Well, driving out to the job site this morning, I noticed the steering wheel felt funny, and could hear my power steering pump makin all sorts of weird racket. Figured I must have gotten a small leak from all the none-too-easy-on-my-poor-ol-truck driving on really harsh rocky terrain I do on the job site.

So I take a co-worker's truck to the corner store and get a couple bottles of power steering fluid, just thinkin I'd fill 'er up and be set for a while.

Anyhoo, I fill it up, start turnin the wheel from lock to lock, do it about 4 times each way, and notice that it's doing the same dog gone thing again.

Have a friend crank it for me while I'm lookin down under my truck at the gear box. I notice it's spurting from the seal where the pitman arm meets the gear box. Figure oh GREAT! Gotta have that replaced. Perfect timing, seeing as how I just bought a $700 compound bow YESTERDAY!

So anyhoo, I just noticed a little while ago after I got home that my front left wheel well shroud has power steering fluid sprayed all over the back side of it (towards the bed of the truck). It must have really been shootin outta there. Enough to empty a completely full power steering reservoir in just a few lock to lock wheel crankings. And Lucas stop leak did about as much good as trying to dam the amazon with tissue paper.

So I hollered at a bud of mine who own's a shop, and he said he'd bring me all in for under $350. Now, I'm a little tight on cash until friday (stupid, awesome, dog gone, amazing, damnable new compound bow!), and was reading that there's gear box rebuild kits for around $35.

Now that'd be alot better for me seeing as how I'd have to go until friday to get it fixed, plus the fact that I'd be spendin a couple hundred less, I'm thinkin about going this route.

My mechanic ability is probably 2.5-out-of-5 wrenches, as it were. I've never replaced or rebuilt a gear box. Time for repair is pretty limited (6 days a week, 13.5 hour days), and this is my daily driver work truck with no other vehicle to drive until I get the leisure to replace the headgasket on my old toyota 4gunner to have a backup vehicle.

So, yall think I should just get er done myself, or go back to autozone tomorrow and buy a case of power steering fluid bottles to last me until friday?

And any links to rebuilding/replacing gear boxes would be greatly appriciated!

 

hi
sounds like the bearing for the sector shaft is bad ?
do you have sideways play there ?

autozone sells remaned boxes for app 180 .00 .
you could easily replace the box yourself , 2 hoses pitman arm , stearing shaft , three bolts to hold box to frame , done !

where did you see rebuild kits for 35.00 i would like to see them ?
i replaced the seal under the alu cover with adj screw and that gasket was 25.00 , also another 25.00 for the kit to do the stearing shaft seal !dealer prices !

 

Actually there's not really any play in it at all, but it bleeds like a cut vein.

That $35 for the kit was just a price I saw people talking about in some threads when I was searchin for more info on rebuildin it.

Anything special has to be done when replacing the box? I imagine you'd have to bleed it right? How'd ya go about doin that? Pull a line while crankin the wheel, with the wheels off the ground?

 

It's probably just a bad seal, about $10.
Hard part is getting the pitman arm off, they can be a real bear.
After you remove the snap ring that holds the the seal in just start the truck and turn the wheel, the seal will spit right out.

 

Alright well I'm about to pull the gear box, walk down the street to the part store, get the new one, and slap it back in.

I couldn't find a "pitman arm puller", so I just grabbed me a pickle fork...

Back to ask some questions of how the heck do I get this dog gone pitman arm off in probably 20 minutes lol...

 

Ok, need help...

As far as the steering linkage is concerned, is it attached to the gear box by just one bolt? Cause for the life of me I caint see how it's held on. I can only feel that one right below the ujoint type deal, gear box side. Is that all that holds the linkage to the input shaft?

Lines... Can you take off the lines after you get the box loose? Cause I caint really fit my hand up there to spin a wrench (what size are those fittings by the way?), and was thinking it'd be much easier if I could take those off after I take off the pitman arm and the 3 bolts holding the box to the frame.

Still haven't gotten to take off the arm yet. It's a freakin greasy nightmare under there what with my oil leak and a few bottles worth of powersteering fluid!

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated. Already ran out of cigarettes, running low on copenhagen, no beer in the fridge, corner store too far away, and I'm already running into problems......