NOT HAPPY to find this leak . NOT HAPPY WITH AGR BOX

[diesel4me]

The kit I got from NAPA had two seals and according to the diagram on the instructions,one of the old seals was installed upside down,and had a washer where it didn't belong too...was surprised it never leaked for 16 years that way!..

I still fear I'll be driving and the dam seal will start gushing far from home though..it was a rough trip home the first time it started gushing,I got about 3 miles before I had to pull over and refill the P/S pump,used almost a gallon of ATF to get home 10 miles from where it started leaking profusely..and with hydroboost brakes,you have practically no braking power once the fluid level drops and the P/S pump starts squealing like a stuck pig..truck steers like a Mack with seized king pins without power assist too..

 

[Ned Kelly]

The oems have been doing this since the beginning of time. Call it planned obsolescence if you want but it's done all the time. I don't agree with it either but it's a fact of life.

As far as the agr box goes, we don't know if the new parts require any changes to the old housing to allow fitment of the new parts. Hence rebuild only option. But that's a guess on my part.

I agree. Sure, i get the planned obsolescence that has been around since the beginning of capitalismm! Haha..
I was thinking more in terms that they do have the parts...but you can only access those parts if you send them your ps box for an entire overhaul.

 

[ZooMad75]

I agree. Sure, i get the planned obsolescence that has been around since the beginning of capitalismm! Haha..
I was thinking more in terms that they do have the parts...but you can only access those parts if you send them your ps box for an entire overhaul.

I get you on having parts but not selling anything but the rebuild service. Without asking agr what the motives behind that we are left to guess. It's probable that at one time they did sell parts but due to the specific nature of rebuilding steering gears they may have found the general public wasn't capable of doing it right. So they would have been hit with more complaints that could have been avoided if the person doing the rebuild had experience in doing that job. Who's gonna be better at it anyway? The guy that rebuilds one every few years or the company that puts them together new and rebuilt? But that's only a theory on my part.

I wouldn't waste my time rebuilding one.

 

[Wes Harden]

Heck I went to Agr to see what they offered. I went to put my truck in 1977... chevy.... then drop down only showed c10 c20 c30 no K's so it seems they don't want our business

 

[sweetk30]

Have to do GMC to get k-series.

So they are so wacked out they dont know how to sell correctly .

 

[imiceman44]

I am adding my voice to the opposition
I don't do a lot of rebuilding of parts lately because I don't have the time but to not have the option is BS.
I will not buy a product knowing I can not rebuild myself

 

[Blue85]

It sounds like they want to update all boxes to the newer design (possibly because there were leak issues?). This may require machining on the pitman shaft or housing or something else that prevents the new parts from just dropping in. If that's true, they may not stock the old parts anymore. However, there was never anything wrong with the Saginaw design, so if AGR was having issues it must be from something they changed or perhaps they increased the pressure. A lot of Saginaw gears go 4 decades without leaking.

 

[kcruzer]

It's a shame companies do that. Bad customer service can turn people against a good product just like good customer service can do the opposite with a mediocre one. My OEM saginaw box started leaking fairly bad from of the steering shaft seal out of the blue on my 75/89 K5.
In a pinch, I tried my beloved step-dad's old trick of adding a little brake fluid to the PS fluid and as promised, it stopped it within a day, now over a year later and it still isn't leaking.Turns out that brake fluid tends to swell rubber, so just a dab added to something where the seals are dried out, can add some life. Probably doesn't work if they are worn much nor is it a permanent fix, but just sayin...

 

[imiceman44]

It's a shame companies do that. Bad customer service can turn people against a good product just like good customer service can do the opposite with a mediocre one. My OEM saginaw box started leaking fairly bad from of the steering shaft seal out of the blue on my 75/89 K5.
In a pinch, I tried my beloved step-dad's old trick of adding a little brake fluid to the PS fluid and as promised, it stopped it within a day, now over a year later and it still isn't leaking.Turns out that brake fluid tends to swell rubber, so just a dab added to something where the seals are dried out, can add some life. Probably doesn't work if they are worn much nor is it a permanent fix, but just sayin...

I have used this trick many times and it works as long as the seal didn't crack and break off which happened once.

 

[diesel4me]

If there is any play in the caged needle bearing the pitman shaft rides on,or the shaft itself has any wear,even a new seal will leak in short order,the shaft cant be allowed to wallow around or it'll ruin the seal(s) in no time..

I've used the brake fluid trick on leaking rear main seals,a pint in the motor oil wont harm anything and it often swells & softens them back up to at least slow down how fast it leaks..
I tried adding brake fluid to a TH350 I had in my '72 K5 that had hardened up lip seals on the forward clutch,but it didn't help any,neither did numerous additives I tried..
I ended up swapping a SM465 into it instead..