pitman shaft seal replacement

[burdar]

The search function is broken right now so I couldn't look for past posts...

A complete power steering rebuild isn't in the budget right now and I'm not comfortable tearing the box apart myself.  I did buy a pitman shaft seal kit though and was wondering the easiest way to replace it.  I read where someone said to remove the snap ring...then start the car.  The pressure would pop the seal.  My PS box is out on the bench and it also has a dust seal below the snap ring.  How do I get these seals out with the pitman shaft still inplace?  Thanks

[Topcat]

Use a dent puller type that screws in. The old style type works.

[burdar]

I'm not sure what you're talking about?  Can I just drill a small hole in the seals?  THen run a screw into them to pull with?

[Topcat]

I'm not sure what you're talking about?  Can I just drill a small hole in the seals?  THen run a screw into them to pull with?

yeah, that'll work. One on each side then use the edges as leverage with vice grips.

[burdar]

That worked great.  The box is cleaned up and the seals are installed.  I'll degrease the box on Monday and paint it black. 

[don340-4]

 burdar, if you have the box on the bench you might want to replace the steering shaft seal, they can be tough to replace while the box is in the car.

         

[burdar]

Looking at the expanded picture of the box, I really don't want to get into that mess.  The locking rings are probably not going to come loose without a fight either.  If the box leaks, I'll send it in for a complete rebuild.  Right now I need to focus on getting it on the road.  Thanks for the suggestion though.  I really thought about getting the complete seal kit.

[Bullitt-]

That worked great.  The box is cleaned up and the seals are installed.  I'll degrease the box on Monday and paint it black. 

Mine was not black....just rusty

[burdar]

I remember you saying that when we talked earlier.  Mine looked natural too(completely rusty) so I painted it a cast color.  After reading a lot of posts about the power boxes being black, I started looking for pictures of 73/74 cars.  I've got a picture of a survivor 74 Cuda with a black box and a few other cars with remants of black paint.  Everyone I talked to said the black paint didn't stick very well.

Yesterday, I applied paint stripper to the box and as I scraped the cast paint away, I saw black paint coming off too.  While wire wheeling the entire box, there were a couple areas where the black paint showed up.  I kind of like the cast look better but will be painting it with Eastwoods Extreme Chassis Black...a little less gloss then the K-member.