Steering box lubricant

[70 Challenger Lover]

I pulled the manual steering box out of my car and before I put it back in, I was thinking it couldn't hurt to change the lube in it. It was working good when I pulled it out and I'd rather not waste money sending it out. When I turn it by hand, it feels just a little gritty compared to another I have but not sure if that's an indication of low wear or need of fresh lubricant.

Is it grease or oil inside and how difficult would it be to do this? I'm hesitant to open anything up until hearing from someone who has done it.

[IRON MAN]

The Chassis Service Manual  says to replenish the fluid, if necessary, in all pumps with Power Steering Fluid, part number 2084329 or equivalent.
Caution: Do not use automatic transmission fluid.

PS : Above is for power steering boxes.

Champion has a product call "00" Manual Steering Box Grease. Lithium based. #37-376792-1

[Cudajason]

The Chassis Service Manual  says to replenish the fluid, if necessary, in all pumps with Power Steering Fluid, part number 2084329 or equivalent.
Caution: Do not use automatic transmission fluid.

I don't thik that is right for a manual steering box...

[70 Challenger Lover]

I might have to remove the cover and have a look. I'm just worried a million little parts will spill out.

[jimynick]

The Chassis Service Manual  says to replenish the fluid, if necessary, in all pumps with Power Steering Fluid, part number 2084329 or equivalent.
Caution: Do not use automatic transmission fluid.

I don't thik that is right for a manual steering box...

Nor do I and if it were mine, I"d feed it with 90-140 gear lube, just like the rear end. But then, that's just my     

[70 Challenger Lover]

Can't find any videos on Mopar manual box disassembly but I did find some others for other makes. I'm hoping they are similar in design. If so, I should be able to remove the top plate where the adjustment screw is. Then I can figure out if it's grease or oil and go from there. I just want fresh lube in there. A full on rebuild can be done down the road.

I did find some A body posts and they advised it was heavy grease. They also said oil was sure to seep past the seals on older boxes that hadn't been rebuilt.

[RUNCHARGER]

I remember reading something from Ehrenberg decades ago about a mix with grease and something else. I can't remember if it was gear oil though, most likely.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Removed the cover today and it is grease inside. There was a little bit of oil but mostly grease. If you attempt it yourself, do it over a catch pan. I had little needle bearings all over the place which I had to find afterward.

Simple design. Aside from bearings, I can't see the thing ever wearing out. It was actually nice to see how the adjuster screw works inside. Basically the two gears have a slight angle to them and the screw moves the shaft up or down a slight amount to adjust the play between the two gears. It was simple to adjust on the bench. Remove the play until it starts to bind slightly, then add a little play back in.

I put more grease in it than it had before. Once it was all together, I removed the drain plug and added a half cup or so of heavy gear oil which should mostly remain in the cavity along the lower shaft rather than up in the gears. If anyone has more info on how much oil it should actually have, please advise.

[RJChallenger]

Technically,grease is a combination of oil and soap. what you saw in your steering box was the oil separating from the soap. In the sixties gear oil would have been used in a manual box.

[70 Challenger Lover]

Technically,grease is a combination of oil and soap. what you saw in your steering box was the oil separating from the soap. In the sixties gear oil would have been used in a manual box.

Wonder if anything changed in 1970. Even if what I saw was once all oil, there's no way there was enough to fill the entire box. At best, what I saw took up 25% of the space inside. There were no signs of leakage so I'm still guessing this box originally had grease in it and some of the oil probably separated and went to the bottom then.

[RJChallenger]

The steering box or any industrial gearbox for that matter, if properly filled would be about 1/3 to 1/2  filled with grease at most. 

[70 Challenger Lover]

The steering box or any industrial gearbox for that matter, if properly filled would be about 1/3 to 1/2  filled with grease at most.

Ok, good to know. I'd estimate that I probably used the much grease. I only added the oil because I wanted it to go down the pitman shaft and keep that bearing wet.