Steering box "easy way out "

[Paul S.]

What can i put i a manual steering box , that wont leak out till i pull it off the car at a later date to rebuild it ? Lithium grease ? Cvc grease ?

[Edward J.]

[Joe L.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

What can i put i a manual steering box , that wont leak out till i pull it off the car at a later date to rebuild it ? Lithium grease ? Cvc grease ?

Paul------

I agree with Edward. All 1963-82 Corvette steering boxes originally were filled with about 140 wt grease. I've mentioned the GM part number in previous posts. I'm too far away from my references right now and I don't recollect the number. However, if you search on steering boxes I'm sure you'll find the number. In addition, good synthetic chassis lubes easily available should work fine, too.

[Duke W.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

There was a time when GM sold a "special" Corvette steering gear grease. I think it was because the rear set of the engine placed the gear next to the collector portion of the exhaust manifold, so it received a lot of heat. I don't believe it's available any longer from GM, so use a full synthetic base stock grease like Mobil 1. Synthetic base grease is more resistant to oxidizing from heat exposure than conventional mineral oil base grease.

It believe most leaks are caused by adding gear oil to the gear rather than grease. Gear oil may have been factory fill early-on, but it was changed to grease at some point in the sixties or early seventies.

Duke

[Frank D.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

Actually early C1 boxes were prone to leaking and a TSB was issued to address the topic - I think that may have been the impetus to switch from gear oil to oil based grease. But we are sort of missing the point, unlike the C1s, C2/C3 boxes ar relatively easy to remove and repair/rebuild - that's what really needs to happen here.

[Gary R.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

Paul
If your box is original and the grease is dried out then more then likely the gears are going to be etched giving a bad preload on new bearings, but that is putting the cart in front of the horse so to speak. To answer your question go to Advance Auto, Autozone, Walmart and get some Lucas HD green grease. Some greases like Mobil 1 separate below their advertise drop point and will leak red oil past your seals. The Lucas green works about the best.

[Joe L.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

There was a time when GM sold a "special" Corvette steering gear grease. I think it was because the rear set of the engine placed the gear next to the collector portion of the exhaust manifold, so it received a lot of heat. I don't believe it's available any longer from GM, so use a full synthetic base stock grease like Mobil 1. Synthetic base grease is more resistant to oxidizing from heat exposure than conventional mineral oil base grease.

It believe most leaks are caused by adding gear oil to the gear rather than grease. Gear oil may have been factory fill early-on, but it was changed to grease at some point in the sixties or early seventies.

Duke

Duke------


Yes, there was once a specific grease for 1963-82 Corvette steering boxes. It was discontinued many years ago and replaced by the grease which is still available today (or, at least, the last time I checked it was still available). As I mentioned above, I don't recall the part number. I believe this grease is a synthetic or a synthetic blend. It also replaced several other GM greases and, thus, it's practically a multi-purpose grease for all Corvette chassis applications except front wheel bearings.

[Paul S.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

Thanks to all that replied !

[Larry E.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

FWIW> From a previous post from Joe>

GM #12377985 is the "direct descendant" of the GM #1052084(No longer available) originally specified for 1963-82 Corvette steering gears. Larry

[John S.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

Paul
If your box is original and the grease is dried out then more then likely the gears are going to be etched giving a bad preload on new bearings, but that is putting the cart in front of the horse so to speak. To answer your question go to Advance Auto, Autozone, Walmart and get some Lucas HD green grease. Some greases like Mobil 1 separate below their advertise drop point and will leak red oil past your seals. The Lucas green works about the best.

[Mark G.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

Gary, is this the Lucas grease you are referring to? Amazon.com: Lucas Oil 10301 X-Tra Heavy Duty Grease - 14.5 oz., sold as (Case of 10) : Automotive Is there a shelf life to the GM 1052084 grease?

[Gary R.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

yes that is the grease. you only need one tube per box though and it's common at most of the locations I listed. I just opened up a container I bought last year and there was no oil separation in it.

[Tony R.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

AEB930FB-1DCF-4A4C-838C-9F6F551E2A5F.png38FD64C1-F517-4BDE-8703-9B4519C06F4D.jpg4EF3D6DD-74F4-497C-A4B5-E4C188A4020A.pngThis is what I am planning to use. In a few years I will be able to tell you if it worked well or not. :-)

I recognize that as an Iowan I am contributing to stereotypes. But this is significantly thicker than gear oil, but will not channel like chassis grease might. I may have over-thought this, but I think this should work well.

[Gary R.]

Re: Steering box "easy way out "

I like the comparison to food in the table. That is actually pretty thought out. so that grease is "thinner" you may find it weeping out past even new seals. I used to use Mobil 1 years ago, it is a very good grease but it separates rapidly. Open a tube sitting for some time and there is red oil on top. I stopped using it when a box was leaking red oil sitting out in the sun. No run time, literally baking in the sun caused the oil to leak past the lower and input seals. That would be my concern on thinner grease types as well but hey give it a shot you can always replace it.