Steering box leak

[Sandy]

Hello everyone, I hope you all are well?

Seeking some technical advice on Linda's Monaco if possible? I had it out today at the Tartan tarmac event and noticed oil leaking out the bottom which appears to be coming from the top of the power steering box (see photo). I checked the pump reservoir and it was a bit dry so I topped it up, cleaned it all up and when I got home, checked it again which is when the photo was taken. I looked at the service manual and it appears the oil is leaking out of the cover (to the left in the illustration) and, I hope may just be coming past the seal third in from the left. According to the manual this is a square section seal (is it available?) but can it be accessed only by loosening the nut, or does the cover need to come off? And if the cover need to come off does it require the special nut socket and can it be done while the steering box is in the car?

Any advice appreciated, or, is there a bodgy fix?

Otherwise, the big old Mon'co just keeps rolling along.

Hopefully two photos attached.

All the best
Sandy

[Bozwell]

the bodgy fix is an egg cup of brake fluid mixed with the steering fluid to swell the seals.

[Dave999]

i think the cover needs to come off

the nut is a lock nut
it holds a threaded T shaped pin in at a specific depth to ensure mesh between sector and ballnut teeth

i.e record how many turns you need to wind off the nut.

you can bash that sectioned lock ring off with a wooden or aluminium rod and a hammer

you will need to wind off the cover and not let the pin and its shim fall out of the clevis end of the sector shaft
the cover might have a seal that is rendered useless by this action

another option would be to dump the fluid and fill it with some old style mineral oil based power steering fluid and see if it fixes itself

mineral based stuff has seal swelling properties

modern stuff is for modern neoprene seals. i.e seals that don't swell so the stuff in the fluid that swells seals is not included.

Rockauto do a rebuild kit http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodg ... 8,steering

Bodge alert
when you put it back together
the pin needs to be wound in until you feel resistance
this adjustment should really be done with the box empty and off the car
the idea is that you make it stiff in the middle of the box, but just stiff enough to not be noticed when you twirl the wheel. there is no steering damper on these cars other than the rubber bush in the idler hence some straight head resistance is applied in the box to reduce the likelihood of the teeth/ballnut chattering in a straight line and wearing out prematurely
there is a steering shaft torque setting measured at the steering input shaft spline quoted in the manual it is set with this pin and locknut
a multi fit socket in the AF range fits the splined end of the shaft
impossible to do on the car
so just wind it in and turn the wheel
wind it in so it feels a bit stiff in the middle then wind it out so its not an MOT failure
do the locknut up.

the teeth on the sector are trapezium shaped
the teeth on the ballnut are an inverse trapezium shape
you are using this pin to press the sector down to mesh the teeth on it into the ballnut teeth
i.e don't go mad.

if you end up doing a rebuild i have a NOS sector shaft for sale

see my manual steering box rebuild thread for a picture of a power steering sector and tooth shape on both it a manual one and the ballnut

Dave

[Sandy]

Many thanks, Dave.

Close investigation revealed....the lock nut had loosened

No idea how that happened. I took it off and the seal looked good underneath. Put it back on and tightened it up.

No leak. But puzzled how, after 14 years, it loosened off. Need to keep a wee eye on it.

And, if anything, the steering feels nicer now too.

Thanks again, comprehensive and comprehensible as always.

All the best
Sandy

[Dave999]

well the T pin that you just locked has a selected thickness shim so that the head of the T fits the slot in the clevis end of the sector

i dare say the sectors action over the years especially if its been able to move up and down and bit has slowly jiggled the thing undone.

odd but all's well that ends well.

Dave