Lark steering box leak

[Relark]

Hi, I have a '59 Lark V8 with a Ross steering box. It's leaking out the pittman arm seal. Will I have to disassemble the box to replace it or just pull the arm? Any advice on this job or things to watch for? Also, I've been told the fluid is no longer available. Any suggestions?

Thanks, Art

[John Kirchhoff]

Well according to the shop manual, if you have a V-8 not only do you have the pain of getting the thing out, but you have to raise the left front of the engine up a bit to do so. Maybe someone out there can say if the seal can be replaced with the box installed. Fortunately this is something I've never had to do. However, I've talked to people that instead replaced the filler plug with a grease zerk, pumped the box full of gun grease and motored merrily along for tens of thousands of miles over many years. It may be a tad bit stiffer in the dead of winter, but probably not that much. If you go the grease meathod, you'll need to use a pipe thread reducer to match the plug threads to the zerk threads. As far as oil goes, I use hypoid differential oil in steering s It's high shear stuff and pressure-wise, I doubt your arms can out match even the power of a flathead 6. A good grade of grease will handle all the shear pressure you can put out as well.

[Relark]

Thanks John,
My arms don't match the power of my lawn mower! I putting this car together right now, the engine is just setting on the mounts, 5 mins. to remove. However, I like your idea of just filling it with chassis grease. Wouldn't the hypoid leak right out? Dead of winter is about 65F here in Gulfport, FL so that wouldn't be an issue.
Thanks again,

Art

[John Kirchhoff]

Yep, the hypoid lube will run out, especially on one of your hot summer days. I've found the more expensive brands of tube grease such as Mystic last much longer in greasable bearings than the cheap ones. It may be $1.50 compared to the $.99 el-cheapo stuff.

[DilloCrafter]

I've seen several guys advocating Red Line CV-2 cv joint grease for the steering boxes. Also, Studebaker International has a semi-fluid grease for steering boxes.

[img=left]http://rocketdillo.com/studebaker/misc/images/Current_Avacar.gif[/img=left] - DilloCrafter

1955 1/2 Ton Pickup
The Red-Headed Amazon
Deep in the heart of Texas