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How hard is it to change the steering box lower seal?
- Thread starter b5blue
- Start date
jmaxj
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- in My shorts.
There's a snap ring holding it in. At least on the ones I've changed, doubt it would be different.
SuperRA
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Santa Clara, CA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBW2eImYEpA
Horrible video, but you can see what's involved..
Kinda dumb that midway he found out that wasn't the cause of the leak in the first place. Lol.
Horrible video, but you can see what's involved..
Kinda dumb that midway he found out that wasn't the cause of the leak in the first place. Lol.
old_man
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Loveland, Colorado
The biggest reason the seal leaks is that the bearing is shot and the shaft has side to side play in it, so a new seal may be only a short term fix if that. Good luck if you do the seal only. The bad part is that all of the replacements seals I have been able to get in the last year are pure crap and I had over a 50% failure rate on them. I actually gave up rebuilding boxes because of so much problem with seals. I was doing 5-6 boxes a week.
old_man
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Loveland, Colorado
The early boxes, like the one you got, actually have the better two seal configuration. Go to RockAuto.com and order the complete kit. It comes with a replacement bearing as well.
Thanks old man, got a part number to go by there are a dozen to pick from? Mine is just seeping really. It is not dripping but I'm trying to get this Jeep ready for long term use for my son going to collage. With everyone's help here it's gone from a pesky XJ prone to acting up, leaking, stalling and just being worrisome to a well mannered and reliable member of the family. (Pretty Zippy to boot!) The only system not working is the A/C now.
Dragonslayer
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Los Angeles
There's two seals there. The first one is not too bad to remove.
The second seal is stuffed farther up into the box and is tough to get at with a pick or puller. To remove the inner seal, place a bucket under the steering box, start the engine and turn the steering wheel slowly to the left. Fluid pressure will push the inner seal out enough for you to get at it. Sometimes the seal will pop out completely and cause a big
oily mess on the driveway.
It is important to count the number of steering wheel turns because (since the
pitman arm is off) you will have to refer back to this number in order to return the steering box to the front wheels straight-forward position.
Don't forget to check the steering fluid level after you got everything put back together.
The second seal is stuffed farther up into the box and is tough to get at with a pick or puller. To remove the inner seal, place a bucket under the steering box, start the engine and turn the steering wheel slowly to the left. Fluid pressure will push the inner seal out enough for you to get at it. Sometimes the seal will pop out completely and cause a big
oily mess on the driveway.
It is important to count the number of steering wheel turns because (since the
pitman arm is off) you will have to refer back to this number in order to return the steering box to the front wheels straight-forward position.
Don't forget to check the steering fluid level after you got everything put back together.
