Integral power steering gear

[Lawrence M.]

I have a problem with my integral power steering gear. It is leaking fluid around the output shaft which connects to the pitman arm. The leak is slow, but has been occuring for some time. Prevost suggests replacing the whole unit. Any Thoughts??

[Jon Wehrenberg]

This is just my opinion, but if they suggest replacing the whole thing break it down into two numbers. What is the labor to remove and replace, and what is the cost of the new unit.

Then find out if they will give a quote for the replacement of the seal.

Then go to a heavy duty bus or truck repair place and get the same quotes. You can bet on two things. First, that unit is not special for Prevost exclusively so it and its repair parts are available, and second, you are likely to find a shop to do the job reasonably, with the seal replacement likely to be done without having to remove the unit.

Orren????

[Orren Zook]

You should be able to have that seal changed for the cost of the seal plus an hour or two of labor - maybe $100-$200 around here. My coach has a TAS 85081 steering box made by TRW, nearly all the TAS 85xxx series boxes are not too popular - costing between $650-$850 with a $1300 core charge.... here is a link to make a positive ID of your steering box: http://www.babsteering.com/product/id_gear/TAS.pdf . BAB Steering Hydraulics is a gear and pump rebuilder located in Fontana Ca maybe they're close to you (they used to sell to end users), they also have distributors around the USA and Canada, call a couple of the shops on their distributor list page to get an accurate price for the local cost for this: http://babsteering.com/

[Lawrence M.]

Jon and Orren,

Thanks for the reply. It was very helpful in that I found my part number (TAS 85061) and contacted Babsteering. I keep my coach in Corona so they are just up the road.