73up steering box seals now available (pics)

[Blaubus]

for those with a leaky ZF steering box on their 73-79 bus , there is no longer any need to pack your steering box with grease. these seals were previously thought to be NLA, but after much measurement, research and arrangment to purchase a quantity of seals that fit, they finally arrived yesterday. here are some pics of me installing the first one on my 73 box. i will be listing these soon in the classified section, or you can simply pm me if you want to acquire one of these.

heres the box with the seal removed

heres the seal sitting loose at the edge of the bore

here i am driving the seal with some pvc tubing

DONE no leaks!

[BobDog]

What's the difference between a SBox for a 70 and the ones that fit 73-79 ?
_________________
70 Bug Vert
70 Baja
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http://www.oldbug.com/hotwesty.htm
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNIDTCV97eo

[Blaubus]

for pictures look in the bentley... each type of box has two shafts- the worm gear input shaft is nearly identical for both types, and the output shaft is where the difference lies. on the early box there is a peg on one end of the output shaft which rides the valleys of the worm gear. the later style (worm and roller) uses a roller (wheel) that rides the valleys of the worm gear.

as compared to most gear arrangements the bus steering box is designed to run friction free by by providing the peg/roller with bearings, giving it the ability to rotate with the rotation of the worm rather than dragging across the worm.

abusive treatment such as hitting curbs, etc. cause problems for the peg on the early box. the peg bearings get glitches that cause the peg to stop turning, which leads to worm galling as the peg drags against the gear.

although the late box's roller also experiences bearing damage when slammed, it can still turn due to the larger moment arm between the worm and the centerline of rotation (as compared to the peg). friction between the worm and peg/roller is what causes the worm and peg/roller to turn together. the peg has only a quarter inch moment arm while the rollers moment arm is well over an inch. great improvement over the earlier style.

[steponmebbbboom]

YES... but will the late box fit?

[Gary]

How many did you get, Dan? I am hoping to purchase a later model Westy in the next year, so I don't want to miss out. What a great idea.
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West Virginia State Board of Education v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624 (1943)

[Blaubus]

no, a late box wont fit the early bus- different bolt hole locations. dont get wise here- theres more to it than just drilling new holes. i could elaborate , but i already did too much of that?

Icy- i can get any number of those now that i have it set up- whenever you are ready. i am now working on a seal driver.

[hambone]

For an early bay, you either need to put in a good used or rebuilt....big bucks.

[panasonic90]

And for a late bay?
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"May the fweem be with you"
Obi Volks Kenobi
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74 bay ambulance
type 4 2lt carbs engine

[ratwell]

[Blaubus]

[ratwell]

Have you seen the factory hook tool that VW dealers used?
_________________
'78 Westfalia CDN
'76 Doublecab
Read the Baywindow FAQ

[Blaubus]

no i havent, can you get a pic? is that for the bellhouse or the steering box? i considered a hook for the steering box but the shaft runs too close to the metal casing of the seal. the hook may not have to be very thick since the seal pulls so easy. i used a #4 self tapping screw to remove mine, but that seemed risky- that seal is so narrow in the cross section, less than 5mm.

the seal puller i made for the bellhousing requires that i cut out the inner lip first. awkward, but not difficult. the hook must have a sharp point to penetrate the rubber. a hook will require hardening/tempering the tool, something i do have experience with , and fortunately my local machinist has the oven for the tempering process. i think i will make one or two and see how it works.

i had to make a tool for my final drive seal cuz it just wouldnt pry out of there. the tool pulls on both sides at once,and it came out easily for this reason i assume. perhaps two hooks would work better than one for the bellhousing seal

[ratwell]

[Blaubus]

that'll give me something to do when the cold weather hits us in november. might take me till then as i am in the middle of three restorations.

actually i visualized something quite different, like a gimlet- (theres a word to look up!) with a flattened hook on the end instead if a drill. the VW tool looks almost like it is to be used with the bug trans dissembled, or the bus bell removed. the idea of a good tool, IMO, is not just to get the seal out easier but also to save shaft from any damage.

[Tcash]