How many spots are there to lube on my steering box and theres bearing grease in it already my steering is tight and hard to keep straight on the road

I use a thick oil/grease mixture so it flows around the gears. I think I put something like 600W in it last time. Some mix grease and rear end lube but the main thing is if you use just grease it will channel and the gears and bearings will go dry. Many other issues could be causing your problems. The bushings in the pitman arm are available and easy to replace. Made a huge difference in the way my 39 went down the road.

Dave

You don't want bearing grease in your steering box. You want a self leveling grease. A good alternative to mixing your own is John Deere Cornhead Grease.

I found that John Deere Corn Head grease needs some heat to self level and the steering box does not get warm enough for that.

So, I use a mixture of 2/3 Corn grease to 1/3 Mobil 600W in the steering boxes of both of my trucks. That seems to work well.

Cheers, Dean

I agree that the John Deere Cornhead grease is not fluid enough for the steering gear box. It is rated as a NLGI 0 grease. When I rebuilt my steering gear the cornhead grease had large cavities and channels. It has not flowed between the worm and sector.

You should consider a NLGI 00 grease such as Cotton Spindle grease or Pennrite steering box lube. It is described as semi-fluid.

I spent the money for the Pennrite. If I need more I will mix my own version of John Deere cornhead grease and gear lube.

I also agree that even the proper lubricant will not help a worn steering gear.

This is the first I've heard that about the JD grease. I use it in my 38 without issue. A small amount that inadvertently ended up not in the box was flowing at room temp.

HI Tiny!

Near the end of this older thread is a post I made about the JD Cornhead grease. Like you, I had read all the posts on this and other forums stating that the JD grease was the "hot trick". I was really disappointed when I opened up the box on my car.

Steering Gear Lube

I'm not saying that the JD Grease is bad. My observation is just that there are better lubes for this application. Using the JD grease is so far ahead of no grease that I would not be concerned. Plus the reality is that 99.99% of us will never drive the cars enough to wear out anything.

Another point is that my car is a Master so it has a pretty cheap and crude steering gear. It is just a worm gear running on a sector. That gear interface has high face pressure and friction. So I really wanted to make sure there was lubricant between those gears.

If I remember correctly your car is a Master Deluxe. Even though it has been converted to a straight axle I assume you still have the Master Deluxe steering gear. That design has bearings that allow the sector to rotate as it moves along the worm. That reduces gear face pressure and friction.

I agree you need the best lubrication you can get. My car is a Master. At the least we can agree that bearing and especially chassis grease are not appropriate in the steering box.

I really would prefer to run 85W-140 GL-5 gear lube in it. That is what we used in the worm drive gears boxes for silo unloaders and feeders at one of the ag equipment companies where I worked.

Except in the steering gear box would run out past the bushings unless I have the box machined for a seal.

Sorry for the confusion on your car. What confused me is that I remember you talking about having to drill the frame and install spacers so you could install tube shocks. I did not have to do that on my ‘37 Master. The upper shock mount used the same holes as the lever arm shocks.

Boy have we got this thread off track!