Steering Gear Box

[ken]

Nothing real special . Torque wrench, snap ring pliers, spanner wrench, drift to knock out bearing, etc. Google Sagnaw 800 rebuild. You will find plenty of info on how it's done. Make sure you follow the directions step by step so it will turn the same amount both directions when done. If you don't feel up to it, any power steering shop can do it. It's internals are the same as the boxes GM put on everything from cars to trucks.

 

[McSpeed]

Just ordered a kit with that part number and watched some videos. I think I can do this. It is worth a shot.

 

[ken]

Take and post pics as you go. It can help others having trouble getting a replacement box.

 

[McSpeed]

Holy cow. I’m not going to lie here, this is intimidating

Got the gear off the truck. That wasn’t so bad.

Tomorrow morning I will be watching YouTube and jumping in

picked up a better pair of snap ring pliers today and a new pitman tool as mine has grown legs and disappeared

 

[McSpeed]

FAIL!
Didn't go well for a number of reasons. First, the rebuild kit number came with the wrong size input shaft seal/bearing/dust shield. I was able to read the number off the old seal and found one for $7 at Napa under part numver 27SS2188. The bearing was okay and could have be reused. The dust shield was fair, and could have been reused. The seal is of course what started this whole thing and had to be replaced. The HUMVEE input shaft is a larger diameter than the same box that usually fits Jeeps and other vehicles. Thus the reason the Jeep guys have been drying up the supply of these since they upgrade to this box and use a different rag joint to connect to their steering shaft.

I worked out the seal, but when I was putting the main rack back in I struggled with and eventually damaged the teflon main seal. Once I damaged that, it was done...so I just reassembled it and am not going to shop for a replacement. I spent the better part of the entire day on this and am back to square one. Word to the wise going forward, if you select the above noted rebuild seal/bearing kit go ahead and pick up the NAPA seal so that you have what you need to re-do your box. I haven't found a seal kit yet specific for this box that would have the right size input seal/dust shield, and bearing.

Oh...I took plenty of pics, but no sense in posting now.

 

[ken]

Wow, I'm now wondering If I have a different box than you. I did not run into these problems.

 

[TOBASH]

FAIL!
Didn't go well for a number of reasons. First, the rebuild kit number came with the wrong size input shaft seal/bearing/dust shield. I was able to read the number off the old seal and found one for $7 at Napa under part numver 27SS2188. The bearing was okay and could have be reused. The dust shield was fair, and could have been reused. The seal is of course what started this whole thing and had to be replaced. The HUMVEE input shaft is a larger diameter than the same box that usually fits Jeeps and other vehicles. Thus the reason the Jeep guys have been drying up the supply of these since they upgrade to this box and use a different rag joint to connect to their steering shaft.

I worked out the seal, but when I was putting the main rack back in I struggled with and eventually damaged the teflon main seal. Once I damaged that, it was done...so I just reassembled it and am not going to shop for a replacement. I spent the better part of the entire day on this and am back to square one. Word to the wise going forward, if you select the above noted rebuild seal/bearing kit go ahead and pick up the NAPA seal so that you have what you need to re-do your box. I haven't found a seal kit yet specific for this box that would have the right size input seal/dust shield, and bearing.

Oh...I took plenty of pics, but no sense in posting now.

Please post the pics of things that went easy and things that went bad so the rest of us can learn.

Thanks.

T

 

[McSpeed]

Wow, I'm now wondering If I have a different box than you. I did not run into these problems.

Trust me. If it can go wrong it will go wrong with me. That’s how I roll. Always the hardest way possible it seems.

 

[ken]

Yes please post what you have. Id like to see what differences there are. Id hate anyone else to run into this.

 

[McSpeed]

Here is how it went. I first took the gear and washed it as well as I could assembled.
(these photos are out of order). My shop is set up with a Ruko box on an old TV that makes watching videos handy. I put the remote in a zip lock bag to keep the grease off and it works great. I found several videos, one of which I watched through PRIOR, then watched - paused and performed steps. I found as I got into it that it was missing steps, so I searched for others. The second set I found the guy seemed to really know his stuff. I mistakenly then followed as I went instead of watching all the way through. He talked about how the manufacture suggests dipping seals in BRAKE FLUID to make them assemble better. So, I grabbed a bottle and proceeded. In his next video (after I built the spool valve section) he says "oops, I meant to say soak in power steering fluid..." UGH. That's on me. So, I pulled those, cleaned them...and reset. By now I was feeling like I was already doing damage that may make this leak going forward. In the pics below you will see the kit supplied input shaft seal/dust cover...and bearing. Next to it I have the original seal. The HUMVEE gear box on my truck has a larger outer diameter to the input shaft housing and a larger input shaft than this kit supports. Again, I was able to get the part number off my old seal and track a replacement down at NAPA. It had a metal outer ring, but was the exact replacement otherwise. If you go this route I see nothing wrong with substituting this seal. I also took a pic to show how the bearing from the kit won't even drop over the shaft. Upon doing more research, I did find a possible "direct" fit kit from Dorman. I'll look that up and post that once I find it. Where I hit the biggest snag was getting the main piston back into the housing. The Steering gear uses black regular looking o-rings on these parts with the white teflon style that goes ON TOP of that. So, there is some decent tension that has to be pressed in place to get the part to slid in the bore. Ironically, the brake fluid did seem to do the trick on the spool valve, but by the time I was putting the main piston in, I wasn't using that. I have to wonder if it would have shrunk or softened the seal or whatever it does to the point the part would have slid in. Oh, the guy I was watching in the first series also made a follow up video where he basically said "don't do this on a gear you expect to work!" He recommended after two hours of showing how to build one...to order one built, then experiment on your core to figure it out!

In the end, I missed a step somewhere. The hardest part was NOT getting the ball bearing back. That was actually fairly easy once you thought it through. My problem was setting the main piston seal - I then forced it and as the piston went in...it tore the outer skin off the seal. One other thing, for some reason, the bearings and seals don't stack one on top of the other tight. There is actually space between them to close up at the snap ring. I think the snap ring should have been installed and then the seals/bearings pushed in from the other side. This will make sense to any of you that attempt this. Both the guys in the videos realized they were off as well once they went to put the snap in place.

I don't regret having given it a try. But I know when I'm beat and when to throw in the towel. Part of me is willing to get another kit (possibly the Dorman) and try again. The rest of me wants a pro to do it. I found several solutions. A1 Cardone and others will rebuild YOUR core if you mail it to them. I've found military suppliers but they are looking at over $800 for a new one and around $600 for a rebuild with core. Advanced Auto has the lowest price (A1 Cardone) but A1 is 100% out of stock. Advanced Auto Parts uses Endurance brand and they are also out - but will rebuild your core .

 

[McSpeed]

Not Dorman - Duralast per Autozone is a 9217. When I look up the Gates kit 350440 it fits a huge variety of full size GM trucks/vans. I haven't cross referenced a Gates to an H1 yet. We might have just gotten a mismatch on the kit.

 

[McSpeed]

Looking at the GATES homepage - they don't show a seal rebuild kit application for the H1.

 

[McSpeed]

My local Autzone just told me there is no actual record of that Duralast kit in their system and nobody I can speak to confirm if it exists or not. To be fair, the guy at my local Autozone has as much experience with parts and cars as I do rebuilding steering gears.

I sent a contact form on the AdvancedAuto site under their powercraft brand seals as it shows no store availability and nobody in the store shows a seal kit lookup.

Due to today being Christmas eve, the other places I've called are closed.

 

[McSpeed]

Just ran a chat session at Autozone - while that part number is on the website, the chatbot there said they do not actually have a service part for that application.

 

[McSpeed]

I confirmed with Dorman they don’t have a kit

I was able to find a rebuilder that had a core in stock and is going to build and send it to me.

Ill post details after that’s done.

I did see where a fre rebuilders said I could send it to them as well.

Also on Gov planet there is a lot of 36 units in Pennsylvania but the auction date is on hold.

 

[Agelai]

Did anyone ever find the rebuild kit part number?

 

[Agelai]

On the "Steering Gear Rebuild Kit Saginaw "800" series power steering box" was it just one part that was not the correct part? But everything else worked?

 

[mccullek]

On the "Steering Gear Rebuild Kit Saginaw "800" series power steering box" was it just one part that was not the correct part? But everything else worked?

I just rebuilt my box. The kit I got from one of the military suppliers was not correct. The input seals were too small, and the pitman arm seals failed instantly. I did some digging and found an old post on another site that stated his M1097 gearbox matched a 1979 Malibu 350, so I searched for a rebuild kit for that vehicle and they are readily available at almost all of the major auto parts stores. I listed what I found at O'reilly's below.

After finding out the input shaft seal that came with my military rebuild kit was too small, I picked up a new input shaft seal kit from NAPA using the chevy malibu information and those seals were correct. I put those seals in and reinstalled the rebuilt gearbox. Unfortunately, as soon as I cranked the motor, the pitman arm seals from the military supplier failed instantly, so I pulled the box again, went back and got a full rebuild kit using this same chevy malibu data and just redid both the input and the pitman arm seals, and everything was correct, and those seals have worked with no issues for a couple of months now.

I got my full rebuild kit from NAPA using the 1979 Chey Malibu information. They also list a rebuilt gearbox at O'Reilly's for $149.00, and it looks identical with the exception of the input shaft. The O'reilly's box has a small tit extending from that shaft, and mine did not have that piece. It might not matter that it is there, and it could probably even be cut off if someone wanted to try it out. I started to buy it, but was tired of fooling with this thing and just wanted to get the leaks fixed since my rebuilt box was working fine otherwise.

You can buy a full rebuild kit with bearings for $39.00 at O'Reilly's.
Precision Steering Gear Rebuild Kit - 28401227
Part #: 28401227 Line: PPS

or, you can buy just the seals and O-rings kit for $19.99.
Precision Power Steering Steering Gear Seal Kit - 28401226
Part #: 28401226 Line: PPS

I've had no more problems since using my NAPA rebuild kit and the auto parts kits are half the price of Ebay or the military supply guys.

If you are going to take the box out and tear it down, I would suggest you rebuild it. It's not that difficult as I am no mechanic really, and I did it. Watch a few of the videos first. then follow the steps in the TM Manual. Don't skimp though, watch a few videos all the way through. I watched several of them, as there are different ways to handle the small bearings. Below is the NAPA kit I used for $44.00. Maybe I just got a bad kit from the original supplier, but I would not risk it. Get a new kit from one of the auto store suppliers for half the cost.

Part #: NPS 7118
Line: NAPA Power Steering Parts

Update, some of the Saginaw boxes have a 7/8 input shaft, and I think the input shaft seals with the kits are for the smaller shaft, so you may need to add this kit to your purchase if you have the larger shaft. This kit will fit the larger shaft. Everything else matched up, just not the seal and dust cover for the input shaft.

Precision Steering Gear Input Shaft Seal Kit - 28401076
Part #: 28401076 Line: PPS

 

[DEA AK]

That’s awesome. Any special tools needed?

McSpeed, I think I have the same issue, I may have to reach out to you for your wisdom.

 

[TOBASH]

McSpeed last posted in August. You might need to PM him and hope it goes to his E-mail