VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND NEWER 1946-1948 Steering gear lube and transmission leak

OK fellas, I tried using the search function but came up empty. So here goes...

1. What type (grade) and where can I get the gear lube for the steering gear?

2. It appears that I am losing transmission gear oil. I've tightened all the bolts on the side cover and the pipe plugs for filling and draining the gear oil, but it still leaks. I cannot see where the leak is coming from. Any ideas where to look next?

Thanks for your help.

Tony

I've been using John Deere corn head grease for steering gear lube, and having good results with it.
Check the rear end and see if the gear oil from transmission is going to rear end.

Tony, do you have a leak and a drip? Or is the "leak" you describe a mere loss of transmission erl? If its a loss of erl without a drip then Don may be right. If its a leak then it may be leaking at the ball joint/torque tube gasket.

Drive the car, then stop it on a fairly level area. Place a piece of card board under the transmission and wait for the leak. The culprit will be directly above the spot on the cardboard. Yep!

Steering gear: Use chassis grease, nonetheless, I acquiesce to better knowledge on this issue.
Transmission: Use SAE 90.*

* Chevgene prefers the heavier SAE 140. I don't. He has, however, a heap more clout on this site than me. Accordingly, you may want to go with him on this issue rather than me and the shop manual. At least the drip/leak will be reduced some with the heavier erl. Always look for the silver lining!

Best,
Charlie

Don, Charlie,

Thanks for responding. The leak is actually a drip. I have steel pans underneath and it drips after I take it for a spin. I filled it last year (90W) and over time, I noticed a collection in the drip pan. It smelled and had the consistency of gear erl. I hadn't thought of the T/T bearing or gasket as being a possible source. The chassis and trans are painted black so it's hard to find the source of the drip/leak. The next time I take it for a spin, I'll put a piece of cardboard underneath and see where the drip(s) are coming from.

As for the steering gear lube, what I have looks almost like chassis lube, but isn't as 'gooey'. It's almost like wheel bearing grease. It looks like it's filled up to where the plug or fill hole is. Does this sound like the right kind of lube? If not, how do you remove the old lube? Disassemble the steering box?

Thanks again,

Tony