Kinda OT Jeep XJ Pitman Arm Seal

[bjl4776]

I have a 89 Jeep XJ that started a new leak. It drains about a quart of fluid in 3 hours out of the pitman arm seal. I got the part and went to do it, but my metric tools dont work so well on an 89 XJ. Anybody else here ever have experience doing one of these. It looks pretty straight forward. Unbolt the pitman arm, use a puller to drop it. Use snap ring plyiers to pull the snap ring out, then pick the seals and washers out. Is there any good tricks or advice on doing this job.

[Fetch]

Sorry, haven't done the job, but Jeep XJs are amazing. I had a '98.

[jbraswell]

Its much easier if you pull the steering box, I found that it was hard to see what I was doing through all the grime with the box still on the truck. This is very easy as well, just the three bolts through the frame rail, pitman arm, and steering shaft need to come off. You may have more than just a bad seal, these steering boxes not known for their longevity. I went through 2 boxes on my 93 ZJ until I finally went to a j20 hydro-assist setup.

[bjl4776]

Would I be better off just replacing the whole box or should I try the seal first and see if it holds. Im really not for putting much into the XJ, i bought it for $800 with 200k on it and if it lasts me for the next 2 winters I will be happy.

[BlueM60]

Ive got an 88 YJ 2'5L 4 which I also baught fo beater duty. It has a slight leak at the box too, which has seemed lately to be getting worse. Sorry though, havent bothered to fix it yet as she isnt worth sinking alot of time/ money. Let us know how it turns out.

-Ben

[jbraswell]

It depends... you can get a used box for less than $100 all day long, and they take about 20 minutes to swap. But you already have the seal kit, so you might as well