Hello all I’m looking to get rhd late steering box refurbished, I have a spare box with an unknown history but seems quite smooth. Ideally want to swap the box on my van with a known ‘good one’. Current one is leaking oil and quite sloppy. Has anyone used this company to refurbish their steering box. http://www.ics-steeringspecialist.co.uk/bespoke-engineering/classic-car-steering-restoration. Thanks
It was @Keith.H selling the kits http://thelatebay.com/index.php?threads/steering-box-seal-kit-anyone.35730/
Yep, straightforward enough to do yourself if it’s not too far gone. There’s not much in a steering box.
Dont despair.. apart from the dust cover on the top of the box, the lip seals are standard industrial sizes. However its worth taking the side cover off and inspecting the bushings... And realise that one that looks like this needs more than just seals.... It is repairable but you would have to mill out the old bushing and press a new one in..
Also I have noticed in many boxes they have been topped up with the wrong oil. Steering Box oil is pretty thick stuff. More like grease. If it pours out easily it is probably the wrong oil.
I'm pretty sure it shouldn't be like grease as it would end up like grinding paste. Places that so-called "refurbish" them, seem to just pack them with the stuff, to mask leaks. It should be GL4 oil.
https://www.alanhschofield.com/ourparts/prod_2646353-Steering-Box-OilLube.html I brought this stuff recently and it did surprise me how thick it was. It has a consistency like a slightly thinner Vaseline. It does not pour lets put it that way.
The correct oil for a steering box type application is one where it lubricates correctly but lets any metallic debris "float" downwards away from the gears into a small recess, away from harm. You are indeed correct in saying it shouldnt be like grease..like some of the VW experts use!
Exactly. If the stuff linked up there is as thick as stated, I'd be chucking it in the bin. Must have been a wrong'un. If it wasn't supposed to pour, it wouldn't be sold in a bottle.
I’m of a similar mindset to those above ^^^ however a couple of years back someone introduced me to a link on some old banger website very similar to some that I frequent where they were extolling the virtues of a steering box lube that was ‘’almost’’ as thick as grease but still allowed debris to sink to the bottom, it’s not as if these steering boxes are whipping around constantly at several zillion rpm and not allowing crap to drop and leaving it as a grinding paste perpetually suspended as it may be if it was real grease. I’ve yet to try this magic stuff but it’s worth an ounce of research as that may be what’s in there. Absolutely right about thick goo oozing from anyone’s box, enough to put you off your sarnies. And, is there a definitive point where oil is so thick it is in fact grease ? Or is it made from completely different stuffs perhaps Ozziedog,,,,,,,, oh, just saying
All I remember was there was a lot of lovely bronze glitter in the oil in my steering box when I first did the seals. Sort of like tigers eye (asbestos in quartz) stones....