• Hey Guest!
    British Car Forum has been supporting enthusiasts for over 25 years by providing a great place to share our love for British cars. You can support our efforts by upgrading your membership for less than the dues of most car clubs. There are some perks with a member upgrade!
    **Upgrade Now**
    (PS: Upgraded members don't see this banner, nor will you see the Google ads that appear on the site.)
Tips
Tips

Steering box lube

Share this page

Michael Oritt

Michael Oritt

Yoda
Silver
Country flag
Offline
I cannot locate a domestic source for the Penrite steering box lube. Unless someone knows of a place where it is available what other products are recommended? I know lots of people think highly of Corn Head grease, especially for leaky boxes, and I think either it or an equivalent is available at Tractor Supply. Does anyone have thoughts on Amsoil's Extreme Pressure Gear Lube which I use in the dogbox of my G4 and is pretty tough stuff?
 
Penrite Steering Box Grease is a NGLI grade 00 grease. NGLI grades are like SAE oil grades for viscosity, except for greases. Normal chassis grease is NGLI grade 2. Corn head grease is NGLI grade 0. The higher the number the more viscous, all the way to grade 7, which is a hard wax. Amazon has some NGLI 00: https://www.amazon.com/s?k=nlgi+00+...410855&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_413okb9lbb_e I've seen the Champion before, but I'm still working on my bottle of Penrite.
 
i use the cornhead grease. never had a leak. got mine at a local John Deere tractor place.

i put mine in while i had the box out and the top off. just packed, rotated column, and packed and packed in some more. easy with it out. not so sure with the box in. Maybe if you got it heated, it might pour.
 
Thanks Lin--I'll work the time difference and order now!
 
John - thanks for the explanation regards grades of grease. Doug
 
My BN7 dumped its steering box contents without any warning. After reading up on the alternatives, I bought a standard grease gun tube of John Deere corn head grease, $5 or $6. I filled the steering box by simply removing the tip of my grease gun and pumping it full. I was told it is best to swing the wheels from side to side during the fill process to ensure the box is full. I did that. One tube was more than enough, and I have seen only the very smallest amount of leakage after four or five years, that possibly being the remnant of the original oil that went missing.
 
I still have some Penrite left and I use a large cooking syringe to fill my steering Box. Even though the Penrite is the right viscosity I still get some leakage thru out the summer driving season. So I refill my steering box every spring. Try Healey Surgeons or Abingdon Spares for an alternate source.
 
Trying to fill the steering box though the filler hole will take forever. Remove the top cover and use a tablespoon to ladle in the grease. Moss now sells a European product instead of Penrite. Don't recall the name. I have used it on one of my Healeys and my Alfa. Works great and no more leaks. You will be surpised at how much it takes to fill that box. Do it in warm weather. It takes forever to flow down into the bottom of the box when it's cold.
 
I'm currently using this. Same viscosity as Penrite and the Moss product. Since I had the cover off my box so many times a couple of years ago, I did like Richard and filled it with the top off.

I heat it up in a bucket of hot water first.

PS - think the Corn Head grease is good too, but harder to remove as it probably won't drain.

screenshot.2371.jpg


screenshot.2373.jpg
 
Last edited:
DWR sends a quart of Miller's steering box lube with their uprated steering box. Just FWIW, I haven't installed the box yet (hope it doesn't leak, as this stuff isn't easy to find in the 'States).
 
I am about to reinstall the trafficator that Curt Arndt rebuilt for me (Beautiful job) and need to decide upon which lube i will use.

Between this forum and other sources it appears that many owners use several different products, and the decision to use those with higher viscosity, such as Corn Head grease or the like seems to be driven by whether or not one's steering box is leaky. I don't know which product was in my steering box but when I drained it what came out seemed relatively liquid and in any case I have in the past not experienced any leaks.

I am inclined to use an EP product such as Amsoil's Severe Gear 75-90. Does anyone feel this would be a mistake?
 
Michael Oritt said:
... I am inclined to use an EP product such as Amsoil's Severe Gear 75-90. Does anyone feel this would be a mistake?
Click to expand...

Nope. Theoretically, EP oils could 'attack' the bronze bushings, but this is such a relatively low-stressed application it would probably take decades to cause any problem.
 
Michael Oritt said:
I am about to reinstall the trafficator that Curt Arndt rebuilt for me (Beautiful job) and need to decide upon which lube i will use.

Between this forum and other sources it appears that many owners use several different products, and the decision to use those with higher viscosity, such as Corn Head grease or the like seems to be driven by whether or not one's steering box is leaky. I don't know which product was in my steering box but when I drained it what came out seemed relatively liquid and in any case I have in the past not experienced any leaks.

I am inclined to use an EP product such as Amsoil's Severe Gear 75-90. Does anyone feel this would be a mistake?
Click to expand...
Yes. It's viscosity is too low and not made for high speed gears and not the low speed steering gears. If you didn't experience any leakage, use a grade 00 grease. Gear oil has a viscosity similar to grade 000 grease.
 
Thanks Joh. For whatever reason the local Tractor Supply does not carry an appropriate product but I got a tube of Amsoil's equivalent from the local rep.

Someone made the comment that it is easier to remove the steering box lid and spoon in the product versus trying to get it in through the hole. This makes sense to me and I think I'll give that a try unless someone feels I am inviting trouble by doing it that way.
 
Michael,
I rebuilt the steering box on my 62 BT7 and used Corn Head grease form the local John Deere dealer. You should be able to get a needle type grease fitting part for your grease gun and pump it in through the top as others have said.
The Corn Head is designed for slow moving worm drive units. It will stick to the worm gear and will not wipe off during its rotation. I had the top of mine off to see how it adheres, it really does. It is just a rotating ball of grease.
 
Back
Top