When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Stock XJ Cherokee Tech. All XJ Non-modified/stock questions go hereXJ (84-01)
All OEM related XJ specific tech. Examples, no start, general maintenance or anything that's stock.
If you look around the forums, it is hit or miss with the rebuilt boxes. And there are other factors in the steering system that have settled into each other (and you) over the years. So when you change it, it will feel different, other parts may fail because of it. It's a mechanical adventure.
I did both the gear and the pump with remanf Cardone last year after the original pump died and the box had some side-side slop in the output shaft. The gearbox seems okay and has a slightly quicker ratio than the stock 89 gear. The pump however is much weaker than the original and is very noisy when cold. I'm probably going to replace the pump again with better quality before winter, just not sure which brands to trust either.
Thanks for the reply’s guys. It’s seems to be leaking from the steering shaft portion of the box. Have it all ready for the new radiator ( open system swap) but don’t want to throw the radiator back in cuz it’s easy to get to the steering gear box right now. Was just wondering if it would be best to swap it out for a new one given that it’s 30 years old. Don’t see any leakage at the pitman arm at this point. I’m now thinking maybe I should just replace the shaft side seal to save money for other needed parts. Can the shaft side of the box be installed with it in place. It looks to be a telescope that I may be able to move out of the way. Any suggestions??
Yes Jeepwalker that is what I meant. Thank you. I welcome any correction in the terminology for parts please. I’m new to the XJ scene and this project started out as therapy for my Parkinson’s disease. It beats paying a physical therapist to help work with my hands and this project has done wonders for me and having fun at the same time! It probably takes me five times longer to do things that you guys can do in a short time, including typing lol!
Yes Jeepwalker that is what I meant. Thank you. I welcome any correction in the terminology for parts please. I’m new to the XJ scene and this project started out as therapy for my Parkinson’s disease. It beats paying a physical therapist to help work with my hands and this project has done wonders for me and having fun at the same time! It probably takes me five times longer to do things that you guys can do in a short time, including typing lol!
It took me 2 days to change my steering box (don't think you can be slower than that). Then the steering pump died a few hours later and left me stranded.
The hardest part for me was getting the gear box off and then reinstalling it. On my back, one hand holding the gearbox and the other threading 1 bolt to at least hold it cause my arm was getting tired of holding the heavy box. Luckily I had an old plastic, laundry basket in the yard that I turned over and place under the gear box, just in case I dropped it it would not hit the ground, but the bouncy plastic basket. It worked. Let us know how it goes. Good luck.
I'm guessing the majority of returned steering boxes get a cleaning, teardown, inspect parts for obvious damage and discard those parts, then ...new seals, recirculating ball assembly, bearings and torque to specs and (maybe) test, that's probably about it. The worm screws generally don't wear that much. The metal is SO hard.
Some common things that can wear out a steering box are water can seep in around the top input seal and rust the top bearing where the stub shaft sticks out. Running oversized tires I'm going to assume can cause excessive lower output shaft bearing wear. I've seen both those issues on steering boxes I've rebuilt. Had one the top bearing was incredibly rusty. Just a little bit of 'play' in any steering component close to the steering box can be magnified to a lot of steering play at the steering wheel.
I'd get the steering box you feel has the best warranty. I've had really good luck with AC Delco quality rebuilt parts. I haven't had too many failures. I have a Cardone rebuilt steering box downstairs I bought for a classic car for $25 at a sale (haven't put on yet). Heck for all we know they might source them from the same rebuilder. Don't screw with it once you install it. Make sure ALL he other components are in good shape, including the lower bearing in the column, intermediate shaft, etc. Put the intermediate shaft in a vice and hook a vice grips to one end and see if there is ANY detectable 'play' in the joints. Even a little will cause a lot of steering wheel movement.
Last edited by Jeepwalker; 06-18-2019 at 10:19 AM.
Thank you OldTire for sharing your experience with your Cherokee. I will definitely find some help if I decide to swap to reman box. Still debating if I should attempt the steering shaft side seal or even AT 205 first.
Got all the dirt and grime and fluid off the box today. It’s leaking at the bottom of where the steering box shaft enters into the gear box, Hoping someone can direct me to a video or article for replacing this seal. There’s lots of them out there for the pitman arm seal. Would like to try to install a new seal without removing the box from the Xj if possible ( due to physical limitations) It had been blowing fluid underneath it for awhile.
Can't help you with whether you can swap the seal out with the steering gear still in the car. What I can tell you is that to get there you would have to disconnect the input shaft. You'd have to release the collar bolt on the shaft near the steering gear, and then pry the shaft/collar combo off the steering gear spline. That's where you're likely to have a problem - you will probably not be able to pry it all the way off the spline. At which point the steering gear will have to come out.
If you do have to go down that route, one thing that helped me put the steering gear back in was to rest it on a jack stand, leaning on the frame, before putting it back in. The shaft has a u-joint in it, so it can come all the way down to where the steering hear is when it is on the jack stand, so you can put the collar on the spline while the jack stand is supporting the gear. Then lift the gear with one hand, and put one bolt in with the other.
06-16-2019, 07:22 AM
