The tower seal on my Steering rack is leaking fluid, making nice puddles under the car. I thought I had better change it before it fails completely.
XJS V12 -1988 – this leak, seems to be a common thing due to the heat of the exhaust, which is very close.

I thought I would ask a couple of question before I jump in boots and all.
Would you buy genuine or aftermarket seal?

AEU-1248J x 1

I can get Genuine from UK price is 39.76+gst each – takes approx. 7-10 days
Or aftermarket 20+gst each – takes 2 days 😊

I am thinking of coating / wrapping the heat guard to do a better job?
In order to change this seal I am going to pull the rack from the car, how hard can it be.
I have looked at the UTube video from Owning a Classic site….

Do I need to use a Ball Joint separator ?
In the Utube Vid – He just hit them with a plastic hammer and the joint separated.
The tie rod ends do not leak so I am planning to ONLY do the Pinion seal.

Now if I did a DIY rebuild…..What is the success rate?

I know it’s about not damaging the seals when putting them on… read about using nylon sheets and stretching the orings…
So I am thinking… just do the pinion seal and put the rack back.

 

Some pictures of the leak.






Here is how the Utube does it...
Comments?

 

Duke
I always use a BJ separator, whacking with a hammer has never worked for me.
Leak: It is just possible that your leak is from the high pressure pipe to tower joint. I can see that there is fluid above the join, but it might be spraying out of the HP joint. If you can jack up the front safely, start the car, ask a friend to move the steering from full lock to full lock while you look at the pipes going into the tower. Tower joins on the ZZF box fail rarely, but they do, obviously! The tower seal is easily changed once the rack is out of the car, it is just an O ring in a groove.
If it does happen to be the join, post again.

 

Sir Greg.. I will report back.
Car is in the air on my ramps.... so no issue there.
Did I mention how much I love my ramps...400mm up and nearly got them level.
currently sitting on jacks but rear supports just need welding, all tacked together.

Hard part was lifting the rear as one unit, built that works perfectly.
so ramps are close to finished...

I will add.... free steel from work... (not stolen)
channel for the lift.

 

Very nice ramp. I do think though, in spite of the car being on the ramp you will need to get the weight off the front wheels to do the test, or maybe you have turnplates you can put under the front wheels?

 

The leak still looks to be from the tower seal, lifting the front and turning the wheel did not produce the leak.


Tried to remove the ball joints - no go.
Tried the old hammer trick, but NO.

I need to purchase a Ball Joint Separator - anyone able to provide a link so I know what to purchase?

Thanks?

 

Was the engine running when you did the wheel to wheel test? It must be or no pressure to produce the leak in the power steering system.
This is what I use: