It is 'usually' the seal under the adjuster plug where the steering
column goes in that leaks from what I have heard and seen. That will
run down and drip so you should see if it is wet above the pitman seal.

If it is this seal, you can get the old style adjuster plug if you are
lucky at steering rebuilder shops and use that. It is a Saganaw box
that the GM's also use so parts are easy to find. The old style one is
a one piece adjuster plug and apparently takes years before it will leak
according to the shop I was at.

Makes sense, my 86 seal is only weeping about 1/4 cup a season or every
half year after all this time.

The seals are not hard to put in and I always recommend a new bearing or
bushing to go with it seeing as the bearing must have enough slop to
mess up the seal....

Getting the pitman arm off can be a real SOB, so if it isn't that
leaking, I leave them alone and just do the adjuster seal. That can be
done by just dropping the box and only unhooking the steering column.

You can get the individual parts or just buy a kit with everything.

Mike
86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00
88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's

Dave wrote:
>
> While my TJ is up on jackstands waiting for a reverse gear to arrive...
>
> I saw the other power-steering post, and it reminded me of my own leak.
>
> I've got a slow leak (1.5" diameter mark on the floor overnight) that
> appears to be coming from the steering box where the pitman arm
> connects. After a google-groups search, it looks like a lot of
> steering-box seals were bad in the early years of the TJ.
>
> My question is, am I looking at a complete rebuild? Is there a seal
> that is common to this problem that is easily replacable?
>
> Thanks in advance..