lubricant, or does it matter?

TIA

Good article BTW.

[Lloyd-TX]

Originally Posted by Lemans1970

2. In your article you stated to "Use a lil oil on seal ID to prevent a dry seal contact with input shaft". Just to clarify, you mean motor oil and not power steering fluid as the lubricant, or does it matter?

TIA

Good article BTW.

Generally one should lubricate the sealing surface(s) of a replacement seal with the same oil that it will be sealing - so P/S fluid would be the best choice in this case.

That said, plain ol' Vaseline works well on P/S pump and gearbox reseals, as well as on automatic transmission seals.

[Lemans1970]

Thanks for the earlier responses.

One further question. In the posted article, it states to mark the position of the jam nut prior to loosening so that it may be restored to the same position. I would presume that if for some reason the nut is not sufficiently tight the seal will leak. Does over tightening lead to premature wear of the seal (only), or does over tightening lead to any other difficulty?

Thanks again for the responses.

[GStage1]

Yes, you can overtighten that nut, that is why I stated to tighten to the same position...sort of like the wheel bearing nut.

Use vaseoline or ps fluid to lube the seals and you will be fine.

[Brent Flynn]

Originally Posted by GStage1

Easy job, takes all of 10 mins...you can get the $10 kit from NAPA....see my article:

http://www.buickperformanceclub.com/...BoxRebuild.htm

thanks for the info! Im gonna pull the box this weekend and stop that pesky leak!

[Lemans1970]

FWIW, one thing I read about this subject on another board is that it is a good idea to wrap the spines on the input shaft (with tape or heat shrink wrap) prior to re-installing the jam nut in order to prevent nicking/damaging the new seal.