Ok yep, I'll check the seals next time I'm at it. It is a riding mower; an old Murray that I paid...$150? for a while back. What's great is that I actually bought a whole replacement box (can't buy the sector gear individually...) and the replacement gear that meshes with the sector gear wasn't hardened and was turning in a steel bushing. What a shock, it lasted maybe a season before getting chewed up to all fuck. And the replacement sector gear is so sloppy in its pivots that the teeth only half engage anyway, so they wear out even faster. So here I am, using the original steering gear and re-making the original sector gear because they're better quality than the replacements. At least this time I had the new sector gear to use as a pattern. What'd you do for an electric conversion? That sounds like a fun project and I may be able to get my hands on an engine-less mower in otherwise good condition for a cheap price...