steering box replacement

[sleeper bird]

I am getting kinda worn out with the slack in my steering box,its a 66 q code anyone know of a good company that has them rebuilt already so i dont have to set my car up for a couple of weeks?btw all new front end parts with about 2,000.00 miles and she seems to be driving me instead of me driving her,new rear springs and larger sway bar just to fill in any questions about other things that i have done

[paulr]

http://www.steeringgears.net/

From experience I can say these are first rate gears and so is the service, but for a price. I've been inside the shop; they do a large classic/rebuild biz. Generally ready to swap you. Are you losing fluid from your seals yet?

[sleeper bird]

i dont think i am loosing any fluid to my knowledge

[sleeper bird]

and there prices are really on par with others that i have checked,but i was looking for a reference thanks

[JETBRD66]

I recently had my leaking one rebuilt, we decided to reduce the ratio in the box, mine is now 15-1 , just gives a little more road feel and takes away some of the full power assist that these came with, also had the steering gear box isolators removed and had solid mounts installed, all in all made for a more tighter feel and less wandering , total cost of re build including new valve body $275 CDN, (friends price ).

[66_Charly]

I had good experience this summer with these guys: http://stores.ebay.de/buyautoparts/.
They sent me a rebuilt gearbox to Germany, fits and works perfectly.

[David Langhorne]

Charley I see they require a $200 dollar core charge - did you send them your old one? Not sure of the economics from overseas. I could do with a new steering box.

[sleeper bird]

I recently had my leaking one rebuilt, we decided to reduce the ratio in the box, mine is now 15-1 , just gives a little more road feel and takes away some of the full power assist that these came with, also had the steering gear box isolators removed and had solid mounts installed, all in all made for a more tighter feel and less wandering , total cost of re build including new valve body $275 CDN, (friends price ).

kinda like changing the ratio,who did you use and did you have to have the pump redone as well,i thought i had read that somewhere.

[JETBRD66]

I had a shop do it, ( business friend) sorta, told him what I wanted and he did the rest, I understand that he installed a new valve body , that is what changes the ratio , + a rebuild, seals etc, no new pump but new lines etc, the only problem I had was the alignment marks after the re build, my re builder set it up" top", somehow it got moved in the install and the marks were wiped off, trying to slide it into the yoke was a chore that dam thing is heavy !if I ever do it again I will etch the mark in place on the shaft and body to make sure.

[66_Charly]

Charley I see they require a $200 dollar core charge - did you send them your old one? Not sure of the economics from overseas. I could do with a new steering box.

No, with shipping charges at over $120 and a broken and gouged gear box, which I didn't think counts as a repairable core, I didn't send it back.

See photos here: http://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/p ... 78#p65778n

[sleeper bird]

i asked steering gear.net and they told me the ratio could not be changed,i really like the idea of tightning the steering up a bit more, like modern vehicles.Maybe just a standard rebuild will work though.I do know one thing you do not want to take your eyes off the road for a second.

[paulr]

http://www.vintagethunderbirdclub.net/p ... f=7&t=6332
Unfortunately, the pictures have all been removed. But this thread really helped me out a couple years back. About halfway down page 1, Desert Bird's documentation helps you understand what's going on with your gearbox. I always figure the more data, the better you feel about your decision.

If you're concerned about slack in your steering, consider looking at all the parts that may be contributing. 4 tie rod ends and 3 insulators could all be partly to blame. Sometimes, you take off an insulator and the rubber is so soft, it's doing you no favors.

[JETBRD66]

i asked steering gear.net and they told me the ratio could not be changed,i really like the idea of tightning the steering up a bit more, like modern vehicles.Maybe just a standard rebuild will work though.I do know one thing you do not want to take your eyes off the road for a second.

\


Check with some other re builders, not exchange shops !, the shop I used was called Custom Steering Gear, in Markham Ont, Canada, don't see why other shops cannot do it , he didn't seem to have an issue locating parts or doing what I wanted !

[sleeper bird]

ok so i have decided to pull the gearbox and send it in,now after reading the shop manual seems fairly easy to remove((yea right) are there any helpfull hints that anyone can put out there for me,seems i read about pulling the fender well for better access did i read right?

[sleeper bird]

update upon getting my wife to get in the car and work the steering back and forth i am realizing that the whole box is moving around alot,now i am starting to wonder if its even the gear box at fault for the wandering i am experiencing,i have seen the solid mounts and probably will go that direction.Now my question is do you have to remove the gearbox to remove insulators?if so i will replace the gearbox if not i might just try to change the insulators.cars got about 130,000 miles.