Old vid I know, but I haven’t read anyone else comment that both seals do face the same direction, flat side down/out. It is a double lip seal. The force of the hydraulic fluid against the seals, properly installed, pushes them against their mating surfaces creating a tight leak-proof seal. If either one is installed flat side up/in, the pressure will force the fluid around the seal ensuring a generous leak. Otherwise great video! Also hammering on a pitman arm the same you would a tie rod or ball joint can cause internal damage to the gearbox. Thanks for an otherwise informative video. It never occurred to me to remove the seals in this way. Much easier.
This video saved my ass on my 79 f350. I watched your video 3 times before I did it, the trick with getting the seals out was great! I had my seal replaced in a little over an hour.! Thanks for the video!!
Dude, you saved me. I just did this on my 70 Cutlass and your video made it work perfect. Although it still took me 5 hours the tip about using pressure to blow the seals out and the jig to push the new seals in, worked great. I did not pound the seals in at all. I used a 2x4 with a hole the size of the shaft and the old seals and washers to push them in like you showed. THANKS, Sure time saver.
Every time I watch someone else having a hard time it always bring me sanity that it’s not just me glad everything worked out for ya thanks for the video
Thanks for the video. I swapped my box out yesterday, only to find the Reman box had stripped threads in the last mounting hole when I went to torque them. Up to that point, I had everything hand tight. 5-10 ft/lbs of torque on the last bolt, basically no resistance. I put my old box back in, but the pitman shaft seal is weeping, so I'll get a seal kit and do the repair instead. Thanks for the great info! BTW, the jet noise in the background reminds me of what it was like being stationed at MCAS El Toro with VMFAT-101's planes flying the pattern. Lol
Power steering pumps at lock produce from 1,200 to 1,800 PSI for normal operation but higher during lock. When removing the pitman arm from the sector shaft/cross shaft, soak it several times over an hour or so, but unlike a tie rod end, beating on it takes a toll on the shafts surface but the needle bearing. A loose needle bearing will be responsible for repeat seal failure. Ball joint covers/boots for trucks is a good practice to research but use as a dust/water shield between the pitman arm and the box. As long as it fit over the bottom and not inside where the seal & clip goes. Use a 6 point socket to remove the nut, but put extreme pressure grease on the threads before using. Take a 6 point impact type socket on a breaker bar or heavy 1/2” ratchet, but keep a cheater pipe around 5-6 foot long. Please don’t beat on it. If you play you audio backwards, you’ll hear the needle bearing scream! Yes, pitman arms have a lot of splines which increase surface area of contact. This alone makes it hard to get off. Especially if the factory installed it using the specs; Tighter Than Hell Plus Three Turns! ;) Glad you was able to get it change! PS; Use petroleum jelly, trans lube or if needed, wheel bearing grease on the seal as you did, but on the back lip, there is a “Garder” spring that helps the seals lip stay tight. Pack that area with a thick lube to keep it from popping out during installation. You will have that sinking feeling if you install the new seal, look and see the shiny new spring sitting sideways. It will suck! Just a tip. ASE Master Tech since 1978 - Retired
Sir. My replacement set doesn't have two identical seals. One is spring loaded. And the other has a tophat shape to it? On the back side if that top hat shaped one is metal embedded to it. I'm afraid to install it upside down.
7:46 is one of my favorite moments I've ever heard on CZcams haha. It's not often, but when those moments happen and a plan actually works, you can tangibly sense the shock and surprise in an XJ owner's voice. "Sonofabitch, it actually worked." Cracked me up!
I like how you get the big hammer working on the pitman arm. My big hammer's name is Bertha I like the way she whispers I love you with a few love taps.
OMG, I can't believe theres a video out there for this. My 90' XJ just started leaking. I'll probably pull a steering box from the yard tomorrow, but I'm glad to have this video to watch for when I fix my stock seals! Two thumbs up bubba! You're SE somewhere aren't you!?
Thanks for sharing , I'm fighting an Australian Ford bronco , the seal is so rooted there's not enough pressure it only crept out enough to force a McDonald's plastic knife in there to flex it out , you wouldn't want to try to get parts for shit right hand drive cars like we have , everything over three years old is called obsolete and you actually have to hunt down hydraulic shop and get them to take measurements to even get the irreconcilable seal
+Joseph McUmber If it was a mall crawler it could probably hold it's value pretty well, haha. It's the off roading that keeps the value in a steady decline...
You’d Be Surprised How Far A Little Bit Of Heat From Just Your Basic Map Torch Goes... Wasn’t Coming Off Easy With The Pitman Arm Puller Even Tho I Sprayed Penetrating Oil & Even Smacking It With A Hammer, But After Applying Heat For Just 5 Seconds (No Exaggeration) It Came Off With Ease!!! 🔥
Hey bud I realize this a little old but do you remember if you put both seals in with the flat bottom down? I know you put the first one in flat bottom down. Any reply would help me big-time! Thanks in advance
I have not, but it might be worth looking into a durango box for a bigger bore. just have to check the lock to lock number between stock and snow plow versions.
Suggestion: remove the four bolts to lower the sway bar. That way you can hammer directly on the end of puller's forcing screw instead of the pitman arm. It's way more effective. The pitman arm is splined, not a taper shaft like balljoints and tie rod ends. Hammering on the pitman arm doesn't work the same as hammering on the steering knuckle to pop taper shafts out. As you showed, it eventually works. But this case would have been a case to hammer on the forcing screw. Lowering the sway bar also makes installing the seal easier.
Great step by step. Cool tip; using hydraulic pressure to push seals out! Could have done without all the profanity. I’m a big boy and can handle it but I was sharing with a grandson for working on his truck🤨
Its not a big deal if you don't off-road but I think you forgot to install the dust boot (goes between the pitman arm and the base of the shaft; GM part #26000985 for the HD Saginaw boxes in the HD GM trucks. Probably the same part.
im sorry to say but the lower seal was put in upside down,in the video before he pops the seals you can clearly see the bottom seal is flat side down,That and the 2 seals would be designed to go in the same way,plus i just pulled mine apart and the bottom seal was flat side down
Smashing job done :-D The jeep keeps giving you presents of failed parts, generious jeep lol :) Is there no outside boot for that shaft?, it just looks unfinished and unprotected. I like the power of hydraulic pressure, that seal had no chance lol. Was that adjustable spanner / cresent wrench big enough ha ha :-D :-D
+killeninicent That has been floating around the idea bay along with other steering upgrades. I haven't decided what box I want to use but at some point I'd like to do a hydro assist setup and I'll be looking into all the details more. The ram takes over the need for a stronger box, but I'll still need a better pump along with other things.
I was looking for an adjustment. My steering wheel turns one and a half turns to the left, all the way to the stop; but, it only turns one turn to the right; nowhere near the opposite stop. How do I adjust this; or, does this mean steering box rebuild?
That sounds really strange. First question, does the steering wheel point straight when you're going straight down the road? If no then you need to recenter the steering wheel first. That is done with the adjusting collar on the drag link. If it points straight and the lock to lock turns are still not even, the next step i would take is see if the steering is binding or tires are hitting anything. could be possible the C-Arm stops are not set correctly. I don't think the box internals would cause an offset like that. The box does have a preload adjustment on the top for tightening up the backlash, but I would do lots of reading on that because setting it wrong will mess the box up.
It was a used Jeep when I bought it; and, it had been in some type of front end accident. When I installed the 4" lift, the steering wheel went from straight, to what you see here. czcams.com/video/gGiTCyXnLrw/video.html The alignment guy found the steering arm badly bent and replaced it; but, couldn't center the wheel very well; so, I had to flip it 180 and he got it a lot closer; but, now it will go full left; but, it won't go full right. I'm thinking Pitman Arm reclocking????
Yeah....... well that's your problem. The Steering Wheel is directly connected to the steering box. So when an alignment shop "straightens your wheel," what they really do is adjust the steering until the tires match the steering wheel. So if your steering wheel doesn't point straight up when going straight, it's going to be off from one side to the other on the box and probably won't re-center as well either. This video shows you how to do it really well, and this adjustment will not change your alignment at all: czcams.com/video/h7OuwYnjjIY/video.html If you can't properly straighten the wheel then you'd have to get aftermarket steering, or get a drop pitman arm and drop trackbar bracket to see if that gets you closer.
I greatly appreciate your help. It's really helped me a lot - thinking of what I gotta do - what could possibly be wrong. I watched this video czcams.com/video/qUKG_syAolA/video.html and saw that the pitman arm can be installed 4 different ways. Wondering if it was installed clocked differently. The alignment guy said the collar runs out of threads. Wondering if extended collars exist? Should I install a drop down pitman arm? If I did, that would be a great time to clock it in center of the gear box? Another thought is to just live with it, until the gear box leaks or goes bad. Wondering if it is bad?
The pitman arm does have an alignment slot so it's hard to put on wrong. Since the arm only swings like 30º either way, I think you'd know if your arm wasn't on straight. Your alignment guy would be correct, and you can run out of adjustment but I would look into why that's the case. I was still able to properly center my steering wheel with all stock steering and 6" of lift. Is your trackbar properly aligned, ie the axle is centered under the vehicle at ride height? But drop brackets may be able to help, just know a drop trackbar bracket puts more stress on the frame and makes it easier to crack down the road.
@@NickInTimeFilms Just remove the top bolts holding the top onto the box and then pull the shaft up enough to expose the seals and the you can hook them and pull them out, easy. Same with getting the arm off. You can use the puller but if you have the top bolts out then you can hammer on the bolt that is against the spline shaft and it will push up and the arm will be pushed against the bottom of the box.
One problem, if you get a drop pitman arm then you also need to get a drop trackbar mount to keep your steering angles parallel. I don't feel like doing either of those as it means more leverage is being applied to the frame and could cause it to crack.
rebuilt my entire sawhinaw. lol. black ball, silver ball, black ball, silver ball, black ball... crap was that a black or silver ball?! uh silver ball, black ball crap better start over...! lol
+NickInTimeFilms do itt! I've been wanting to rebuild mine but just can't bring myself to do it without a solid, well put together video. I guess that makes me a CZcams mechanic
+Jacob Aaron their is a series af well put together videos. it is a four part series. it took me three days to do it the first time. it makes a big difference and saves a lot of money but you will definately want to take the time to do it right. after market boxes are also a good option and do not cost much more if you do not already have the tools and time.
Old vid I know, but I haven’t read anyone else comment that both seals do face the same direction, flat side down/out. It is a double lip seal. The force of the hydraulic fluid against the seals, properly installed, pushes them against their mating surfaces creating a tight leak-proof seal. If either one is installed flat side up/in, the pressure will force the fluid around the seal ensuring a generous leak. Otherwise great video! Also hammering on a pitman arm the same you would a tie rod or ball joint can cause internal damage to the gearbox. Thanks for an otherwise informative video. It never occurred to me to remove the seals in this way. Much easier.
This video saved my ass on my 79 f350. I watched your video 3 times before I did it, the trick with getting the seals out was great! I had my seal replaced in a little over an hour.! Thanks for the video!!
Dude, you saved me. I just did this on my 70 Cutlass and your video made it work perfect. Although it still took me 5 hours the tip about using pressure to blow the seals out and the jig to push the new seals in, worked great. I did not pound the seals in at all. I used a 2x4 with a hole the size of the shaft and the old seals and washers to push them in like you showed.
THANKS, Sure time saver.
Every time I watch someone else having a hard time it always bring me sanity that it’s not just me glad everything worked out for ya thanks for the video
Спасибо тебе мужик за содержательное видео!❤ А то я бы сейчас мучился и сломал себе руки😂😂 Еще раз спасибо!
И если не сложно, напиши номер набора сальников! Сегодня протекло окончательно, встала моя малышка((
Doing mine now on a 98 chevy Silverado. Easy job
My pitman arm slid right off
Thanks for the video. I swapped my box out yesterday, only to find the Reman box had stripped threads in the last mounting hole when I went to torque them. Up to that point, I had everything hand tight. 5-10 ft/lbs of torque on the last bolt, basically no resistance. I put my old box back in, but the pitman shaft seal is weeping, so I'll get a seal kit and do the repair instead. Thanks for the great info! BTW, the jet noise in the background reminds me of what it was like being stationed at MCAS El Toro with VMFAT-101's planes flying the pattern. Lol
Power steering pumps at lock produce from 1,200 to 1,800 PSI for normal operation but higher during lock. When removing the pitman arm from the sector shaft/cross shaft, soak it several times over an hour or so, but unlike a tie rod end, beating on it takes a toll on the shafts surface but the needle bearing. A loose needle bearing will be responsible for repeat seal failure. Ball joint covers/boots for trucks is a good practice to research but use as a dust/water shield between the pitman arm and the box. As long as it fit over the bottom and not inside where the seal & clip goes. Use a 6 point socket to remove the nut, but put extreme pressure grease on the threads before using. Take a 6 point impact type socket on a breaker bar or heavy 1/2” ratchet, but keep a cheater pipe around 5-6 foot long. Please don’t beat on it. If you play you audio backwards, you’ll hear the needle bearing scream!
Yes, pitman arms have a lot of splines which increase surface area of contact. This alone makes it hard to get off. Especially if the factory installed it using the specs; Tighter Than Hell Plus Three Turns! ;) Glad you was able to get it change!
PS; Use petroleum jelly, trans lube or if needed, wheel bearing grease on the seal as you did, but on the back lip, there is a “Garder” spring that helps the seals lip stay tight. Pack that area with a thick lube to keep it from popping out during installation. You will have that sinking feeling if you install the new seal, look and see the shiny new spring sitting sideways. It will suck! Just a tip. ASE Master Tech since 1978 - Retired
Outstanding!
Sir. My replacement set doesn't have two identical seals. One is spring loaded. And the other has a tophat shape to it? On the back side if that top hat shaped one is metal embedded to it. I'm afraid to install it upside down.
7:46 is one of my favorite moments I've ever heard on CZcams haha. It's not often, but when those moments happen and a plan actually works, you can tangibly sense the shock and surprise in an XJ owner's voice. "Sonofabitch, it actually worked." Cracked me up!
Same xD I subbed at that precise moment xD
Just the video I need. I have to do that job on my jeep. Thanks for uploading it. Good job.
Nice tip on the seal removal ..
great video so far not even the real mechanic shops ilustrate as good as you n great camara def good job .i hope to fix mine this weeking
I like how you get the big hammer working on the pitman arm. My big hammer's name is Bertha I like the way she whispers I love you with a few love taps.
sweet thanks for this video mine has started to leak and was psyching myself out fairly simple.
Another informative video. Thanks Mate.
Wow, this is helpful. Thanks!
OMG, I can't believe theres a video out there for this. My 90' XJ just started leaking. I'll probably pull a steering box from the yard tomorrow, but I'm glad to have this video to watch for when I fix my stock seals! Two thumbs up bubba! You're SE somewhere aren't you!?
just did this on my s10 it worked great... thanks
Thats helpful, can't wait to do it on my steering gearbox
Great job!
Awesome tip!!
good tip on blowing out the seal, got an 05 LJ with the mercedes made gear box same stack up or is it completely different?
The o-ring is for the end cap on the box. Sometimes they leak the as well. The convex cap on the end.
great video thanks. I have to do my 78 J10.
Thanks for sharing , I'm fighting an Australian Ford bronco , the seal is so rooted there's not enough pressure it only crept out enough to force a McDonald's plastic knife in there to flex it out , you wouldn't want to try to get parts for shit right hand drive cars like we have , everything over three years old is called obsolete and you actually have to hunt down hydraulic shop and get them to take measurements to even get the irreconcilable seal
You make it look easy.
Damn I wish I could do this but my seal broke on the freeway and it really messed up the steering box, but this was a very fun video to watch.
Buen trabajo 👍
Great vid as always man! Your Jeep must be worth tons now with how new it is XD
+Joseph McUmber If it was a mall crawler it could probably hold it's value pretty well, haha. It's the off roading that keeps the value in a steady decline...
HahaI get you man. It's gotta cost more than just gas to have that much fun
+Joseph McUmber But it's soooo worth it.
I was 12 hours from buying a new gearbox!
I was 12 minutes from buying a new one xD
You’d Be Surprised How Far A Little Bit Of Heat From Just Your Basic Map Torch Goes... Wasn’t Coming Off Easy With The Pitman Arm Puller Even Tho I Sprayed Penetrating Oil & Even Smacking It With A Hammer, But After Applying Heat For Just 5 Seconds (No Exaggeration) It Came Off With Ease!!! 🔥
Hey bud I realize this a little old but do you remember if you put both seals in with the flat bottom down? I know you put the first one in flat bottom down. Any reply would help me big-time! Thanks in advance
About to tackle this job on my 5.9l zj.
Thank you for sharing your video
Nice video Nick
Good video. Thanks.
Nice well done Is it still holding after 7 years lol.Thanks.
Oil the threads on the puller before use. 🙂
My box didn't have any fluid..it runs out as fast as I put it in...is there still a way besides drilling to get the seals out
Nice video I was looking to see if you ever replaced your gear box. But it looks like you haven’t. Any recommendations on one you would get?
I have not, but it might be worth looking into a durango box for a bigger bore. just have to check the lock to lock number between stock and snow plow versions.
i thought for sure you would know the mushroom cap on those is for tapping with a hammer... got my arm off in like 4 mins with that same puller
+AKghandi Well ain't that something. Now we can all learn, haha.
Wow! Glad I chose to read the comment. Super helpful
Suggestion: remove the four bolts to lower the sway bar. That way you can hammer directly on the end of puller's forcing screw instead of the pitman arm. It's way more effective. The pitman arm is splined, not a taper shaft like balljoints and tie rod ends. Hammering on the pitman arm doesn't work the same as hammering on the steering knuckle to pop taper shafts out. As you showed, it eventually works. But this case would have been a case to hammer on the forcing screw. Lowering the sway bar also makes installing the seal easier.
grind down the pitman puller bolt head and use a socket + impact. pisses me off they make it so you have to use a stupid wrench :)
@@v12alpine still gotta lower the sway bar to get the impact on it.
@@jjbailey01 I guess I missed that part since I don't have a sway bar lol
What sway bar?
Great step by step. Cool tip; using hydraulic pressure to push seals out! Could have done without all the profanity. I’m a big boy and can handle it but I was sharing with a grandson for working on his truck🤨
Shut up Mark
🥱
full lock tip is gonna be usefull
How hard is it to replace that bearing?
I had to do this to my Durango steering box. What a mess.
Can’t find these for a jeep jk , I wonder if they are the same for the xj and jk
Its not a big deal if you don't off-road but I think you forgot to install the dust boot (goes between the pitman arm and the base of the shaft; GM part #26000985 for the HD Saginaw boxes in the HD GM trucks. Probably the same part.
Hmm, did mine have that originally? I figured I replaced everything that I took out
It's possible that it didn't have a boot - I've watched some other videos tonight and some aftermarket/reman units didn't install a boot.
so the bubbles settle? my steering box has been popping so I'm about to go jy shopping soon
+Joe Mcface Yeah, they settle out after like 10 minutes.
im sorry to say but the lower seal was put in upside down,in the video before he pops the seals you can clearly see the bottom seal is flat side down,That and the 2 seals would be designed to go in the same way,plus i just pulled mine apart and the bottom seal was flat side down
Smashing job done :-D
The jeep keeps giving you presents of failed parts, generious jeep lol :)
Is there no outside boot for that shaft?, it just looks unfinished and unprotected.
I like the power of hydraulic pressure, that seal had no chance lol.
Was that adjustable spanner / cresent wrench big enough ha ha :-D :-D
+zx8401ztv The shaft doesn't really need any protecting, all the magic happens behind the seals anyway. And I've got bigger. haha.
+NickInTimeFilms
LOL i hope you ment adjustable spanner :)
Coulda done a durango steering box upgrade.
+killeninicent That has been floating around the idea bay along with other steering upgrades. I haven't decided what box I want to use but at some point I'd like to do a hydro assist setup and I'll be looking into all the details more. The ram takes over the need for a stronger box, but I'll still need a better pump along with other things.
I was looking for an adjustment. My steering wheel turns one and a half turns to the left, all the way to the stop; but, it only turns one turn to the right; nowhere near the opposite stop. How do I adjust this; or, does this mean steering box rebuild?
That sounds really strange. First question, does the steering wheel point straight when you're going straight down the road? If no then you need to recenter the steering wheel first. That is done with the adjusting collar on the drag link.
If it points straight and the lock to lock turns are still not even, the next step i would take is see if the steering is binding or tires are hitting anything. could be possible the C-Arm stops are not set correctly. I don't think the box internals would cause an offset like that.
The box does have a preload adjustment on the top for tightening up the backlash, but I would do lots of reading on that because setting it wrong will mess the box up.
It was a used Jeep when I bought it; and, it had been in some type of front end accident. When I installed the 4" lift, the steering wheel went from straight, to what you see here. czcams.com/video/gGiTCyXnLrw/video.html The alignment guy found the steering arm badly bent and replaced it; but, couldn't center the wheel very well; so, I had to flip it 180 and he got it a lot closer; but, now it will go full left; but, it won't go full right. I'm thinking Pitman Arm reclocking????
Yeah....... well that's your problem. The Steering Wheel is directly connected to the steering box. So when an alignment shop "straightens your wheel," what they really do is adjust the steering until the tires match the steering wheel. So if your steering wheel doesn't point straight up when going straight, it's going to be off from one side to the other on the box and probably won't re-center as well either.
This video shows you how to do it really well, and this adjustment will not change your alignment at all: czcams.com/video/h7OuwYnjjIY/video.html
If you can't properly straighten the wheel then you'd have to get aftermarket steering, or get a drop pitman arm and drop trackbar bracket to see if that gets you closer.
I greatly appreciate your help. It's really helped me a lot - thinking of what I gotta do - what could possibly be wrong. I watched this video czcams.com/video/qUKG_syAolA/video.html and saw that the pitman arm can be installed 4 different ways. Wondering if it was installed clocked differently. The alignment guy said the collar runs out of threads. Wondering if extended collars exist? Should I install a drop down pitman arm? If I did, that would be a great time to clock it in center of the gear box? Another thought is to just live with it, until the gear box leaks or goes bad. Wondering if it is bad?
The pitman arm does have an alignment slot so it's hard to put on wrong. Since the arm only swings like 30º either way, I think you'd know if your arm wasn't on straight. Your alignment guy would be correct, and you can run out of adjustment but I would look into why that's the case. I was still able to properly center my steering wheel with all stock steering and 6" of lift. Is your trackbar properly aligned, ie the axle is centered under the vehicle at ride height?
But drop brackets may be able to help, just know a drop trackbar bracket puts more stress on the frame and makes it easier to crack down the road.
My bottom seal on the pitman shaft came off but top seal was torn but i can't get it off anything i can do to get it off
Any way to get a hook on there? I've also seen people drill a hole in the metal ring, screw a screw into it, and yank it out that way
@@NickInTimeFilms Just remove the top bolts holding the top onto the box and then pull the shaft up enough to expose the seals and the you can hook them and pull them out, easy. Same with getting the arm off. You can use the puller but if you have the top bolts out then you can hammer on the bolt that is against the spline shaft and it will push up and the arm will be pushed against the bottom of the box.
Fucking A U SAVED MY LIFE
I love this kind of s*** man
4:42 you have the Crescent on upside down. ^^
Kinda got startled when that seal finally blew
You need a drop pitman rod
One problem, if you get a drop pitman arm then you also need to get a drop trackbar mount to keep your steering angles parallel. I don't feel like doing either of those as it means more leverage is being applied to the frame and could cause it to crack.
What a messy job . Got it done though
You need a bigger purse 😂
When in doubt, get the hammer out
What about that exhaust leak lol
Lol, one problem at a time, otherwise this video would never end hahaha.
No atf?
It's recommended to use actual power steering fluid these days as modern fluids are a bit different from ATF
Did somebody say seal?
AURRR AURRR AURRR
rebuilt my entire sawhinaw. lol. black ball, silver ball, black ball, silver ball, black ball... crap was that a black or silver ball?! uh silver ball, black ball crap better start over...! lol
+Adam949 Yeah, I'll be going through that if I ever decide to tap my box.
+NickInTimeFilms do itt! I've been wanting to rebuild mine but just can't bring myself to do it without a solid, well put together video. I guess that makes me a CZcams mechanic
+Jacob Aaron their is a series af well put together videos. it is a four part series. it took me three days to do it the first time. it makes a big difference and saves a lot of money but you will definately want to take the time to do it right. after market boxes are also a good option and do not cost much more if you do not already have the tools and time.
Adam949 do you remember where you got your rebuild and much it set you back?
+Jacob Aaron O'Reilly and it cost about $12 but I also had tools.