What is the correct fluid - grease for a 68 manual steering box?
How do you check it?
How does new fluid - grease get installed? I do not see a fill hole.


I guess this is simple but I want to check it right.


Thanks..

Use the two bolts in the attached picture to check/fill.
The service manual says use a water resistant EP chassis lubricant,not sure exactly what that is.Hopefully someone will reply with the correct type fluid.

Good quality gun grease!

And I pour a bit of 90wt gear lube in her too.

pdq67

Not sure what it is, but the guy who rebuilt mine used something red. It is leaking a drip, so I know.

Great info guys, thanks.

NEVER use gease!! It is the wrong aplication for the product
Oil contually flows and replaces lube that has been pressued from suraces, grease doesnt.
A classic is some old english vintages had a gease nipple, so it was assummed that it got grease...even the service shops of the day assumed this without reading the service manual....these cars then got a reputation of "wandering" down the road.
The Service manual stated that 90 gear oil in a grease gun was to be used.

step,

I'm almost positive GM uses gun grease in them! I know years ago I removed my top and gun gease was aLL OVER INSIDE IT, AND THAT'S WHY I WENT BACK IN W/ A SCHOSH of GEAR LUBE.

Sorry about that, dam caps!!

pdq67

"I removed my top and gun gease..." yeah thats what I found with every one of the steering boxes mentioned above....10 of them, every one had worn the main shaft and bush, sideways movement...it is this area that is effected not the gears.
I ended up metal spraying the shafts, and re bushing...after 50yrs the worm gears where fine...

Saginaw engineering always recommended a good grade of lithium based chassis (ball joint) grease. They got out of the manual steering gear business sometime in the middle 1980s. Obviously no one was considering 20, 30, or even 40 year service life for their components. Also there have been improvements in greases (i.e. synthetics) that are more heat resistant, longer lasting, etc than Saginaw engineering's 20+ year old recommendations.

Jim

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=144158

Here's everything you ever wanted to know about a manual steering gearbox:

http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/wp-co...erev14no08.doc (http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/manualgearadjustchevelleinvehiclerev14no08.doc)

Great article, thanks again!

A Word About Lubrication

The correct manual steering gear lubricant is GM #12377985 available from most GM dealers. Or use a good quality lithium based grease (ball joint grease in a tube.) Today there are probably synthetic types of greases that may be very acceptable as well. I just don’t have any information on them. You want grease in your gear for lubrication. If you substitute oil in its place, the oil will almost immediately begin leaking.

Do not overfill the gear. It only needs to be ¾ full of grease. You need air pockets in the gear to allow for grease expansion with engine temperature. Also there is a ball nut inside the gear that traverses back and forth when you steer right and left. You need air pockets around the nut so that you aren’t always squeezing grease back and forth around the nut and causing friction in the gear. Lastly, some of the oils will separate out of the grease with time. Air pockets in the gear help the internal motion of the gear components to mix the grease.

I rebuilt mine and gear oil tends to leak out. The headers tend to bake the sealer off the adjusting nut. I typical add grease in the spring time when i first take it out. Its easy to tell when it gets low because the steering gets real sloppy.

http://www.camaros.net/forums/showthread.php?t=144158

Here's everything you ever wanted to know about a manual steering gearbox:

http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/wp-co...erev14no08.doc (http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/11/manualgearadjustchevelleinvehiclerev14no08.doc)

Great article, thanks again!

Paul, in case you didn't know, JIML82 (above your post) is the author.:thumbsup:

Whats is the best way to fill up the steering box? If it gets filled through one of the bolt holes like in the pic above, it looks like it would be tough to get grease in there? Also how do you tell when its full? thanks

See, I thought it was gun grease!

pdq67