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what steering gearbox to go with?.
#775340 April 29th 2021 7:50 pm
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DadsVan Offline OP
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hey guys...its that time...i need to replace it...i see ebay has the cardone remans for about 250 bucks....anybody had any experience with these...im open to suggestions....thanks

Re: what steering gearbox to go with?.
DadsVan #775354 April 30th 2021 1:21 am
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I'd gotten a steering gear from Autozone, an Apsco reman for my '89 b250, in 2009.
While it did not leak, it was way looser than the original one it replaced. After several tightenings over 11 years, I replaced it last december with a Redhead steering gear, which is 3x the price, as I had to eat the core charge.

Make sure your slop is not mainly in the steering coupler / rag joint. as a new gear will do nothing for that.

Apparently one disgruntled/frustrated Redhead employee struck out on their own and runs a rebuilding service of similar or perhaps better quality called bluetop.
I am not as impressed with my Redhead as I would like to be, but it is many fold better than the cheesy sloppy Apsco reman I took out.

There are a few stiffer spots in the redhead that take slightly more steering pressure. but staying in lane on the highway at speed is so much better and so much less stressful on the 2 x country journeys I've completed since.

I think if you are going any parts store reman, it will be luck of the draw the amount of slop in it. The R&R job is enough work, and fluid, that I think its worth it to go for the redhead or Bluetop options price premiums.

Either will recommend putting a filter on the return line.

My PS pump at one point was leaking, and I had used Lucas stop leak and forgot that I did, for a decade. I remembered and then decided to reseal my pump at the time I replaced the gear. I found it had been opened once before and resealed, sometime prior to my ownership more than 20 years before. My resealing job showed me I should have just bought a new one as driving from California to Florida, in Louisiana pulling off the freeway to get gas, less than half the expected power assist.

It was dirty enough inside I felt good knowing at least the new redhead gear would not get quickly contaminated with all the crap inside of it

Lucas stop leak again proved amazingly effective, and no issues since.

the Reman'd saginaw pumps both with and without the reservoir are widely reported to be junky and noisy, which is why I decided to reseal what I thought was the original , before I opened it. If you go reman, go for one with the reservoir already attached.

On mine, one water jacket penetrating bolt holding on the PS pump bracket refused to seal, and caused several days of cursing. If you go as far as I did with steering pump R&R, have some permatex thread sealant on hand, , and if the bolts holding on the Water pump accessories are corroded, replace them, as the threads likely will not be able to seal even with the permatex thread sealant, and you will waste a bunch of new coolant on your driveway while inventing new curses and finding some inanimate object that needed to be smashed underground with the biggest hammer you can find, and missing on the first dozen swings cursing like a crazed madman while the skies turn black and the neighbors run for the hills.

Or so I've been told.


;>

Also get a wire brush and some PB blaster or Kroil and go at the Pitman arm splined interface with the steering gear output, well before you bust out the Pitman arm puller on it, and expect to still have to bust out the propane torch to get the effer off.

If you need to pull the steering column from the floor to get the coupler off the splined input shaft, have a good method to hold the lifted steering column in place as if it falls, it will likely break bend and tweak all the wiring in the area right when the neighbors just thought it might be safe to return.

Re: what steering gearbox to go with?.
DadsVan #775374 April 30th 2021 1:58 pm
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appreciate the info....my gearbox leaks and the rag joint is really sloppy and sterring wheel play is about 6 inches....i might as well replace them both...

Re: what steering gearbox to go with?.
DadsVan #775754 May 07th 2021 9:07 am
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i also got redhead steering box and have had no problems with it.

Re: what steering gearbox to go with?.
purplesporty17 #776979 May 31st 2021 10:45 pm
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G Van Man
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Originally Posted by purplesporty17
i also got redhead steering box and have had no problems with it.
Good to know. Considering their box for my 97 Express.


1983 G20 Conversion Van, 350 TPI, Reed Hydraulic Roller cam, Ported 906 Vortec, Edelbrock 3817 TPI-Vortec Base, Doug Thorley Tri-Ys, Dual 2 1/2" exhaust, Speed Density 7730 ECM tuned by ME, 700r4 by ME, Stock 1,600 rpm converter, Rebuilt Stock 10 bolt with posi by ME, 3.08 gears, 358 RWHP @ 5,200, 384 RWTQ @ 3,400, 14.66 @ 95.43 w 2.28s 60'

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