Technical Steering box leaking?

[Martygf]

Looking for some advice - taken all the suspension off on the front drivers side to clean/repair and paint. In so doing so i have noticed the steering box seems to be leaking? As the car hasnt been used on the road for 10 years could it just be a gasket broken down after years of non use? I dont want it to fail its first MOT for anything i can rectify now. Is it an easy repair to remove and strip/repair and refill the box? Any advice / tips welcome as this i unknown territory to me.
Thanks

 

[Neojames2k]

Eurosport sell a gaitor kit

http://www.eurosport-uk.net/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_11&products_id=371

Grease should be easy enough to find at you local motor parts shop

I'll have a look at my spare rack/car this afternoon and post some instructions as per removal/refitting

Cheers
Neojames2k

 

[Martygf]

Eurosport sell a gaitor kit

http://www.eurosport-uk.net/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_11&products_id=371

Grease should be easy enough to find at you local motor parts shop

I'll have a look at my spare rack/car this afternoon and post some instructions as per removal/refitting

Cheers
Neojames2k

Thanks Neo
Have ordered the kit from Eurosport together with new mounts. Think i know how to remove rack from car, just need to deal with the corroded fittings and having a garage thats not too wide doesnt help. Not looking forward to creeping under the car to deal with fixings as its supported on axle stands under front cross member. Not sure if rack looks as if its leaking from the actual box and not the gaitors. Would you use grease or oil to rebuild?
Cheers.

 

[Neojames2k]

Hi Marty

IIRC you shouldn't have to crawl under the front of the car to get to the fixings on the steering rack. There are 3 screws holding a plate on from the inside as the bottom of the column and 4 nuts to hold the rack in place, as you already have the steering rods off the end of the rack/disconnected from the hub assemblies the rack should just drop down into it's tunnel with gentle persuasion. If my memory serves, it's easier to withdraw it from the drivers side as the wiring runs through the same tunnel on the passenger side

The fixings shouldn't be too rusty as the are inside the car but you never know, always use plenty of penetrating oil on any unknown nuts

My mistake on grease, my spare rack looks like it's greased but it's probably just years of grime that's collected in the oil, the Haynes manual lists "SAE 90 EP" as the oil to use

Looks like there's only a couple of places which oil would be able to leak from. Either the gaitors or there is a plate on the top side of the box which I would assume is gasketed in some way. I would have thought a smear of sealant on that plate during reassembly wouldn't do any harm

Cheers
Neojames2k

 

[X19Paul]

I really like the idea of using grease instead.

On the left side my X1/9 has a small leak.
Instead of replacing the boot, filling it with grease sounds 10 times easier.

Would there be a specific disadvantage of using grease?