Leaking Steering Gearbox
Thread Starter
|
Junior Member
Joined: Dec 2007
Posts: 6
Likes: 0
From: RI
Leaking Steering Gearbox
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is for those of you that have changed the steering gearbox on a 97-03 F-150. My steering box is leaking and definitely needs replacement, and I have purchased a remanufactured one and would like to install it myself. The new one I purchased comes with the pitman arm already attached. My question is can I remove the old box without taking the pitman arm off. I would imagine if the pinch bolt on the steering collumn is loosened and the center link disconnected from the pitman arm, and after removing the 3 bolts holding the box to the frame and the lines it should just come out with the pitman arm still attached. Although I would like to double check with someone that has done this before. The reason I am asking is that I do not have a pitman arm puller, nor do I have the 34mm wrench/socket that is needed to remove the nut holding the pitman arm onto the box. Also I am wondering what the difficulty of this job is, I have heard the box is rather heavy... Is it something that can be accomplised using jackstands and a creeper without too much trouble? Thanks for all the help.
This is for those of you that have changed the steering gearbox on a 97-03 F-150. My steering box is leaking and definitely needs replacement, and I have purchased a remanufactured one and would like to install it myself. The new one I purchased comes with the pitman arm already attached. My question is can I remove the old box without taking the pitman arm off. I would imagine if the pinch bolt on the steering collumn is loosened and the center link disconnected from the pitman arm, and after removing the 3 bolts holding the box to the frame and the lines it should just come out with the pitman arm still attached. Although I would like to double check with someone that has done this before. The reason I am asking is that I do not have a pitman arm puller, nor do I have the 34mm wrench/socket that is needed to remove the nut holding the pitman arm onto the box. Also I am wondering what the difficulty of this job is, I have heard the box is rather heavy... Is it something that can be accomplised using jackstands and a creeper without too much trouble? Thanks for all the help.
Senior Member
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 2,707
Likes: 2
From: Glide, OR
I have an '07 and while checking the engine I noticed that my power steering fluid was low. Then I saw some stains on the ground under the truck. I took my truck to the local Ford dealership, they checked it out and found that the seals were bad and leaking on the power steering gear box. It needed to be replaced. I was lucky that it was still under warranty. Leaking fluid is an indication that there is a problem...