Steering Seal

[witty73]

Hi all, Working on the steering gear of my 53 New major. I took it all apart to attempt to seal up all the leaks. Some here say to replace the gear oil with light grease, others claim to replace the seal with grease cord, etc. My question is this: what does the oilseal and retainer that are supposed to be installed over the shaft, behind the drop arm look like? I have taken it all apart, cleaned, etc. It appears to me that all that is behind my drop arm is the end of the outer bushing the rocker shaft slides through. any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[janus]

hello

the steering box oil seal, is just a normal oil seal
maybe you have the same " problem / challenge " like me a year ago

if you look at the photo, you can see that the bush, has come out of the steering box, so you can;t put a new oil seal in it
i made a special tool with the lathe, and put the bush back in the steering house, ( i remove the shaft ) and fitted the seal , untill now, is all fine

[witty73]

Upon further inspection tonight, I have found that the retainer and oil seal are indeed in place. however, mine looks nothing like yours. it appears that in order to replace my oil seal, one would need to remove both bushings out of the other side of the steering box housing so as to remove the seal and the retainer. the Repair Operations manual shows the retainer and oil seal being removed from the drop arm side of the box, which is literally impossible from what I see. I tried to get some pics, but the lighting is poor, and the fuel tank is still in place. I will get some tomorrow. Not sure how much help it will be though, since I have yet to locate a replacement seal. My father things I should maching down the portion of the houseing that holds in the retainer, and then attempt to find a modern seal that fits the shaft and the housing. Any other ideas or experience?

[witty73]

Ok, just did a bit of googling and found this:

http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/Ford- ... N3539.html

Can anybody verify this is the correct oil seal for the application?

If so, then apparently my early major has a different design for the steering gear seal. Mine has a lip, that holds a rubber seal, along with a thing washer retainer against the outer bushing. Has anybody else seen one like this? If so, can the lip be removed with a die grinder and the seal above made to fit?

Thanks

[Spicklas]

Upon further inspection tonight, I have found that the retainer and oil seal are indeed in place. however, mine looks nothing like yours. it appears that in order to replace my oil seal, one would need to remove both bushings out of the other side of the steering box housing so as to remove the seal and the retainer. the Repair Operations manual shows the retainer and oil seal being removed from the drop arm side of the box, which is literally impossible from what I see. I tried to get some pics, but the lighting is poor, and the fuel tank is still in place. I will get some tomorrow. Not sure how much help it will be though, since I have yet to locate a replacement seal. My father things I should maching down the portion of the houseing that holds in the retainer, and then attempt to find a modern seal that fits the shaft and the housing. Any other ideas or experience?

That's what I did, took the 'box to be machined so that a seal with outer diameter 47mm could be put in. If you have the same retainer as me, it will be possible to get it off by removing the axle and breaking it outwards with a crowbar for example.

[BearCreek Majors]

Witty, you have the early style that is nothing more than a square O ring held in place by a washer that is peened into the housing, don’t bother trying to remove the washer, now that you have the rocker shaft out just pick the O ring out with an O ring pic, dental pick, jackknife, etc, and replace it. I have used standard round O rings with no problems.

Pat

[witty73]

Yes, I see that now. I was literally taking pictures to post here, and using a pick to point to things for clarification. I pulled a bit on the retainer, and it popped right out. Now im thinking of ordering the seal of the net, and seeing if this housing can be retrofitted with the newer style seal. I may try the o-ring, but if it leak again, the newer style oil seal will be able to be replaced without removing the rocker shaft.

[witty73]

Ok, housing is off at the machine shop being machined to accept the newer style seal. My next question is, does anybody know where you can get a bushing for the top of the shaft housing? That is severely worn. Also, how full does the box get filled with gear oil once this puzzle is all back together?

Thanks,
Witty

[Spicklas]

Tell the machine shop to make one for you at the same time the parts are there. Fill the oil all up to the plug.