Steering Box Gear Oil Leak?

[its55]

So I checked my steering box fluid level for the first time since I've owned my 2002 (in the past year) and it appeared to be a little low.  So I added oil to the box up to the level (I think) the manual says it should be.  The next day there is oil from it all over the garage floor.  Upper input seal bad?

[jgerock]

5 hours ago, its55 said:

So I checked my steering box fluid level for the first time since I've owned my 2002 (in the past year) and it appeared to be a little low.  So I added oil to the box up to the level (I think) the manual says it should be.  The next day there is oil from it all over the garage floor.  Upper input seal bad?

Oh.  If you ever mess with any 2002 steering boxes, you will learn that no matter what you do, they will continue to leak fluid.  Both of my cars are now like this.  

[bergie33]

I had the same problem, only it leaked all over inside the box that I'm storing it in until my car is ready for a steering box. I read somewhere that a lot of the time it's the square shims under the cover plate on the side of the box. The recommendation was to reassemble those shims and cover plate with a thin layer of copper sealant. 

['76mintgrün'02]

I didn't know my steering box leaked until I put oil in it.  I ordered a kit and I guess I got lucky, because that stopped the leak(s).  You don't need to spend 'kit' prices though.  RockAuto has the two shaft seals for less than $10 for the pair.  There's also a paper gasket under the cover plate, but that'd be an easy one to make.

 

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More Information for SKF 6757

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Tom

[FunElan]

Just make sure there is some oil in there. Mine does the same as yours. I'm too lazy to pull the rack. 

 

I have heard some will inject the box with grease but there is debate on whether that's bad for the internals or not. 

[Mikesmalaga72]

Warm up some STP oil treatment then pour some in will turn to gel inside ...no leaks...A friend of mine said the BMW racers used to do that back in the day....

[Mike Self]

My '73's steering box would pee its contents onto the garage floor overnight.  After swapping it for a much lower mileage box (71k vs 268k) I dismantled the incontinent one for a look-see.  Ended up doing a Roundel column on going through a leaky box.  PM me if you 'd like a copy.  It's a pretty easy job if dismantled in the proper order (a learning curve for me).  

 

BTW, you should use hypoid oil in the steering gear box (diff oil, the smelly stuff).  

 

mike

[its55]

3 hours ago, Mike Self said:

My '73's steering box would pee its contents onto the garage floor overnight.  After swapping it for a much lower mileage box (71k vs 268k) I dismantled the incontinent one for a look-see.  Ended up doing a Roundel column on going through a leaky box.  PM me if you 'd like a copy.  It's a pretty easy job if dismantled in the proper order (a learning curve for me).  

 

BTW, you should use hypoid oil in the steering gear box (diff oil, the smelly stuff).  

 

mike

 

Mike, thanks, I will DM you ... and the diff oil is what I use.

 

Also thanks to all others for your help.

 

 

[its55]

14 hours ago, Mikesmalaga72 said:

Warm up some STP oil treatment then pour some in will turn to gel inside ...no leaks...A friend of mine said the BMW racers used to do that back in the day....

why would you need to warm it? Does that change its characteristic somehow I assume? How much would you warm  it? Have you done it?

['76mintgrün'02]

I've read that it is important to keep the box topped-off, so the top bushing gets plenty of oil.  Thick stuff like grease or burned STP won't slosh up on that bushing.  Why not order up $10 seals and see if it leaks before trying something exotic?

 

 

Putting the title of this thread in the search bar brings up 65 results.  The type of oil/grease debate is included. 

https://www.bmw2002faq.com/search/?q=Steering Box Gear Oil Leak&quick=1&type=forums_topic&nodes=8

[Son of Marty]

35 minutes ago, its55 said:

why would you need to warm it? Does that change its characteristic somehow I assume? How much would you warm  it? Have you done it?

It flows much better warm, it dosn't need to be real hot, while I haven't done this to a 02 box I used to add a bit of STP to the Armstrong lever shocks on my bug eye and that worked well once you'd gone a few miles to warm the shocks up/

[its55]

Well thanks all, I think at this point I will be steering towards new seals, which is a bummer since I just spent much time and energy replacing the steering column universal!

 

🤣

['76mintgrün'02]

When I took the steering box out to install new seals, I made a couple of steel wedges, to spread the clamps once the bolts were removed.  They make it easy to slide the coupler up the shaft.

 

 

[Mikesmalaga72]

RE: STP is a temporary triage until seal kits and time allows, warming it up allows flow of course not torching it obviously...While the fluid solidifies it acts as a high viscosity oil and reduces incontinence.  The splines on the steering shaft and yokes should be absolutely clean to allow free column insertion. apply some grease to the areas above and below spline contact surfaces to avoid rust lines that could bind on another repair in the future. Also do not forget the downward preload on the steering wheel while fastening the yoke assemblies. I did not need wedges to aid assembly/disassembly due to prior info here...but is a great suggestion for soiled splines.  

Edited July 16, 2023 by Mikesmalaga72

[Stevenc22]

If you rebuild it, use British semi fluid steering box grease. Since everything British leaks, they developed a semi fluid steering box grease that won't leak but still runs like oil. 

 

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