Power Steering Leak

[Lincolnmania]

replace the steering box with a remanufactured unit

[DuceAnAHalf]

i pulled my pitman arm off with a big 1 1/8" wrench just needs some power to break it loose. after that just use the pitman arm puller with a 3/4" socket

[Lincolnmania]

yea i did it with a breaker bar and socket at phayzers house

[Mr. Land Yacht]

ok..so I need a new steering gear box..ok.
if I got the 98+ style, does it bolt up with no modification?
cuz if I'm gonna spend the money, may as well upgrade...do I need to get it specifically for a 98-02 Vic PI or would a 98-02 reg Vic be the same?
just curious, what makes the 98+ gear box better?

looks like an ex$pen$ive fix...the cheapest gearbox I could find on rockAuto was $200 + a $200 core charge.

can I just buy a used one from someone? would I need a new gasket seal kit for it?
and just to clarify, I cannot take my current gear box off, replace the gaskets/seal in it with the gasket/seal kit and put it back on. right?

from what it sounds like...it's like I can get a non-leaking gearbox from a 98-02 Vic and swap it on. am I right?

*sorry for all the questions*

[DuceAnAHalf]

not sure about the panther boxes, but we replaced the pitman arm seal in my brothers explorer's steering box. just removed the pitman arm, turned the wheel all the way to one side, and then "popped" the wheel against the end of the rotation, that pushed the seal out. then just installed the new seal

[87LongroofCP]

I agree with DuceAnAHalf, remove the pitman arm, under the arm there should be a snap ring. Remove the ring, fill the pump partially with fluid, nun the motor, tunn the wheel all the way to one side. The seal should pop right out. It will make a big mess on the ground so be ready for it. Just replace the seal carefully with a drift punch. Good luck......Bruce

[Mr. Land Yacht]

and that's all it needs?
replace that seal and it's good. mk then.

[gadget73]

The seal is replacable, yes. Its also possible that the output shaft will be beat up, or the seal will get damaged installing, and it'll still leak. If you're tight on money, its worth a shot.


As for the new box, you need the lower part of the coupler off the 98+ and the lines off the 98+. The rag joint on your car will need to be cut apart and re-assembled using a rag joint repair kit and the lower part of the 98 coupler. The lines will need a little bit of custom splicing too. Nothing major, but its not a direct no modifications needed swap. Its been discussed in more detail recently in the suspension thread with pics and such. As for the application, thats your pic. CVPI has stiffer steering than a civi car. Civi is still stiffer than what you have now, but its not quite as "heavy" feeling as the police box. HPP is somewhere in the middle.

[Mr. Land Yacht]

I took it over to Belle Tire..cost me about $350 to fix.
The pitman arm itself was badly worn as well so that was replaced...gearbox replaced obviously.
While it was there I got 2 new outer tie rods since they were bad...kool thing was that I had them replaced about 2 yrs ago at a Belle Tire so they were under warranty...$70 and I had 2 new tie rods. :woot:

they also got me to get some new shocks up front..been meaning to do it so it worked out for me.
The put on Monroe shocks and they are warrantied for life...so if they wear I can get em replaced for only the cost of labor.

it's gonna take a little time to get used to the steering being so responsive now. lol

[gabegt90]

I took it over to Belle Tire..cost me about $350 to fix.
The pitman arm itself was badly worn as well so that was replaced...gearbox replaced obviously.
While it was there I got 2 new outer tie rods since they were bad...kool thing was that I had them replaced about 2 yrs ago at a Belle Tire so they were under warranty...$70 and I had 2 new tie rods. :woot:

they also got me to get some new shocks up front..been meaning to do it so it worked out for me.
The put on Monroe shocks and they are warrantied for life...so if they wear I can get em replaced for only the cost of labor.

it's gonna take a little time to get used to the steering being so responsive now. lol

did they align it? I need to replace my front end sometime as well

[Mr. Land Yacht]

yep, they aligned it as well.
total cost was $720

[Mr. Land Yacht]

here's some pics for y'all

gear box


Driver side Tie Rod and new Pitman Arm


Passenger side Tie Rod


if you look close enough, you'll notice the new idler arm there.
I said previously Pitman Arm but I meant Idler arm.

[Lincolnmania]

they didnt wipe the grease off!......should have replaced the pressure hose too...that thing looks nasty.....so do the inner tie rod ends

[gadget73]

yeah, that PS hose looks sort of dried out. You know that thing has to hold like 1400 psi.

[88grandmarq]

Glad you got it fixed Colin.... However, to me, thats quite a lot of money for the repairs with stock parts.

for $1200, I upgraded the brakes, suspension and steering on my car. thats 98+ big brakes, front end rebuild with new bushings, 99 P71 steering gear box with modified hoses and a PS cooler. that price also includes the alignment. I already had the 16" wheels and tires.