Most of my 79 Vette engine has been completely restored, what is odd is the steering column and the box were not. So I don't want to remove the box from the engine comparment, but it looks old and dirty compared to the rest of the engine.

Does anyone know what I can use to clean this up with? I took a tooth brush sized wire brush and cleaned up some of the areas, but the rest is going to take some aggressive cleaner. I don't want to damage any of the area under there so I assume I will have to get some protective material in there as well.

Does anyone have any tips on cleaning agents and possibly a link for cleanup steps?


Thx

Paul

 

Simple Green and soft wire brushes will get everything off and not cause any damage to the paint on surrounding areas. It may take several applications and a lot of elbow grease to get all of the gunk off.



Rick B.

 

Has the steering box been checked-out, greased lately? If not, you may want to remove it anyway so that you can determine if it has adequate lube and proper preload. It's a lot easier to clean up [and paint w/cast iron & clear such as I did] with it out of the car. Then you can clean-up or replace that ragjoint, too. If you leave it in the car, the Simple Green [or SuperClean] and brush method will work also.

 

What would it take to remove? I'm not a car guy? Although I have had succes getting the radiator out w/o an issue for replacement.



Thx

Paul

 

It's not that difficult, if you're comfortable doing mechanical work. As you are not familiar with such disassembly, it is probably best to leave it in the car and clean it up there. But, you should remove two of the three bolts from the top cover of the steering box so that you can see what the condition and level of the grease in the box is like. You can stick the shank of a small screwdriver in one of the hole and use it as a 'dipstick' to see how low the level of the grease is. When you finally hit the grease, look at it carefully to see if it is a thick liquid [as it should be] or if it has hardened and dried up [which limits its ability to lubricate anything]. If it is not completely caked up, you can add some lube to the steering box by squirting it out of the tube and into one of the bolt holes. Use a penlight to look in the other hole to gauge when you have adequately filled the box. DO NOT FILL IT UP COMPLETELY; you need to leave about 1/2" of airspace so that there is room for expansion of the grease when it gets hot [near engine/headers]. Because of that heat, I recommend that you use a hi-temp synthetic steering lube in the steering box, but standard steering gear lube is acceptable, too. If your steering box has a lot of 'free-play' in it, or you have tight spots in the travel of the wheel, you may just want to get the box rebuilt [there are qualified folks who do this work on this Forum] or just replace it with new or rebuilt box. Hopefully, that will not be necessary. Good luck with your project.

 

Thx for the info. I will check into and decide what to do. Will report back. I did end up cleaning and it wasn't as bad as I initially thought. It cleaned up quickly and easily just using Simply Green and a small wire brush.

Paul

 

Simple Green is so 1999. You guys have got to try 'Marine Clean' from the makers of POR 15.

Makes simple green look like moisturizing hand soap.