Steering box seals

[sith33]

Howdy all - the steering box in my 86 Ram 50 (4x2) is leaking from the input shaft the pitman arm output. It looks like those are really cheap, easy to get seals. I can't tell from the manual how much work is involved in swapping them though. Just a matter of pulling the box and then working the seals out and pressing in new ones? It doesn't look like any of the internals of the box actually have to come apart?

Is getting the box out a bear of a job, or pretty straightforward?

[xboxrox]

Hello sith,

https://youtu.be/49GqQzb4kFU <--- sector shaft seal replacement

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uNzexu9NRoc <--- Part 4 of 9 parts L200 steering gearbox rebuild

I just found the above YouTube video and it shows the sector shaft oil seal & dust seal being removed & replaced ~ they removed the gearbox & removed the sector shaft to perform this repair..!

Assume you have power steering ? Not sure if that makes a difference or not..? Jason at www.mitsubishipartscentral.com was able to get me oem factory 4x4 sector shaft seals so 2wd seals might be available too... Even considering an original factory seal might be old & it does cost more, I would still use it over after market items... All the oem seals I've received from MPC were good not rotten... Youtube shows guys replacing Jeep & Chevy seals with the gearbox in place & it might be worth trying if your work area is warm dry comfortable etc... I have a local mechanic that replaced after market seals twice on my truck but that sector shaft still leaks a little..! I think there are two seals, the 1st to go in is the oil seal & the 2nd is a dust seal and I believe the open part of the "C" shape faces up into the gearbox... If there is a spring on the seal glue it on there with thick grease before pounding on the seal... Photos showing no luck in trying to convert 2WD gearbox into a 4WD gearbox by using a Gen1 Strada 4X4 truck sector shaft to fit into a MM 2WD gearbox... Best of Luck

https://youtu.be/bXFOeof7imA

[sith33]

So I ended up ordering a remanufactured box from Rock Auto - doing all the seals and whatnot was going to cost enough that it seemed worth it. However, we put the box in and the steering is backwards! Can't see any way this could be install error - just seems like the box was remanufactured wrong? Were any of the other boxes (4wd, gen2, etc) backwards?

[xboxrox]

Backwards..? Turning left the wheels turn right kinda backwards..? The pitman arm, could it be installed 180° out & would that cause it..? This post is gonna need the best and the brightest MR50 gurus to solve ~ can you post a photo that would help...

I ordered a rebuilt 4x4 power steering gearbox from BAP they sent me a 2WD box which has a small pitman arm absolutely will not work ALSO my mechanic was not able to perform the install until 2 months after we received the box TOO LATE they only allow returns within 30 days gggggR

Also I the BAP box will most likely leak at the sector shaft LOOK at the 3 lines worn into their sector shaft in the photos I posted
gggggR

ALSO BAP has no stock of 4X4 gearboxes..!
ggggggR


Be careful what you order online

[sith33]

Yep, turn left the wheels go right.
I can’t think of any way the Pitman arm could be off by 180° and still mount to the relay rod? Nothing would line up.

[xboxrox]

I can't envision the how or why of whats causing backwards steering? I don't suppose the idler arm could be installed wrong or even cause this ? Mitsubishi makes steering gearboxes for both Left hand & Right hand drive vehicles... Hmmm, is it possible the steering box you have is filled with wrong Right hand drive parts ? Rock Auto needs to be contacted ASAP !!!

Let us know whats causing this when you find the problem ok ~ without crawling under a truck to note which direction the pitman arm moves when the steering wheel is turned I (you p) COULD watch You Tube videos...

[sith33]

I'm pretty sure that the ball nut rack was just installed backwards when they rebuilt it. That would cause these symptoms, and I know they replaced the ball bearings as part of the rebuild.

[xboxrox]

Call Rock Auto?
More steering boxes here (scroll to page bottom) https://www.partsgeek.com/qh8rn1q-mi...g-gearbox.html

[sith33]

Yep, I’m returning it to Rock Auto. Parts Geek doesn’t have any boxes for a gen1, but I’m still looking.