Update- the last pic shows the leak right in the middle of the cover. Is that normal
Well it's finally happened.
Currently at MOT for windshields and when they went to check my ride height they found the leak.
$2200 give or take to install a rebuilt one.
They have 3 in stock.
How does that price sound?
sounds high to me, Frank.........
My steering box can be rebuilt fot 500 to 600 dollars plus out and in labor
If that is only the seal leaking and there is no slack in the wheel then those seals are just about $50. Now that is a pretty tough DIY. If you want to freshen the box up and have it checked I would use Chalk's in the Houston area. I think Rudy has a go to guy for R & R if you don't want to remove it yourself.
Mike
Thanks everyone, always good to have options. I new it was just a matter of time.
Just heard, while I was at Xtreme, someone had their box rebuilt in Houston for about $700 and he waited for it. I'll see this weekend if it was Chalks.
Mike I'll have to sit this one out as a DIY.
Thanks again for the help.
When NMS was still in business, I got the rebuilt box from Red Head for about $800, and NMS changed it out for me for 6 hours labor.
total bill all in was about $1500.
Yes, if there is play in the steering box, having it "blue printed" by someone like RedHead is a very good idea.
If no play, just reseal and make sure the steering stops/steering box cut angle screws are properly set. If the steering knuckle comes in contact with the physical stop, PSI goes up significantly and can cause blown seals.
I personally think, because I've never driven anything else, that there is no play. Keith drove it a couple of weeks ago and did not say anything.
It is going to Houston and I will probably have it "rebuilt" as opposed to just replacing seals. I'm trying to do whatever is best.
As far as the steering stops and cut angles are concerned is that part of the rebuild process or is that done when they reinstall it on the coach?
Thank you
That is checked/adjusted (or at least certainly should be!) after steering box in reinstalled.
Thanks Brett
Whom are you going to get to remove and re-install the steering box?
Keith
Perfect.
We ordered our steering gear from Red Head and found a good local San Diego small frame shop that could handle the installation job that let us get our hands dirtry.
Major costs: Red Head shipped $1,500, then $500 core credit, plus $100 for emergency shipment of a new nut to replace damaged nut. Installers: $800 plus $100 gratuity.
Yes, MOT price quote is in line. Big job, but self-installable for some.
Geeez.... prices sure have gone up since I replaced ours 4 years ago. the rebuilt Sheppard from Red Head was $500 with the old one returned as a core. Shipping was $100 each way, so $200 for the shipping. The Diesel shop in Tillamook charged around $300 to remove and replace. Our total cost, and we were 3,000 miles from home, was between $1,000 & $1,100.
I felt very lucky that we only lost a day and a half of vacation time due to the gearbox leak.
I'll report back when it's all over with.
Ours happened half way during our annual trip. Several thousand miles home. We drove it but what a mess. Had oil spray on the left side of the coach almost up to the windows. Total repair cost about a hundred bucks plus pitman arm puller at home. It's big, it's heavy, it requires big tools and was a pain to DIY. FYI the original seals were failing do to the back up ring material was melting. It's not if you're going to need to reseal, but when. Anyone with these coaches if they want to proactively replace the seals, you wont regret it. I did not rebuild mine due to the fact it was fine before. Not saying it couldnt be better, or made to be worse. In my case I am very happy with just resealing. Not removing the gearbox is a challenge and I honestly wont recommend that route. It did work for me though. The seal that most talk about leaking can be easily field repaired. The other seal next to the pitman are is in the same condition, but hadn't started leaking yet. It was just a matter of time. I did not replace the input shaft seal and it has been fine up to now.
Steering gearbox leak (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=43263.0)
Sheppard M100 Pitman Arm Puller CALVAN ALSTART 18620 47084186206 | eBay (https://www.ebay.com/itm/313876993974?hash=item491486d7b6:g:cZAAAOSwX2BiC8kw&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA4EzCr%2Frr7ZUuiSav7vBGm1vaL0knJiPJMg%2FeadiAEjOvqFsDZ1UFSQZFWYhHZcf6a4HoNgUD8PIuV3VRiZH8dqEMo%2F5TEtYwgG7YcfVNWEIHnvzU3OXSQNaQGv1aoZwi2oIcjCV5vQFCVPEtvP8uhBbRszFcnTmcf54Obm5hCs7yZqSJ%2Bs%2BiaSdbBRVnlNYj5%2FZQZuzC%2FmsiXIAofHEgRbjg002ivwMTrffotTopica1KzeMFY0pWzk9eQ4dm6TEqgFKH2ZT%2B61R8QPkCHjAkFSHS0tw8aNyV3z2kQ0d4SAL%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6qyh4WMYg)
Sector Shaft Seal Kit for Sheppard M90/M100 Power Steering Gears 5545741... (https://www.ebay.com/itm/165773718446?hash=item2698e233ae:g:w74AAOSw4KdjbvTY&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAA8M6qhwyZFRzjDDktMAdBw0LXajlDvZaxaKGTVRVJ%2FOATCWZJ%2BD%2Bm%2B1eqcUDppOy3b6l%2B07fNMtimVd1D4b2%2FtComkQ4U%2FWTAqonsv6X2JiQFb1yfxscZKdcvJy6wTc8gvYz1Wozr90%2FeyzV%2Bb1iJwUzYjgzGUKtUnVxztSxkdEodiJ1CtWPAqQSTBVrCPsTvN2yJNHfkdE2oFvFT2AWi4Fv5BGVyJlNtTt0TbXNkh8eRdc8%2BisPQbQ%2FAQaF3nnoP4JoNlbFF6B0TLampJfGrKzS1vw8jXfADXr4hgKSvm%2B3EfKiIxum70lUcmdf6eYDWuw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABFBMvryAsIxi)
Scott
This picture shows the leak on my steering box coming right out of the middle of this cover.
Is that normal?? Almost looks too perfect
That is the weep hole that releases pressure when there is an internal leak. Not venting could lock up the steering.
Thanks craneman
That cover should pop right off with little effort. The center looks to be filled with hydraulic fluid from the leaking seal.
The good news is that the seal is relatively easy to replace and only cost about $10.
If your just getting fluid from the weep hole, you have a very small leak. Try draining the fluid from behind the cap, wipe it all down, replace the cap and see how long before you see fluid weeping out again. Also, put a small container under the drip, it will save a mess in the bottom of the compartment.
I believe there are step by step instructions on replacing that seal on this forum You might try a search.
You can change that seal and lose very little fluid. It's a little messy but again, not too difficult to do.
This should help:
Steering Box Sector Shaft Seal Youtube Video (https://www.foreforums.com/index.php?topic=43800.msg441786#msg441786)
I forgot to mention I cut a used gallon oil jug to sit under the leak. That helped capture probably 1/2 of the leaking oil. Dont forget this is a great time to change the hydraulic filters in the tank before you refill.
The steering box was taken to Chalks in Houston yesterday to get rebuilt. It was completed by late afternoon.
Chalk's Truck Parts - Mid & Heavy Trucks, Bus Parts - Houston, TX (https://chalks.com/)
Is the Chalks steering box reuild comparable to what Red Head "blueprint" does?
I really don't know.
Chalk's is better since they use the Shepherd kit plus more internal parts Shepherd deleted from their kits.
Blueprinting is only documenting the process
Actually, as Red Head explains it, blueprinting a Sheppard steering box to reduce play involves installing new bearings that vary by extremely small increments rather than just standard size bearings.
They did say they change the bearings if needed.
Just talked to Chris at Chalk's. There are no varing sizes of bearings for the box. There are several different bearings in different locations in the box. For a bearing location there is one bearing. There are some thrust washers too. If a shaft is worn so it does not fit the bearing correctly, they replace the worn shaft. if a bearing is bad, it gets replaced with the bearing for that location.
Saying bearings vary by small increments and long time Shepherd rebuilder Chalk does not know what they are talking about is marketing BS. So, I respectfully disagree that Red Head is the very best. But I will agree they are okay especially if they are close to your location.
From Red Head's website: About/Process. Red-Head Steering Gears (http://redheadsteeringgears.com/aboutprocess)
RedHead
Our re-manufacturing process:
Machining out the housings and installing needle bearings
Flame-spraying or replacing the shafts as needed
Installing new control valves on some applications
Custom fitting each worm & piston assembly with special ordered, precise over-sized ball bearings.
Other things we do to produce a top quality product include:
Install every sector shaft on a lathe to check for straight and true
polish the sealing surface to a higher polish than new.
Chris has seen these comments on Red Head site. The process discussed is for older pickup trucks, not heavy duty truck units. This is an excellent rebuild for those boxes. He did not see the words"Blue Print" on their site. Chris agrees on the machining needed for the pickup boxes but not needed on our boxes.
Yep that's how you make them better than new. And this is a skilled task that a seasoned mechanic develops threw repetition. Like setting up a ring gear on a rear end. And yes some will be better than others and some worse. I was happy with my factory gearbox and resealing for under a hundred bucks made sense to me. Could it be better, sure and possibly worse. Having six sets of matched bearings isn't cost elective for most shops for each gearbox type
I'll take SWAG at this ball bearing question and guess it refers to some p/s gearboxes that have recirculating steel balls that resemble ball bearing. At overhaul I would assume these balls should be checked for wear.