7 Tooth Steering Gearbox Lubrication

[psimet]

Was advised to start a new thread on this -

Looking for advice: Reviving my 28 with a 7-tooth setup. There are grease fittings on it. Look like possibly more modern versions that my uncle may have put on in the 70's. Pull them both out and use "600W" oil and replace with NPT plugs? Mix up my own NLGI 00 / 600w homebrew and fill a "grease" gun with it and pump a few pumps in?

or pump a couple pumps of grease into what is probably a box filled with dried up grease and walk away for now until the inevitable re-build?

The lighting switch housing is covered in what can only be described as a thick layer of oily separated grease. Might also be because I had to spray the control rods down with penetrating oil at the upper bushing just to get them to move....

Advice? I'm willing to do whatever (short of pulling everything and rebuilding it now).

[Patrick L.]

Like in the 'other' thread, heavy oil. I think the heavier the better.

[Werner]

PSIMET,


I don't know if I understood everything correctly.

The most practical oil for a old steering gear should be as thick as possible, an addition of MoS2 is recommended.

I personally use a 1500 superheated steam oil with 5% MoS2. It's thick as honey in summertime.

If the light housing underneath is still smeared with oil mist, I spray it abundantly with a brake cleaner spray can.

[brito36]

Get some Corn Head Grease at your John Deere Tractor Dealer. It works great.

[Terry, NJ]

I recently acquired a 29 with zerks in the case. I dread what may be inside! I am looking for a good way to drain it (empty it?) I like John Deere Low RPM "Cornhead grease. It's thixotropic (Their word, not mine) which means it moves around slowly and doesn't get stuck on the sides of the gear case and not on the gears. Which is what the 600W is supposed to do but it leaks out. The Corn head grease stays put.
Terry

[alexiskai]

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What I would do is remove the three-bolt cover on the side facing the engine and assess. Removing the pitman arm as well as the cover should let you slide the steering sector most of the way out. That will let you assess the condition of the sector and the worm visually. It also lets you see how bad the grease situation is. You can clean a lot of the grease off the inside that way.

If it were me, if I inspected the worm and the sector and they were both OK, and there weren't any deposits of dried grease that I couldn't get off, then what I would do is:

1. remove the lower bearing assembly and clean it
2. check the end play and add/remove shims if needed
3. reinstall the lower bearing with a good seal (Permatex #2 has worked for me)
4. squirt some 00 grease onto the worm and sector before reinserting the sector
5. reinstall the cover and set the sector play
6. unscrew the grease fittings and fill the box with 00 grease
7. reinstall the grease fittings and just use them as plugs

Now you said grease fittings, plural, does that mean you have a fitting on the sector portion of the box (between the main box and the frame)? If so that's good, should make it easier to keep the sector lubed.

[nkaminar]

To keep oil from leaking out try this:

[alexiskai]

I've found the oil seal retainer to be, as they say, "necessary but not sufficient." I needed the retainer, plus the O-ring at the end of the sector, plus the right kind of grease, plus good sealant at the lower bearing and steering box cover.

[Patrick L.]

If the box is full of grease, and I'm not going to remove the box, I scrap out as much as I can and fill with heavy oil and let it mix with the grease.