Again I'm chasing down leaks. Bought a can of engine degreaser and cleaned the steering gear box really good so I could pinpoint the source of it.

The leak is coming from the seal/gasket on the top of the box In the area notated by the arrow.



Would it be as simple as removing the four bolts, replacing the seal then tightening the bolts back up?

 

Not quite. You'll have to remove the preload jam nut on top and carefully count the turns, or remove the pitman arm and pull the whole shaft up still attached to the lid.
See here:
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/tr...ng-box-rebuild

 

What method would you recommend? Losing count of turns doesn't sound fun at all. Perhaps I should just take the whole steering box out and replace the top seal and the pitman area seals at the same time since it would have to come off anyway. Thoughts?

 

If all I were going to do is replace the top cover gasket, I'd remove the jam nut (while holding the center allen screw still), then turn the center screw while lifting the cover until it's free. You will have to count the turns while doing so and reverse them exactly to put everything back.

If you are going to replace the Pitman seal too, then you may as well pull the box and replace all the seals. You can set the box up with an inch/lb torque wrench, easiest to do with the box securely in a bench vise:

First adjust the input shaft preload for about 4-5 in/lb drag when turning the input shaft. This is done by loosening the input bearing lock ring and turning the bearing nut.
Then you can adjust the sector preload so drag increases to 10 in/lb as the input shaft is turned through it's center position. ( These boxes "tighten up" on center to improve road feel and reduce wandering)
Note the drag should fall back to 4-5 in/lb again as you turn the input shaft to either side of center. If it does not, or there are multiple peaks, the internals are worn beyond adjustment. Time for a new box. )

 

It looks like a full rebuild kit is only about $25 which isn't bad at all. The only problem is, I have no idea how to do some the things you just mentioned let alone know what the parts are ypu referred to. Is there any schematics you know of that could assist me? I'd hate to take the box out and then ruin all the settings by not knowing what I'm doing. Buying a new box seems a lot simpler but also a lot more costly.

 

I've been looking for step by step instructions with pictures to post for you. I can find them for a box rebuild, but not for the two adjustments you should do after the rebuild. Even the 4X4 link above is missing that crucial info.
Best I can do is a page from Saginaw showing the adjustments: