Steering gear lubricant.

64fordf100292v8 · Post by **64fordf100292v8** » March 1, 2007, 2:48 pm

Does anyone know where I can get some Ford C3AZ-19578-A steering gear lubricant for my 64's steering gear. It is some kind of special grease, not oil. Im guessing it really thin and flows kind of like oil. Any idea of a subsitute maybe? Thanks everyone.

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » March 1, 2007, 3:29 pm

seeing as how i just emptied one out for shipping, it had oil in it, so did the one in my truck, i decided to post what i see in the manual
which is ford hypoid gear lubricant, sae 90 above -25F, sae 80 below -25F
COAZ-19580A and B respectively.this is the 61-62 shop repair manual.no mention is made of grease.
in the 65 owners manual it lists the part# you posted as being for 2wd and called fomoco special steering gear lubricant.
4x4, f350 and f500 list the gear lube and numbers i posted.
since you have a 4x4, use the oil.

Uncle Skip · Post by **Uncle Skip** » March 1, 2007, 6:24 pm

Gotta be honest.
When I was in autoshop in the "early" 60's, my shop teacher said oil in those boxes was an excuse for a leak and that I should cram it full of grease.
Nadine is full of grease and no leaks or problems so far.
Uh, that is the manual steering box though.

64fordf100292v8 · Post by **64fordf100292v8** » March 1, 2007, 7:26 pm

Thanks for the replies, Ice, My buddies 62 owners manual say to use 90wt. oil but my 64 manual says use the special steering gear lube. I just dont want to ruin a steering gear, Im sure oil would be fine but i know it will leak. I just got done cleaning out a steering gear and it had the gooey grease in it. I shot off a email to Lubriplate and asked what they think I could use of there's. MAybe I'll get a reply. If i cant find the grease I'm going to just use 75-140wt. synthetic gear oil and pray it doesnt leak.

64fordf100292v8 · Post by **64fordf100292v8** » March 1, 2007, 7:27 pm

BTW, my truck is a 2x4. Sorry, I didnt mention that.

jakdad · Post by **jakdad** » March 1, 2007, 7:29 pm

Yep, we packed a lot of those manual boxes with chassis grease.

Ford4jack · Post by **Ford4jack** » March 2, 2007, 12:17 am

Cotton picker spindle grease should work well also. some folks use it in gearboxes on worn out bushogs etc its fluid enough to flow around inside them.

reeses66ford · Post by **reeses66ford** » March 2, 2007, 6:24 am

i will look today ask me when you call about the hose.

64 f100 · Post by **64 f100** » March 2, 2007, 10:16 am

I have a problem with packing a steering box with grease. Steering boxes don't get hot, as a general rule. so the grease won't flow to where it's needed. Once the grease is squeezed out of where it needs to be, you have no lubrication, and parts wear fast. The oil runs out of the boxes where the shaft exits the side on 64 and older models, as the bushings wear and it seems the seal doesn't seal well. I have taken some boxes apart and found double seals at this location which may be advisable to copy. The real problem I believe is the bushings installed on the output shaft. These get to much play in a short while and then start to leak oil. I've thought that needle bearings would be a good idea, but this would require machining, and the housing is somewhat thin at this location. Not even sure needle bearings of this size could be found at reasonable prices. I've been looking at steering boxes at every salvage yard I visit. I've even gone so far as to buy a few, with the intent of doing some experimenting, but haven't gotten that far yet.

Rich

jakdad · Post by **jakdad** » March 2, 2007, 11:00 am

I would think steering boxes get enough heat from the normal under hood heat. Anyway all the boxes we packed with chassis grease over the years worked fine. when they finally gave out, we just replaced the box with another one we selected from salvage yard. Never had time to rebuild steering boxes.

douglloyd · Post by **douglloyd** » March 2, 2007, 11:39 am

I just bought a rebuilt one from LMC. It came prepacked with something, and has a warning tag not to drain or add anything to it.

I suppose I could open it up and check if anyone's interested in knowing what the rebuilder used.

I would tend to favor grease though. The internal parts move slowly and spread the stuff around. As far as the grease getting pushed aside, I would guess that's why the box is absolutely stuffed full.

If you go with oil - even gear lube - and it runs out the side bushings, it's gone. Oil won't cling like grease would.

Kinda off topic, but with guns, I only oil what might rust. If it moves, it gets a dab of grease.

Doug

ICEMAN6166 · Post by **ICEMAN6166** » March 2, 2007, 12:54 pm

on my 66 4x4 steering box, i replaced the seals when it was out, was not leaking but i replaced them anyway because it was out and easy to do at that time.still does not leak.
the grease probably would not be an issue in the south, but here i dont think it would really get warm enough ,especially this time of year to flow like oil.

same oil vs. grease subject was discussed in relation to the closed knuckles on the 4x4 front ends over at fordification, with opinions for or against the use of either one.
i dont know how much it really matters as i have not had any problems with the gear oil or done a long term test with both grease and oil in the same boxes to see the difference if any in the performance of them.

i guess its another one of those preference things where either will work and you decide which you want to use.nothing specific in the gearbox rebuilding section of the shop manuals other than what was originally posted from the lube specs pages.

64fordf100292v8 · Post by **64fordf100292v8** » March 2, 2007, 2:13 pm

I too do not like the idea of packing the steering gear with thick chassis grease, Im afraid it will never make it to the pitman arm bushing which seems to be the one that is always worn out on these gears. Amsoil makes some real promising semi-fluid grease but of course they only sell it in 35lb pails for 300 dollars!! The cotten picker grease sounded promising until I looked up the specs and found that it contains no EP additives. Oh well. Maybe I should just take some gear oil and some moly chassis grease and put it in a blender and make my own special steering gear lubricant. :lol:

64fordf100292v8 · Post by **64fordf100292v8** » March 2, 2007, 6:06 pm

Found some semi-fluid grease from Lubrplate that I am going to use. Its called mag-00. The description they give sounds perfect for a steering gear, especially one that make leak a little.

Im going to order a quart and try it. I'll let everyone know how it works.

truckerdaddy66 · Post by **truckerdaddy66** » March 2, 2007, 8:38 pm

When your at the parts house look at the lucus stuff 90wt I use it in my hubs on my tractor trailer rig , sould be good in that app. also.

T/D New Caney ,Tx.

bobenhotep · Post by **bobenhotep** » March 2, 2007, 9:38 pm

i read a post about this on fordsix.com. the 19578 lube came in a tube like for a grease gun. odds are it is obsolete. i have a grease fitting on top of my steering box. the lower seal is worn enough to relieve the pressure from the grease gun. i shoot a few shots in it now and then when i grease my truck...

Lowell · Post by **Lowell** » March 3, 2007, 10:05 am

If you have to use grease, how about a teflon based lube like slick 50 ?might help when the grease gets squeezed out of the gears

bobenhotep · Post by **bobenhotep** » March 3, 2007, 11:35 am

i think just about any modern high pressure grease should do, if grease in the 60s was as crappy as their oil...i like the green stuff from slick 50, or moly. ive heard of teflon based grease they use on bicycles that might be good...