TEA20 Steering Drop Arm Seals Replacing

kaesark

Member
Having replenished the oil in the steering box I have now got oil leaking from both drop arms. Would someone explain how I remove old seals. They will be able to slide over the drop arms as previous owner has ground off knobs on both arms. Interested to know how I might retain metal casing of original seals so as to keep it looking authentic.

Thanks
 
To get the old seals out, use a small chisel, usually a punch ground to a chisel point, get beside the seal and collapse it inward, pry it out. Just be careful not to nick the seal surface or the housing.

Slide the new seal over the arm and tap it into place.

But before going through all that, how bad is it leaking? If the seals have been replaced, chances are they are still pliable and intact. A common fix is to replace the oil with corn head grease, (or 0, or 00 grade grease). This type grease is thicker than oil, but thinner than regular chassis grease, thin enough to not migrate away from gears, thick enough to not readily leak out less than perfect seals. It can be pumped in with a grease gun through a zerk fitting in the fill plug hole.
 
Thanks Steve
Have to say I like the idea of just replacing oil with grease, sounds like less work to me. Not sure if we got corn head grease over this way but I'm sure we got something suitable.
 

The job is simple and straightforward , lever the old seal out with a screwdriver and slide over the arm . Clean up the seal area but after flushing the box out , you will never get a better , easier time to do this unless the box is dismantled .
Oil or grease the new ones very well , oil the arms also before siding the new seals on . Glue them in with some aviation gasket goo .
Grind the back off the old seal , use epoxy or silicon to glue the face onto the new seal to preserve the look .
If you want to spend the money old style seals are available new from UK parts suppliers at five or six times the price of newer designed ones.
Replacement seals under old seal face .
24424.jpg
 
Thanks Charles
The steering box is clean, think previous owner did that much at least, will weigh up cost of new seals and time versus the adding Corn Head Grease.
 

Finding Cornhead grease in NZ is probably going to be as hard as trying to find it in Australia . CV joint grease is the closest thing you will be able to get readily and even then it will come in very small , very expensive amounts .
A much more economical solution is to mix ordinary low temp grease with motor oil , once mixed it doesn't seem to separate much and works well . Just dilute the grease while stirring well , it doesn't take much oil to achieve a slushy custard like consistency .
Once you have this put the lot into a big zip lock bag , cut one corner off it and pipe it into the fill hole just as if you were icing a cake . No mess and no broken hand from pumping a grease gun endlessly . Don't forget to grease the top bearing under the steering wheel while you are at it .
 
Hi Charles thanks for info on bulbs etc and yes I have found the hole which was near invisible without prior knowledge of its existence.
Found this product from PENRITE which sound pretty good for the steering box.


Oil, Penrite steering box lube.

Penrite Steering Box Lube is an extreme pressure, NLGI 00, lithium based grease, blended with effective anti-wear, rust and oxidation inhibitors. It is a high viscosity self leveling or semi-fluid grease that features non-corrosive extreme pressure EP additives to provide enhanced film strength protection. It is suitable for veteran/vintage and some classic car steering boxes. It can also be used in some classic car and motorcycle gearboxes; such as Burman, that require high viscosity lubrication or a self leveling grease.
 

The Penrite will do the job by the look of it but remember the steering box takes almost three litres . At almost $40 odd per half a litre it will cost the best part of $ 240 Aus to put enough in the box to cover the gears .
 

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