Power Steering Gear Box

Noted today that my power steering gear box is leaking badly. This is the OEM unit. This past Summer I replaced the old CII power steering pump with a Saginaw, as used on the Bullnose vans back in the day. Wondering if that little modification might have prompted the leak or whether it was merely coincidence???  Not sure what the pressure differences are between the CII and Saginaw, but as I recall it wasn't a big deal.

As to the gear box itself, rebuild or reman from AZ or O'Reilly?

Mine also started leaking.  I'm not skilled or confident enough to rebuild.  As I read the reviews a lot of the part store remans seemed hit or miss, probably based on the wear of the core.  I spent the big bucks and went with Red Head.  They (at least advertise) match bearing size to wear for a tighter unit.  I only wanted to replace it once, but probably over paid...that seems to be a trend for me.

i was trying to remember the brand with red in the name.  a reman gear "should" be good but I would pay attention to the warranty. i have rebuilt and it hit or miss unless you can get any machine work done if needed.

as far as having overpaid, if it is properly done the first time then I would say you got it right. we save our money on the labor. buy good parts! that also builds confidence in some spouses by the way.

Never had a reman box Better than the one it was supposed to replace.

I will be buying bluesteeringgears this spring/summer, same as redhead, but I don’t like the color red 😬

It is Blue Top.  Supposedly run by a guy that worked at Red Head but didn't like they way they were treating people so started his own company.

The way Ford designed the box the front of the shaft uses the cast iron of the box as the bushing.  And it wears.  When someone reman's the box they just check to make sure the wear isn't beyond their tolerances.  Not factory tolerances 'cause by definition it will be.  So when you buy a reman'd box it is not as good as new.  Cannot be.

Red Head and Blue Top bore the box out and put a bearing in.  Now you are back to factory spec's and it'll wear a lot longer.  I put a Red Head in Dad's truck and am thinking of a Blue Top for Big Blue since his steering isn't as good as it should be.  I won't be buying any reman'd boxes.

I don't know for sure, but it seems that when boring one out and pressing in a bushing, that bushing would be a steel sleeve as opposed to the cast iron original bore. that finish and durability could and should be far superior to even a new box would have been if done correctly.  again, I don't know this for sure but just understanding machining a little that seems logical.

Gsmblue wrote

Never had a reman box Better than the one it was supposed to replace.

I agree. I went through two reman'd boxes in a row before switching over to a RedHead box on my '84. As NumberDummy used to say over on FTE, a remanufactured power steering box is a resealed power steering box. So, if you're buying one to replace a leaky box, then a reman is fine. If you're buying one to fix sloppy steering, then your results may vary.

I went with a reman steering box on my 1980, and it seemed to be pretty good. That one didn't bother me at all.

One of the older parts counter guys I talked to told me that buying reman steering boxes is hit or miss because you don't really know if that reman box has 50k miles on it, or 350k miles on it. He actually told me, "sometimes you have to go through a couple before you get a good one".

A note on both RedHead and BlueTop boxes is that they have sales, I know around Thanksgiving and Christmas for sure, and maybe July 4th...can't really remember. Follow them on FB and IG and they will announce them when they're on. I was going to go with the BlueTop box for no other reason than Geography...they were closer and shipping was slightly cheaper. However, they went through two sales and both times didn't have any stock on Bullnose steering boxes. RedHead being a bigger and older company always seemed to have them ready to go.

John - If the need for sending them a core before they send you one back is a problem come see me.  

Thanks fellas! Often when I post here on a subject, I've already done a little research and formed an idea as to which way I will go. Some of you have your own experiences though and I trust your opinions better than those I might glean from the web. Also, we all benefit from this type of conversation.

There's a lot of conversation going on out there in regards to Blue Top vs. Red Head. I've read what Gary posted about the owner of Blue Top. And, I've also read a lot of not so good things about Red Head steering box failures right out of the box. Probably going to go with a Blue Top rebuild on my gear box.

There is a $90 upgrade option which I'm unclear on and hoping someone can clarify what specifically this is all about? I can't seem to find anything on it at their website. Blue Top statement:  "the porting option is an additional $90 which includes the -6 JIC fittings and pressure caps."

Again, what does this extra $90 due for the gear box and will these fitting cause me to have to change hoses or come up with adapters?  

Machspeed wrote

There is a $90 upgrade option which I'm unclear on and hoping someone can clarify what specifically this is all about? I can't seem to find anything on it at their website. Blue Top statement:  "the porting option is an additional $90 which includes the -6 JIC fittings and pressure caps."

Again, what does this extra $90 due for the gear box and will these fitting cause me to have to change hoses or come up with adapters?

You don't want that option. That is for adding two more ports in the steering box casing if you were using a secondary steering ram/piston assist. Nothing you need on a truck like yours.

RedHead has a description of the option on their webpage.

Here's what the porting option popup says.  I think it means you have to change hoses.  

Thanks, Cory.  One place I read said that Red Head put the fittings exactly in the right place to rub on the radiator hose and the guy was sure they'd rub through the hose in short order.  Don't remember what vehicle it was on, but it wasn't a Bullnose so might not be an issue for ours.  Still, I don't see the need.

Also, look what else I spotted on their site here:

Gary Lewis wrote

Here's what the porting option popup says.  I think it means you have to change hoses.  

Gary,

They actually drill and tap the steering box casing and add two additional ports if you have or plan to run ram assist steering.



Here's some info on it here:

https://www.fullsizebronco.com/threads/power-steering-gear-box-tap-pics.254874/

Nothing you need on a regular pickup in my opinion.

That's very helpful, Cory.  And I agree it isn't something I need on my trucks.

Doing a bit of sleuthing, here's what Redhead says about their process:

Some original housings are manufactured without bushing or bearings. This is commonly seen in some Ford steering gears and Chrysler steering gears.  We rebore these units and install needle bearings.

And here's what Blue Top says about their company:

Blue-Top Steering Gears was established in the little town of Buchanan, North Dakota in 1986. During that time steering gears were being sold primarily in the tri-state region surrounding North Dakota (Minnesota, South Dakota, & Montana).

In the late 2000's Blue-Top Steering was sold to Myron Vigesaa of rural Kensal, North Dakota.

In 2011, Ryan (Myron's son), purchased the business.  During that time Ryan re-established the business in Stanton, North Dakota. He reorganized and started pushing the business area across the United States.  Ryan's experience re-manufacturing steering gears with another large company in Seattle, Washington helped him with the understanding of many different types of steering components and the re-manufacturing process.  With the new location, better facilities, and a lot of years ahead, he pushed harder expanding sales from coast to coast. By this time Ryan had updated most of the equipment and had purchased more machining equipment to be able to keep all work in-house.  In 2017 Blue-Top Steering expanded into re-manufacturing steering valves and steering cylinders to add to the service abilities.  Since 2017 the business has grown every month as more people look to have a quality product installed on their vehicle to keep them steering straight down the road.  

In 2018 Blue Top expanded their manufacturing abilities by purchasing a CNC lathe as well as adding another vertical milling machine to speed up machining processes as well as add even more products to the shelf that are not available elsewhere.

Blue Top Steering Gears moved into their brand new building in the fall of 2019. With this new facility comes more room and better space designed for more efficient manufacturing

Since Redhead is in Auburn, WA and that's a suburb of Seattle it is pretty easy to see that Ryan had been an employee of Redhead.  But with his father owning Blue Top he decided to jump ship.  No idea when he did that nor are we told why, but he eventually bought the business from his father and has expanded it.

You guys are great! Looks like I missed some things on the Blue Top website, as Gary was able to find things. Corey, thanks for saving me $90!

One of the questions I had earlier was whether my Saginaw pump was a contributor to the leak in my gear box. A google search brought me to our very own website with some discussion on the pressures of the CII vs. Saginaw. That discussion linked below. Strange, but it appears that the CII pumps less volume at a higher pressure than the Saginaw. If that is the case, likely my leak is just coincidental.

https://forum.garysgaragemahal.com/Ford-C2-Power-Steering-Pump-with-Saginaw-Internals-tp106024.html

I think the key statement in that other thread is "The two pumps are just spec'd at different pressures and we don't know what the CII would do at 620 psi nor the Sag at 740 psi."  

But both pumps have their min and max relief pressures set very close to each other, with the CII at 1400 to 1530, and the Sag at 1350 - 1450.  So yes, I think it is a coinkydink.

This is a good thread.  I'm thinking of attacking my power steering woes this summer in my 83.  I'm not currently leaking or losing fluid and my wheel turns fine without any groaning or other noises/lack of smoothness.  It DOES tend to feel very light and requires more "steering while going straight" than I think feels proper to me.  I have serviced my entire suspension with new bushings, bearings, brakes and other wear items and have had the alignment done properly by an old school mechanic in a quality shop that knows these aren't simple to dial in correctly.  I have new road force balanced tires.  My questions are - what parts should I attack and in what order to solve the problem?

I've heard the steering boxes leave much to be desired so you should upgrade it.
I've also heard you should replace the steering shaft and that can solve problems in and of itself
I've heard the rag joint can cause the issues.

So, is it best practice to simply bite the bullet and replace it ALL?  If so, I'm surprised there is no kit for doing this out there.  

How much of these repairs/replacements can you do easily yourself without dropping the column from inside the cab?  I'm not very mechanical, but I can do basic things and I'd rather spend money on good parts than on labor towards issues that need to be resolved again later.

Thanks!
Troy

Basically, while you are in there do all three. But I would start by looking for the slop. Have someone watch as you turn the steering wheel gently to take the slop out.

My guess is that the box will be the source of the problem, but the rag joint can do it, as can the lower bearing in the column. All three of those can be done from under the hood without dropping the column.

The box is the hardest to do as it is messy since you have to break into the fluid lines. And you have to pull the pitman arm off the box. Plus, you have to pull the steering shaft, which has the rag joint. So that’s the easiest time to replace it. And while it is off replacing the lower bearing is easy.

I replaced the entire front suspension last year with high end Moog replacement parts, which really helped out with the horrible wandering I was having. Even with that though, I still felt a little slop in the front end. It was tolerable though. As my box is leaking, I'm going to send it in to Blue Top and have it rebuilt. I'm also going to remove the intermediate shaft and probably replace it with a Saginaw shaft. Frankly, don't think you need drop the column to clean up any other slop, as it should end with the gearbox and the intermediate shaft. I'll be reporting on that when I'm done.