Anybody intimate with the insides of a steering box?

[MuscleRodz]

I can already see the snide comments comin. :hah: I took apart the steering box on my '69 Blazer today to reseal it. It was a reman the PO installed right before the truck got parked. Anyway, on the line side there are grooves where the 3 plastic o-rings go. I am going to guess it isn't suppose to be that way? If I am looking at it right, if the high pressure bleeds past the o-rings, steering effort will increase due to bleed by inside the pump. Now to complicate this, I plan to run hydroboost on this truck so I need to make sure the power steering system is solid. Any help?

Mike

[David Pozzi]

Are you saying there are scratches in the piston or bore???
What do you mean by "grooves"?

Boxes can be sleeved but you could probably swap in another one cheaper.

[MuscleRodz]

Here is a pic. It looks like the seals have worn a groove into the bore.

Mike

[David Pozzi]

Oh, that's the top end where the valve goes. I was thinking it was the power piston bore.
I don't think anything moves on that surface once assembled, it just seals the valve assy. I don't know how much wear is too much. Usually any leaking is from the shaft seal, the part you unscrewed first.
I haven't rebuilt one of these so I don't know the specs.

[MuscleRodz]

Piston side is fine. I am concerned about pressure bleed at the seals where it is grooved. If it was just a little worn I would not feel so bad but I can hang my fingernail in it. It is that worn.

Mike