Rev C July 2020 Added correct fluid information
Rev D May 2021 Update seal information.
If your car is fighting you every time you make a turn ..you have an internal pressure leak....
Rebuilding your steering box is really not that hard. You need to be neat, clean and patient.
There are a few special tools required.
Steering arm puller.
Piston ring compression tool.
As for the parts ...Basically its "o" rings, 2 seals, the one gasket and the main piston seal. You can source these parts where ever they sell Hydraulic parts.
Note that the piston seal is NOT an "o" ring.
Make sure you don't destroy the top steering column shaft seal and sector shaft seal when you remove them you need the part number.
Here are some helpful suppliers:
Industrial Hydraulics & Rubber Belting
458 Atlantic Ave
Camden, NJ 08104
(856) 966-2600
Airline Hydraulics 3557 Progress Drive
Bensalem, PA 19020-8505
Phone: (215) 638-4700
Fax: (215) 638-1707
Customer Service Hours:
8:00AM – 6:00PM EST
McMaster-Carr
http://www.mcmaster.com
Need help? Call (609) 259-8900,
e-mail, or text 58926.
Tri-State Bearing and Supply Company
280 N Midland Ave, Saddle Brook, NJ 07663
(800) 466-2327
http://tristatebearing.com/
Lets look at the exploded view of all the parts. Thank you Sam for this great picture ....
Don't be alarmed, you can rebuild one sub-assembly at a time.
Get your vehicle safely supported. Wear safety glasses.
First you want to disconnect the steering linkage from the Pitman arm. Using the steering arm puller remove the Pitman arm.
Remove the three bolts holding the unit to the chassis.
Opps ....You might want to disconnect the rag joint first. Inspect the rag joint carefully and replace it if necessary.
I also removed the brake booster for accessibility.
Set the unit on the bench or vise and remove the 5 bolts and remove the adjustment cover. Do not change the adjustment on the adjustment screw. Just leave it alone. If your leaking fluid from there. go ahead and replace the seal ...I believe its a copper ring...maintain the correct adjustment.
Here are the sub assemblies. Im also showing extra parts so you can see how everything goes together.
Carefully inspect the casting for cracks or stripped threads....this one looks good...
Here is the unit broken down ....
Take each part clean it, replace all the seals. I would caution you if you decide to take apart the piece with the ball bearings in it. I'm just sayin....
Look at the piston at the far right ...the red paint is highlighting a crack in the piston! Naturally I discovered this problem after I re-installed the unit and had the same problem. I can whip this steering box in and out in record time...! So don't let this happen to you.
I carefully honed the cylinder before I assembled the unit.
Using the piston ring compressor tool slowly insert the piston into the bore tap down lightly with your hammer handle. Be sure to wipe some oil in the cylinder.
I hope this helps. Please use this as a guide to rebuild your steering box ......
1958-1959-1960 Lincoln Power Steering Main Seal Specifications.
STYLE PS1600 PISTON SEALS
MATERIAL:15% GLASS FILLED Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) SEAL RUBBER ENERGIZER (Teflon)
MAXIMUM SPEED: 12 FT PER SECOND
MAXIMUM DIAM. EXTRUSION GAP: 2400PSI/.020 3750 PSI/.018 6000 PSI/.014
PRESSURE RANGE: 0 - 5000 PSI
TEMPERATURE RANGE: -40 TO +220 F
PART NUMBER: PS1600-56
Bore Diameter - 3.500
Groove Diameter - 3.103
Groove Width - 0.157
Seal Height - 0.150
Piston Diameter - 3.499
LIST PRICE - $8.42
Also See ...
https://www.herculesus.com/product.php?productid=4580
Large O-Ring O-Ring, AS 568-236 3.234 X 0.139 (3.512 OD) NBR/ Nitrile 70
Seals:
1 SKF 9843 Double Lip Oil Seal - Solid, 1.000 in Shaft, 1.499 in OD, 0.250 in Width, CRWA5 Design, Nitrile Rubber (NBR) Lip Material.
1 12360 Double Lip Oil Seal - Solid, 1.250 in Shaft, 1.750 in OD, 0.250 in Width, CRWA5 Design, Nitrile Rubber (NBR) Lip Material
You can use the same fluid as the transmission to refill.
The original fluid was Type A.
Type A evolved into Dextron III
DEXRON III/MERCON is the successor to TYPE "A" and TYPE "A" SUFFIX "A". The old fluids are obsolete.
Yes type F is for older Ford transmissions. but not for that one. TYPE "F" was not introduced until the 1968 model year.
This procedure is similar to other units.