How does this thing not leak oil?

Looking at #22 on the far right of the diagram. The book calls it "Steering Cam Lever and Shaft Adjusting Screw." It goes straight into the housing and I don't see a gasket anywhere. It does have a 3/4" NC jam nut, but that doesn't seal anything.



It looks like it was leaking before. I also see oil around the gear shift. They don't have any seals...overfull? Looks like it needs the gasket to the left and the seal on the rear (in the picture)



Sorry about the first photo. It is straight on my photobucket, but when I post it the picture is sideways???

find a copper crush washer the right size like what is used on oil pan drain plugs.

It is unlikely that a copper washer would do the job because it is not an acual plug. There is still path to seep oil between the screw and jam nut threads.

I just took a WD-9 steering box apart last year. The tractor had spent much of it's life outside and I noticed in winter that the steering was frozen so it had some water in the steering box. That may have contributed to the oil leak since it was overfilled with oil/water.

Just my opinion here but it is really hard to completely stop all oil leaks on these old tractors. I have read posts from other members and even on completely rebuilt tractors they still have some minor oil leaks. The trick is to figure out which ones can be obviously fixed, like worn bearings/bushings/shafts. In the case of your steering box it probably wouldn't hurt to take the side cover off, clean it out, and replace the oil. While you are at it, it is a good time to change the seal on the output shaft because those do seem to leak too since they are the old leather seals. Maybe you can seal the adjusting screw & jam nut with some of your favourite sealant.

I have a WD-9 with pinion shaft seal leaks right now and the brake bands are a mess. I was going to change the seals and after I took the brakes apart I found the pinion bearings are in bad shape too so I put it back together until a time when I can get by without that tractor for a few weeks. Those will be a pain to change. How do they look on your tractor?

The right side is noticably looser than the left side. I would have to say they are both useable, but I am not sure.

How hard is the steering box to take apart? Should I be able to get at the output shaft without taking it all apart? I haven't checked the manual for steering disassembly. I was going to do that today, but ended up cleaning out my mow before I filled it with straw. I then ran the MD out of fuel...wonderful day. :lol:

Sometimes things are made so they can "breathe" around an
opening. If it wasn't meant to be sealed, sealing it up could cause
the box to pressurize when it heats up and blow out the seals
around the shafts. I have known this to happen when vents become
clogged.

Sometimes things are made so they can "breathe" around an
opening. If it wasn't meant to be sealed, sealing it up could cause
the box to pressurize when it heats up and blow out the seals
around the shafts. I have known this to happen when vents become
clogged.

Although it is difficult to ascertain true "level" from the photo, is not the screw in question above the elevation of the square-headed oil check plug to its immediate left? Looks that way to me. Good luck.

(quoted from post at 18:03:44 07/14/12) Although it is difficult to ascertain true "level" from the photo, is not the screw in question above the elevation of the square-headed oil check plug to its immediate left? Looks that way to me. Good luck.

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Yes, it is above the oil level. It must leak from oil sloshing around???

You can't seal one of these up totally, so breathing or pressurizing is irrelevant. The steering input shaft has no seal, only a felt washer. Usually the input shaft or housing is quite worn and has some extra breathing room to boot.

I only partially disassembled my steering box. I took the main cover off and it was pretty easy to figure out how it went together once you get into it. There is no drain plug so oil ran everywhere. I left the input shaft/worm gear in place. The input shaft felt seal was NLA so I didn't see much point it taking the input shaft out. Once the side cover is off and the pitman arm is removed from the output shaft then the output shaft just slides out from the cover side. I don't think you would be able to get the old leather seal out with the shaft in there without marking the seal surface on the output shaft (Well I'm not that talented myself!). It was real easy to take the output shaft out. If I remember correctly, I put in two modern lip seals from CNH since the new lip seals are much thinner and that would help ensure it won't leak again. Made a new gasket and refilled with 80W90 gear oil. All is good now, I can leave it ouside in winter without the steering box freezing up. I did one upgrade by replacing the 3 spoke, 17 inch steering wheel with a 4 spoke 20 inch wheel from Steiner's. It helps make it a little easier to steer. It is a really decent reproduction steering wheel that is almost identical to the 20 inch wheels that were originally available from IH.

(quoted from post at 01:31:18 07/15/12)There is no drain plug so oil ran everywhere.

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oes it drain out the bolt hole if you just remove the lowest bolt from the main cover?

(quoted from post at 06:41:18 07/15/12)

(quoted from post at 01:31:18 07/15/12)There is no drain plug so oil ran everywhere.

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oes it drain out the bolt hole if you just remove the lowest bolt from the main cover?

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36 in the diagram is an expansion plug. Maybe that is suppose to be your drain? I bought one of the vaccum sucker things from TSC on clearance many years ago and it will work perfect for this. That has been a VERY good investment!!!

(quoted from post at 22:31:18 07/14/12) I only partially disassembled my steering box. I took the main cover off and it was pretty easy to figure out how it went together once you get into it. There is no drain plug so oil ran everywhere. I left the input shaft/worm gear in place. The input shaft felt seal was NLA so I didn't see much point it taking the input shaft out. Once the side cover is off and the pitman arm is removed from the output shaft then the output shaft just slides out from the cover side. I don't think you would be able to get the old leather seal out with the shaft in there without marking the seal surface on the output shaft (Well I'm not that talented myself!). It was real easy to take the output shaft out. If I remember correctly, I put in two modern lip seals from CNH since the new lip seals are much thinner and that would help ensure it won't leak again. Made a new gasket and refilled with 80W90 gear oil. All is good now, I can leave it ouside in winter without the steering box freezing up. I did one upgrade by replacing the 3 spoke, 17 inch steering wheel with a 4 spoke 20 inch wheel from Steiner's. It helps make it a little easier to steer. It is a really decent reproduction steering wheel that is almost identical to the 20 inch wheels that were originally available from IH.

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What makes the Steiner's wheel more authentic than others? (I'm not second guessing you, I just want to know what to look for)

I double seal about everything where I can. I started putting grease between the first and second so that the second one doesn't run dry if the first does it's job perfectly.

There is a small show about an hour south of me today. I might run down to the show rather than making any progress.

The Steiner's wheel is the only one that I have bought. I am guessing that they may all come from the same manufacturer (Maybe even somewhere in China like many other things these days). There are always a few on Ebay, OEM, Steiners, and a few other places I don't remember. Pretty much priced the same.

I have a couple of tractors with the original IH ones for comparison and the one that I bought from Steiner's is very close to them. The hub and spokes look to be identical. The plastic grip is the only slight difference. There are some tooling/forming marks on the plastic that you can see if you look real close but those will probably wear off with use. Maybe the originals were like that in the 1950's as well. Long story short, I would buy another one from Steiner's in a heartbeat! I am a really fussy guy and if it wasn't up to snuff I wouldn't be happy.

I bought a new one for a Super W-6 from CaseIH a few years back and I was not happy with it. The wheel was not even close to the original and it was really expensive. The spokes and hub were covered with plastic and I had to add a spacer washer under the nut to secure it to the shaft. When I questioned the dealer all he said was that is what the old part number changes up to now....

I like your idea about putting grease between the 1st & 2nd seal on these old tractors--makes good sense.

I have to wonder if OEM is buying parts from Steiner in bulk and then marking them up for resale. This thought came about when F-8 carb parts became available in Steiners. Next thing you know they were available at OEM. It could just be that they get them from the same supplier.

I was at the dealer one time and asked for an obscure part that was NLA from CIH. The parts man pulled out his yellow book and said, "Yeah, we can get that." They were just buying the parts from OEM and putting 20% on them. I politely said no thanks.

I am probably just as picky as you, maybe worse. :lol: There was a SMDTA at the show today and I was going over it with a fine tooth comb. The guy did a very good job restoring it, but it wasn't 100% factory. That is good and bad in my opinion. I called my wife over and I said, "See. This is why I don't want to paint my hoses and belts even if it is factory!" Next thing you know the owner walked up and said something about the tractor. :roll: He was a pretty neat guy. Sounded like he bought the tractor from a guy who didn't know what he had. The owner did do a few things to make it stand out as well. I liked some and didn't like others. He painted a couple casting marks to offset them. That was alright. He painted the lines red and left the fittings brass colored. That looked pretty good to me. He painted the fuel and gas caps black. I wasn't in love with that. I have no idea why I didn't take any pictures of the entire tractor, but I have a couple of parts and pieces.