series III steering relay unit

Hi, hope you're all chilling out on this cold Sunday and not freezing outside on a mechanics trolley...!

I just found a puddle of oil under the steering relay unit of my '79 88". Changing the oil seals looks like a proper pain in Haynes.....has anyone done this or is it easier to just replace the relay unit as a whole component? I expect the 'Leyland spring compressor' costs more than a replacement relay unit anyway?

Will it do any harm to use the car with this leak in the short term, as she's my daily driver?

Any advice much appreciated...!

Mark

You should be able to change the seals without removing the shaft and spring - it should be retained in the relay body if you take either cover off. Alternatively if the complete relay will come out (some do, some don't depending on the amount of corrosion) they're quite cheap to replace as a unit.
If you are taking the covers off, undo the bolts carefully and abandon the job if you feel any spring pressure on the cover. Put something over the end of the shaft in case it does let go - a rag filled coffee tin or something similar - to stop the shaft doing any damage if it escapes.
Don't forget to renew the gaskets and don't fill it with oil before replacing the top cover. I overfilled mine and it pushed the gasket out of place as I did the top cover up (should have left the filler bolt out!) and I had to take the cover off to replace it.