STP in steering box

[Planojc]

I have seen several Barners here using STP in their steering boxes. Which one of the many STP products are you using? I remember when it first came out there was only one STP and it was thick like honey.
Thanks, John

[40cpe]

It is the thick oil treatment, a viscosity improver.
http://www.stp.com/products/oil-addi...oil-treatment/

I'm using a 50/50 mix of STP and synthetic gear oil in my steering box. I don't know if it is any better or worse than the other favorites, but it steers easily and doesn't leak.

[kendall]

i don't us it, but wouldn't be afraid to use it in the steering gear box.............. has anyone used it in their flatheads? i have heard more cons than pros when adding it to engine oil.

[Vic Piano]

I've used STP (the original) in the steering box of all our flatheads for years, never had any problems with it. I can remember back in the '60 using STP in the crank case of some tired Flatheads, trying to get the last ounce of energy out of them... LOL

[JSeery]

Used STP a lot back in the 60s. It is good and bad, it is very good at coating metal surfaces and staying there! The main downside I am aware of is it can really gum up an engine over time. From my experience if you tear down an engine that has been running STP long term they are really black and grimy inside.

[Old Ford Addict]

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Why not ... it’s a lubricant isn’t it?
Its not like a steering gear sees any high RPM use … almost anything would work that doesn’t leak out

[jake197000]

i use corn head grease.i dont leak out.

[Planojc]

Thanks for the product information 40 cpe. I think thats what I'm looking for.

[FL&WVMIKE]

I have used STP in my old cars for decades. To me, it is about the perfect solution.
Use the product that has the consisity of honey.
MIKE (mikeburch)

[blucar]

I have used STP and/or Motor Honey in steering gear boxes for years, like fifty plus.. It does not leak out of the steering gears..
The STP/Motor Honey is a little difficult to put into the steering gears. I have found that the it works best to sit the STP in the sun for awhile, insert a small funnel into the box opening, slowly pore the STP in. pausing now and then if the funnel fills..
The gear box will only hold less than a half can/bottle..
I used STP in a 8CM engine in a boat I had in the mid '60's.. The engine was getting a little tired.. One weekend the engine blew up... No fun.. I was going to convert the boat to SBC.. A friend of mine had a F-5 truck that had a "new" Ford engine it. My friend gave me the truck for $100. I pulled the engine, it was an 8CM..
When I removed all of the marine equipment from the original boat engine I found that it had an over size pan. Removing the pan I found what I thought was the blatter from a football laying in the bottom of the pan.. Hmmmm? When I tried to pick the "blatter" up, much to my surprise I found a huge mass of STP.. So much for STP's claim that it would MIX WITH ALL ENGINE OILS..
At the time I was using Union Oils "Guard-All" 30W detergent oil.. I had switched from Union Oils Royal Triton, (Grape Juice) because UO quite making it...

[rotorwrench]

STP is the only thing from Studebaker that stuck around. Probably because it stuck so good they couldn't get rid of it.

[Mike51Merc]

I use it. Stopped my leaks and it's delicious on toast in the morning.

[1931 flamingo]

PennRite steering box lube, thick, pourable, will NOT leak. Available from Restoration Specialties, Escondido CA. Under $20.
Paul in CT

[Pete]

Since some folks are not familiar with the HAMB and search engines, I will type this out again.
First off we are talking about steering gears with a worm and roller or a worm and pin as typical in old Fords.
With the car sitting on the floor rig up a spring scale to the steering wheel rim so you can measure force needed to move the front wheels..Rig a dial indicator on the left front tire to measure movement..With plain 90w or 140w oil (or your favorite goo) in the steering box and the wheels set straight ahead pull on the scale until the front wheel moves say 2 inches and record the scale reading..Repeat several times to get a good number..The actual number does not matter..
Now, drain the steering box completely..This may take overnight or longer if you have some really thick goo in it..Refill with straight POWERPUNCH or STP..Bardahl also makes a similar goo.
Cycle the steering completely back and forth several times.
Now, repeat the former test and record the results..
The force required will be considerably less.
If you don't want to be bothered with all this measuring, just take it out and drive it.
We have a lot of people come back and say it now feels like power steering.

[Planojc]

40 cpe put me on what I was looking for and I got it at Auto Zone. If you need some look for the bottle with the large opening.

[gmc1941]

I've been using GD Corn Head grease for several years and haven't any problem, so far.

[Pete]

Originally Posted by gmc1941

I've been using GD Corn Head grease for several years and haven't any problem, so far.

I'll bet your arm muscles are considerably larger than the average person from that also....LOL

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by gmc1941

I've been using GD Corn Head grease for several years and haven't any problem, so far.

Same here. Prior to JD Corn Head Grease I used a 50/50 mix of STP and gear oil. It got to the point that I was wiping it up off the garage floor almost as quick as I could add it to the steering box. Last May I filled the box with JDCHG before driving 7200 miles on a cross country tour and then an additional 6000 miles before the end of 2013. No leakage in 13,000 + miles and steering is actually easier than it was with any of the previous lubes I have used in the steering box.

[Graeme / New Zealand]

Why is it that we all have this same problem with our steering boxs'?

GB

[STEVE1103]

Worked for me in my 47 Ford and 53 Merc, and no leaks!!

[Bassman/NZ]

Originally Posted by 1931 flamingo

PennRite steering box lube, thick, pourable, will NOT leak. Available from Restoration Specialties, Escondido CA. Under $20.
Paul in CT

Works for me too. I also use it in the universal joint.

[Wily Kyote]

In the '60s-'70s we used STP in steering boxes of Sportsman class and Modified class circle track cars, successfully. Added it to transmission, rear end and the engine, of course. From flatheads to 427s. Never experienced a negative from using it. Lots of positives -- the best of which is STP awarded us a Cougar GT for entering our STP racing experience in their contest.

[FL&WVMIKE]

I still remember the early STP TV commercial, where they used the undefeated boxer, Rocky Marciano to attempt to hold a screwdriver, upside down by the blade, with out it falling free.
You could dip the screwdriver in regular motor oil and hold it fine, but when you dipped it into STP, the harder you squezed it, the faster it would squirt out of your grip. TRY IT !
MIKE (mikeburch)

[blucar]

Originally Posted by Graeme / New Zealand

Why is it that we all have this same problem with our steering boxs'?

GB

The age and nature of the older style seals, plus the fact that none of the components were intended to last 60 plus years...

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by Graeme / New Zealand

Why is it that we all have this same problem with our steering boxs'?

GB

I attribute the leakage on my steering box to failure of seals and gaskets over a period of nearly 80 years of usage in a heated condition caused by close placement to the exhaust manifold. I was just about ready to pull the steering box out last may to replace seals and gaskets, but decided to fill it with JDCHG instead. Now, 12 months later, with little or no leaking and good steering, I'm thinking....why bother?

[TomT/Williamsburg]

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In my roadster I've had it in their since before I went to Bonneville last summer - really makes steering easier (IMHO) and does not leak out ....

[blucar]

An interesting bit of auto history trivia... Ford sponsored two '35 Ford based cars for the 1935 Indy 500.. They even had '35 Ford grilles..
As I recall, both cars dropped out of the race very early on, do to steering gear failures.. The engine heat caused the steering gears to seize...
Guess a little bit of STP would have saved the day... Of course do to a lack of instant media coverage at the time, this failure of a Ford product was not know for many many years after the event happened..

[Wily Kyote]

The Miller-Fords competed twice more at Indy with flathead power, in '46 and '47, those times under the ownership of Andy Granatelli. The '47 experience resulted in a 12th position, the flathead Ford's highest finish at Indy.

The car had ran as high as 7th when an engine oil leak necessitated a pit stop, and -- rules prohibiting the adding of oil -- Andy topped the crankcase full of water. The car completed an additional 138 laps before the water/oil mix too was gone, and the engine destructed.

The ol' Ford outlasted (in finishing order) engines by Lencki, Offy, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Miller, Novi, and Sparks... Flathead aficionados, take a bow.

[blucar]

Originally Posted by Wily Kyote

The Miller-Fords competed twice more at Indy with flathead power, in '46 and '47, those times under the ownership of Andy Granatelli. The '47 experience resulted in a 12th position, the flathead Ford's highest finish at Indy.

The car had ran as high as 7th when an engine oil leak necessitated a pit stop, and -- rules prohibiting the adding of oil -- Andy topped the crankcase full of water. The car completed an additional 138 laps before the water/oil mix too was gone, and the engine destructed.

The ol' Ford outlasted (in finishing order) engines by Lencki, Offy, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, Miller, Novi, and Sparks... Flathead aficionados, take a bow.

WOW! Now that's a bit of Ford trivia I had never read or heard about..
As a side-bar.. In 1950 I encountered three people in a Cad in the boonies of Idaho that had broken a rear brake line on a rock.. It was over 100 miles to the nearest town. I flattened the steel brake line, added water to the brake system, bleed the brakes and sent the guy on his way with instructions to get the brake system repaired as soon as he got to town..
My thanks was the guy roaring away on the gravel road..

[ct1932ford]

Originally Posted by jake197000

i use corn head grease.i dont leak out.

Ditto!

[chap52]

I remember that we would place the open can of STP in a pan of boiling water (after removing it from the stove) and in a couple of minutes it poured like melted butter.
It may have even had that tip printed on the can???

[Andy]

I don't know about lubricants and how well STC would work. I put seals in my 32 box and added gear oil. It steers fine and has never leaked a drop. I wonder if the STP does not leak, does it flow to the end of the sector? I don't want to worry about it.