2005 Tahoe steering leaking

[dougivks]

Noticed the other day that my wife's 05 Tahoe was leaking steering fluid. Got under it today, and it looks like it's coming from where the pitman arm connects to the steering box. Is there a replaceable seal here, and if so, do you need to remove the steering box to replace this seal, or can you do it without. Attached a photo, sorry it's a little dark.

[Jsdirt]

GM loves to tuck their steering boxes in where you can't service them (remember the S10 pickup/Blazer? Box had to nearly come out for a pitman arm swap). If you have a straight, clear shot to the pitman, you can do it on the truck - no need to remove it.

 

I did one on a '86 Mercury Grand Marquis 18 years ago without removing the box - it can be done, but it all depends on how much the engineers wanted to screw with us the day they designed it.

 

Just a side note on that ... I drove that car to Phoenix, AZ from MA after doing that job. Was fine for about 4 months, and then one day on my way home from work, the thing blew out & completely emptied the system in a matter of seconds. Could've been some worn out bearings internally that wiped the second seal out.

 

These days with everything made in china, I'd wager that you could get an entire steering box for a reasonable price. Would make the job a simple R&R, and you avoid running the risk of a repeat failure.