Hey!! How do you get the top off of the power steering box? I've got the four bolts out but the adjuster nut thingy has me stumped. I have to replace the metal gasket on the top. It is leaking like seive after I tightened the bolts a bunch of times. The top leaks because of loose bolts every couple of months. Even loctite didn't do much. I thought a new gasket might do the trick. I have the doorway to my wife's barn blocked with the truck and I'll be sleeping there if I don't get this thing fixed ASAP.

 

This is a bit late, so you probably slept by the barn!

By top, I presume you are referring to the sector shaft cover with the adjuster nut. If so, stop what you are doing and simply replace the entire unit with a rebuilt box. Once you pull this apart you run a 60% chance of damaging the spherical head where the recirculating ***** reside, and all it takes is a bump of the steering wheel or one of the wheels when the top of the sector shaft is unsupported.

What you have is the bearing on the bottom end of the sector shaft has failed, and is causing the sector shaft to wobble around and knock the 4 bolts loose from the cover.

No matter what you do, the problem will return in a few miles, and once that top has been lifted the problem will be in spades!

When you replace the steering box, order a steering sector shaft stabilizer kit from Windecker Machining at www.SolidSteel.ca That will keep the problem from recurring on a new box.