Steering Box Leak

[Delboy]

My steering box appears to be leaking fluid. I had noticed the steering felt a bit sloppy for the past couple of days, so i had a look and it appears to be leaking from where the steering bar thingy enters the box. Has anyone had any probless with theirs? Is it easy to fix these things or is it a pro job? Any help appreciated before i take it apart!

[JimL]

I cant say for sure if this pic is of a helpful nature or of a dead electric duck but here it is anyway...

[Dieseldog]

Power steering leak

Delboy,
Some 6 years ago I replaced this same seal and had to do it again last week.
Depending on your mechanical aptitude, you can do it yourself. I had a look at various workshop manuals and the Gregory's manual is by far the best of all - Haynes manual is useless! Still it isn't an easy job as you have to either strip the whole steering box to remove the valve box and power piston as a unit, or just unscrew the valve box from the power piston and then battle to replace 46 ball bearings inside the power piston - use grease to keep them in. The seal you require is a high pressure oil seal with dimensions 32mm x 19mm x 7mm. Bleeding the whole system afterwards is also a chore.
Bottom line, if you have the cash to have it professionally overhauled, do it!
Hope this helps. I have a 1992 4Runner 2.8D which is the same as the Surf
Ronald.

[Delboy]

Cheers Fellas! May try to tackle it soon!

[NickW]

The diagram is very useful, has anyone got anymore recommendations about removal of the steering box and which seal normally goes? I don't have Gregory's manual. I see RoughTrax4x4 do a refurb unit.

[madmattysurf]

my box started leaking last week in the same place.

hoping to get some seals soon.

[NickW]

Roughtrax do a seal kit for £61, just wondering how many special tools might be required to strip down the unit though! There's a discussion here which might be useful.