Power Steering Gearbox Leak

[jedwards]

Gentlemen,
I have an persistent leak from the underside of the power steering gearbox on my early 250SL.  It leaks from the bolts and breather hole in the plate directly above the pitman arm (see image attached)
The leak is not bad enough to cause any mechanical problems as long as I keep am eye on the oil supply,  but the little puddle it leaves on the garage floor annoys my wife and as she has some influence on the restoration budget, a happy wife is a good strategy to adopt.

I have read in this forum that this is quite a common problem and can be accomplished by the home mechanic and possible without resorting to removing the gearbox from the car. Getting the pitman arm off is  the hardest part I understand.  Assuming I succeed in getting the arm and the plate off, what should I be looking for?  Is there are kit of seals and o-rings required ? Does anyone have the part number or know a good source?
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Jeff

[tel76]

To repair the leak from the small hole satisfactorily you will have to remove the box, strip it down and fit a complete set of seals, the set of seals are available from your local MB dealer.

[Greg]

I had the same problem. same leak from same bolt and hole.
Easy fix...
Get under the car and unbolt the arm. Use a puller and pull the arm off. It comes out really easy and no damage is done.
Unbolt all the other screws holding the bottom plate of steering box and take everything out.
Buy the specified kit
http://www.sls-hh-shop.de/en/230-280SL-W113/46-Steering/46-d-Steering-Gearbox-Fluid-Pump/
No. 25, Gasket kit pwr steering 33,32 €

I did not use the whole sealing kit because you just pull out the bottom part and no need to take the whole steering box out of car. Change all the o-rings which you can see. If I remember about 3 or 4 only.
What I did as well to be sure to stop the leak, I used some gasket seal silicon (the red tube) before putting everything back together, around the bolts holding the bottom plate.

Screw everything together and job is done, and no leak anymore.

[jedwards]

Thanks Greg,
That was a news I was hoping for.

Jeff

[stickandrudderman]

What I did as well to be sure to stop the leak, I used some gasket seal silicon (the red tube) before putting everything back together, around the bolts holding the bottom plate

I recommend that you DO NOT do this. Use a non-aerobic sealer (I use welseal). The silicone that gets squeezed out from between the mating surfaces can cause all sorts of problems.

[jedwards]

Thanks for the warning.