Welcome Visitor! Please take a few seconds and 
A leaking sector shaft seal seems to be a common problem on Ford worm & sector steering gearboxes. Mine was leaking so I undertook a rebuilding as described in this Tech Center article:
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/Fall2008/steering_box_rebuild.htm
This is not too terribly difficult a job, any reasonably competent backyard mechanic can do it. I've done two now, one a (nearly) complete rebuild as outlined in the article, the other was a replacement of the sector shaft seal only.
I do take issue with the article on one point. The published procedure says to remove the sector shaft adjustment screw lock nut off as part of the disassembly. I strongly urge that anyone doing a rebuild not remove this nut, rather, leave the nut and adjustment screw alone and remove the sector shaft and sector shaft cap as a single unit. Be careful to prevent the sector shaft from turning on the adjustment screw as you remove the shaft; it isn't tight and will spin if allowed.
I make this recommendation because by removing the cap from the adjustment screw, you will loose the factory meshload adjustment setting. To set it again requires a somewhat tricky procedure. You are better off retaining the factory setting.
Replacing only the sector shaft seal was very easy. Simply remove the sector shaft cap bolts, remove the cap and shaft as one unit, remove the snap ring, dust seal, and pressure seal, install the new seals and snap ring, replace the O ring on the cap, and reassemble. The kit came from Advance Auto- Powercraft #8878, $9.78.
http://www.therangerstation.com/Magazine/Fall2008/steering_box_rebuild.htm
This is not too terribly difficult a job, any reasonably competent backyard mechanic can do it. I've done two now, one a (nearly) complete rebuild as outlined in the article, the other was a replacement of the sector shaft seal only.
I do take issue with the article on one point. The published procedure says to remove the sector shaft adjustment screw lock nut off as part of the disassembly. I strongly urge that anyone doing a rebuild not remove this nut, rather, leave the nut and adjustment screw alone and remove the sector shaft and sector shaft cap as a single unit. Be careful to prevent the sector shaft from turning on the adjustment screw as you remove the shaft; it isn't tight and will spin if allowed.
I make this recommendation because by removing the cap from the adjustment screw, you will loose the factory meshload adjustment setting. To set it again requires a somewhat tricky procedure. You are better off retaining the factory setting.
Replacing only the sector shaft seal was very easy. Simply remove the sector shaft cap bolts, remove the cap and shaft as one unit, remove the snap ring, dust seal, and pressure seal, install the new seals and snap ring, replace the O ring on the cap, and reassemble. The kit came from Advance Auto- Powercraft #8878, $9.78.
