Steering gearbox seal P/N issue

[Emppu]

Hi,

Currently in the middle of complete reseal of the steering gear because of a leaking input shaft seal and I've ran into an issue.


As the FSM states the seal for bearing cover is different in 124.034/036 and 140 models. However I can't find a part number for the spesific seal. I ordered individually all the seals from the complete seal kit. There is also other issues when comparing schematics from epc to the actual steering gear and FSM. For example couldn't find a place for seal 44. 47 is either the o-ring for bearing cover (16 in FSM) which should be replaced with a sealing washer in 124.036 or o-ring in steering housing(81 in FSM). Also input shaft seal is drawn as an o-ring number 29 instead of radial shaft seal.



Even ordered a seal kit for 140 and the seal looks identical but is larger in diameter.



So any help is greatly apreciated in search of the correct seal. I find it unlikely that companies that rebuild these gearboxes would reuse this seal so it should be available or there is some sort of replacement.

Emppu

 

[gsxr]

Emppu, I can't help with part numbers for the seals, but I can tell you the EPC diagrams are generic and all the callouts shown may not actually be used. Years ago I ordered a lot of those individual seals (same as you did) and found that some items shown in the EPC did not exist on the gearbox.

I believe the input shaft radial seal is EPC #41 (FSM #14).
The bearing cover O-ring is EPC #29 (FSM #16).

The rebuilt steering box I bought last year had aftermarket KACO radial seals installed for the input & output shafts, so the rebuilders may be using an aftermarket kit, although I don't know where to source this.

 

[Emppu]

Hi gsxr. Here are the seals as I've ordered them.

Teflon o-ring OD aprox 24mm. EPC #41 and FSM #20

Radial seal EPC #29 and FSM #14.

These I have already replaced so the pictures are of the used ones. I have found out aftermarket kits were made by Febi(12446) and Swag (10 80 0010) but they are not available from anywhere.

 

[gsxr]

Looks like the EPC drawing doesn't match reality.

The other EPC drawing is slightly better, callout #26 input radial seal A0199975147 supercedes to A0169976547 which is what you installed. But A0169976547 shows as callout #29 which is obviously wrong, #29 (as shown in the diagram) is supposed to be a large diameter O-ring for the bearing cover?

Have you ordered #47, A0119970848? What did that look like?

 

[Emppu]

Here is #47 OD approx 75mm. I believe this is the o-ring for bearing cover. Or it could be the o-ring for steering housing(FSM #80). ID of the steering housing is 68mm. And if the teflon ring in the steering housing(FSM #81) is 1.5mm thick like the other ones it could fit. Can't say for sure because i don't have the teflon seal and luckily it does not need to bee replaced. Replacing it would require some long hooks and picks and really small hands since it is almost at the bottom of the housing and the opening is so small. However because it is included in the seal kit it likely is the o-ring for bearing cover that does not even fit 036.

 

[jnes]

Hi Emppu, did you find the solution for the seal?

 

[Emppu]

Hello,

Little update regarding the seal issue.

Contacted local dealer who was in touch with the factory.

“After comparison with the drawing, A1404611080 would be the seal with the desired dimensions. Unfortunately for many years already C01 GLC”

I also reached out to C&M hydraulics. They have a small suply of these seal plates for theirselves, which they bought when they were still available. However they knew someone who claimed to had succesfully reused the old plate using "gasket maker".

So I have come up with two possible solutions to this issue

A) Reuse the old seal using gasket maker. Still need to determine which sealant would be best for this type of application

B) Make a new seal from gasket material. The orginal seal is a steel plate with a integrated o-ring. So with this metod you have to match the height while taking into consideration compression of the gasket. Another issue is the small hole in the plate surrounded by small o-ring. It acts as a restrictor for oil passage to bearings in the input arm bearing cap. I'm uncertain that making a small hole to gasket would work since there is a risk that when the gasket compresses it blocks the hole. So I have been considering making threads to the oil passage in the gear or the cap and manufacturing a threaded insert with matching diameter hole. Also determining the best type of gasket material is required.

So there are the options I have come up with. All ideas are greatly appreciated



Here is a comparison of the new but wrong size seal and the used one

-Emppu

 

[dionphaneuf]

Has anyone done a box reseal recently?
The part 140 461 10 80 is now NLA (grrr), but this part is still available and looks quite similar.

 

[gsxr]

@Emppu, what did you end up doing for seal A1404611080?

 

[dionphaneuf]

fyi on those internal teflon seals, they look to be covered here.

 

[Emppu]

@Emppu, what did you end up doing for seal A1404611080?

I guess delayed update is better than no update

I ended up using the old seal with Loctite 574 anaerobic sealant. I removed the paint and damaged "o-ring" from the orginal seal and lightly sanded the surfaces to achieve maximum adhesion. Assembled the thing back together and finished the job with some 2k polyurethane paint.

I have also been doing more refurbishments and upgrades to the car and actually got it back to the road for last summer. Clocked +2000km to the odometer this year so I just might dare to say that Loctite did the job... *knocks on wood*