Steering box grease
06-08-2006, 06:37 PM
#1
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Steering box grease
The VIP paper references GM#1051052 for the grease spec. I could not find any with that spec. Is synthetic NLGI #2 GC-LB Lithium Complex EP grease ok?
06-09-2006, 10:23 AM
#2
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I use Mobil 1 synthetic in the boxes and it has performed very well.
06-09-2006, 01:12 PM
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thanks GTR, so I will be ok with what I referenced above? The greasing method in the VIP paper had me drill a bolt and insert a frease fitting. How much grease is needed? How do I know when the box is full? I don't want to do any damage. Any comments are appreciated.
06-09-2006, 05:36 PM
#5
Tech Contributor
Well I'll tell you what I tell my friends on what I would do on my car. If the box has never been apart then the grease is most likely dried out and caked up. I've opened up a lot of them and some are like soup others like a hard paste.
I don't like the advice of drilling into them or even the service manual procedures of removing a bolt and filling them. First, you may be over the worm nut and get a false "reading" of it being full. Then how much do you add? is the box is 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 full? When they need grease they usually need work, so that's when I go through them and set them up better then stock.
That being said, you can try the procdures but if you really want to know for sure then remove the box to your workbench and open it up. Be aware that removing the cover will change the lash setting though, which is probably out anyway.
If you have any questions, let me know, I have a couple of boxes here to do this weekend myself.
Here is a box I did with the Mobil 1. I leave room for expansion of the grease too.
Here is a box I just opened up and the grease was dried out and 25 years old. The bearings were bad and the adjustments all over the place. It was never rebuilt before.
I don't like the advice of drilling into them or even the service manual procedures of removing a bolt and filling them. First, you may be over the worm nut and get a false "reading" of it being full. Then how much do you add? is the box is 1/4, 1/3, 1/2 full? When they need grease they usually need work, so that's when I go through them and set them up better then stock.
That being said, you can try the procdures but if you really want to know for sure then remove the box to your workbench and open it up. Be aware that removing the cover will change the lash setting though, which is probably out anyway.
If you have any questions, let me know, I have a couple of boxes here to do this weekend myself.
Here is a box I did with the Mobil 1. I leave room for expansion of the grease too.
Here is a box I just opened up and the grease was dried out and 25 years old. The bearings were bad and the adjustments all over the place. It was never rebuilt before.
06-10-2006, 10:18 AM
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Melting Slicks
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Gary, when you get a steering box that has never been rebuilt but it is still functioning how would you clean out the old grease?
I remember meeting and talking with you at Carlisle and enjoyed your knowledge of diffs and steering boxes. I have a 37000 mile LT1 and the box has never been apart. In talks with owners all the way back to 1974, I suspect that the box may not have been serviced that well.
Gary
I remember meeting and talking with you at Carlisle and enjoyed your knowledge of diffs and steering boxes. I have a 37000 mile LT1 and the box has never been apart. In talks with owners all the way back to 1974, I suspect that the box may not have been serviced that well.
Gary
06-10-2006, 10:41 AM
#7
Tech Contributor
Gary I just disassemble the box and scoop out as much as I can then wash it good in my tank. They come out real clean.
Depending on if and how the box was adjusted will determine the condition when you get to it. I've had original boxes with 40k miles that had worn out gears and others with over 100k miles that still have good gears. Both of the boxes I'm working on now( 76,82) have good gears but the setup spec's and shims were way off,typical of a stock box.
Depending on if and how the box was adjusted will determine the condition when you get to it. I've had original boxes with 40k miles that had worn out gears and others with over 100k miles that still have good gears. Both of the boxes I'm working on now( 76,82) have good gears but the setup spec's and shims were way off,typical of a stock box.
06-10-2006, 10:58 AM
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Melting Slicks
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Originally Posted by gtr1999
Gary I just disassemble the box and scoop out as much as I can then wash it good in my tank. They come out real clean.
Depending on if and how the box was adjusted will determine the condition when you get to it. I've had original boxes with 40k miles that had worn out gears and others with over 100k miles that still have good gears. Both of the boxes I'm working on now( 76,82) have good gears but the setup spec's and shims were way off,typical of a stock box.
Depending on if and how the box was adjusted will determine the condition when you get to it. I've had original boxes with 40k miles that had worn out gears and others with over 100k miles that still have good gears. Both of the boxes I'm working on now( 76,82) have good gears but the setup spec's and shims were way off,typical of a stock box.
Thanks,
Gary
06-10-2006, 12:39 PM
#9
Tech Contributor
I wouldn't attempt it with the box on the car. You could remove the cover but then it will be hard to get the lash as precise as I like with the pitman arm connected to the center link. Yes it can be done, so you'll have to decide if that's the way you want to do it? I would drive the car into the Fall then decide if you want to pull it out.
