Sector shaft seal pushes out after gear box reseal

[FJFourT]

Hello all -
A couple months ago I did the reseal on the steering gear box, power steering pump and replaced all of the power steering hoses on my 96 FZJ80.

The short version of my problem is the seal on the sector shaft (output shaft) is pushing out, causing fluid to dump out from around the sector shaft.

I’ve scanned the power steering threads and didn’t notice this issue. But if I missed it, sorry for the repost.

The longer version:
During the reseal everything seemed to go as expected. There were “inconveniences”, as there usually are when working on these trucks, but nothing too complicated. A couple days after finishing there was a small leak at the adjusting screw/nut but that was just because I didn’t tighten the nut sufficiently and it came loose. Tightened the nut and problem solved.

About 6 weeks later a small but consistent drip appeared where the sector shaft exits the gear box. I thought maybe I installed the seal backwards so I removed it, turned around the seal and reinstalled. That worked. For a week. Then the seal pushed out and dumped fluid.

I thought maybe I damaged the seal when I removed it to turn it around (though it looked fine) so I ordered a new seal, along with the o-ring and teflon ring just in case.

Yesterday I replaced the seal, o-ring and teflon ring. With both front wheels off the ground, I added fluid while turning wheels side to side, with engine off then while on. Everything was fine, no leaks.

I put the wheels on the ground and again turned side to side a few times with the engine running. Then I noticed a small leak coming from the sector shaft. I shut off the truck and took a look. The seal was pushing out again. Not completely but enough for fluid to leak quickly.

I’m at a loss for what could be causing it. It doesn’t seem like there should be enough pressure in that area to push out that seal.

1) What is the correct orientation of that seal? Could a backwards seal be pushed out that easily?
2) Could it be the preload adjusted too much or too little?
3) Could there be something wrong internally that could be causing increased pressure in that area to push out the seal?

Note: I am not in the U.S., so unfortunately sending it to an experienced Landcruiser/Toyota specialist is not a realistic option. Though at this point I wish it was.

Thanks,
Jon

 

[CharlieS]

You can't replace that seal from the outside, it installed from the inside after full disassembly.

 

[FJFourT]

You can't replace that seal from the outside, it installed from the inside after full disassembly.

Thanks for the reply.
I know. I have removed and disassembled the gear box each time.

 

[FJFourT]

You can't replace that seal from the outside, it installed from the inside after full disassembly.

Also, I wanted to say thanks for not assuming that I did or didn't do something. That's why I posted this. I have used two new Toyota seals and it's happened to both so there must be something I overlooked or just did wrong and I need to get this truck back on the road. I'm not stranded but life is way easier with access to my truck -- grocery shopping on a motorcycle is a challenge.

I followed this classic and very helpful writeup from 2010 (and the FSM):
Steering gear box rebuild (https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/steering-gear-box-rebuild.443494/)

- The first time I completely disassembled the gear box.
- Each subsequent time when dealing with the oil seal I only went as far as removing the sector shaft as that is where the problem was.
- The seal is installed with the "spring side" facing in. There is a comment on one of the threads which argued that the spring side should be facing out in order to keep dust/dirt out of the gear box... Not so sure about that, but I could be wrong. The FSM only states to "pay careful attention to the orientation of the oil seal", but not what that orientation is.

 

[FJFourT]

Well, I think I solved it.
The short answer: It was the snap ring in the original reseal kit. It is smaller than the original, which I luckily kept so I was able to compare the two.

More details
- Yesterday I decided that I should completely tear the gear box down and rebuild from scratch again, making sure to go slow and hopefully see what I may have done wrong.
- After removing the sector shaft, I looked closely at the seal which was pushed out at an angle. I removed the seal and noticed that the snap ring was askew. I thought, "this is what happened, I didn't make sure the snap ring was seated securely which pushed out the seal."

- I removed the remaining rings and put the snap ring back in, making sure it sat properly in the groove. It did. but when I moved it so the two open ends moved all the way into the groove, I was able to pull the closed/rounded side out of the groove and slightly up.
- This was the actual problem.

-I compared it to the old snap ring (that I originally removed for the reseal) and there is a "small" difference in size. The old one is larger. It doesn't look like much, but it was enough so that the new snap ring was able to come out of the groove and push the seal out.

The reseal kit I bought was not a "Toyota" kit. I purchased it on eBay, largely because I needed it asap and they had fast shipping. If I remember correctly it was about $48, so not much cheaper than the other lower-cost kits. And when I compared everything when I received the kit, the size "matched" but I didn't look super close.

Photo 1: Snap rings compared. New one is on top.
Photo 2: The NEW snap ring when held over the opening for the sector shaft.
Photo 3: The OLD snap ring.

This seems like the problem. Unfortunately, the o-ring got chewed up a bit so I won't be able to test this for about 10 days, while I wait for the new replacement parts to arrive here. However I am pretty confident this is the issue.

Lesson for me, just buy OEM for the things that really matter.
The overall cost has been way more than if I would have paid the $100+ (I think?) for the Toyota kit when you factor in the replacement seals, o-rings and additional shipping costs. And my truck has been sitting for about 3 1/2 weeks because of the time it takes to get parts shipped here.

A interesting side note: This issue seriously messed with my confidence in working on my truck. I like to think I'm a fairly capable wrencher. I relate to machines much better than people. They make sense to me. But not being able to figure this out was really melting my brain. I'm glad to find that it wasn't necessarily my "ability", EXCEPT for not comparing the new/old parts more closely in the beginning and not taking the box apart more slowly after that first leak, I may have found it sooner. After all, investigation is one of the biggest parts of all of this.

Anyway, I hope this helps anyone else who may have gotten a kit with a smaller snap ring.
Cheers,
Jon

 

[Kernal]

Glad you figured it out.

Can you post up a photo of the label or list the brand of the rebuild kit that didn't fit?

 

[FJFourT]

Glad you figured it out.

Can you post up a photo of the label or list the brand of the rebuild kit that didn't fit?

Sure.
I don't recall there being a label or brand on the packaging. I think it was just a sealed, clear plastic bag.
The eBay seller is allpartssupplier. I don't want to accuse the seller of being shady. They may not know that the snap ring in this kit is incorrect for this application. I will send a quick email to notify them. Photo from the listing is below.
And my memory was wrong. The kit was $28.99, but in my head I combined it with the shipping to here, which was another $20.

 

[Outsane]

Good to know, thanks