FuzzFace2 Posted August 8, 2022 Share Posted August 8, 2022 The steering boxes don't usually fail catastrophically, they just get worse and worse. The issue is that Ford used the cast iron of the box as the bearing for the front of the shaft. And while it is at the bottom of the box so does get plenty of lube, the box wears. When most companies refurbish the boxes they don't fix the wear - just use boxes with wear that is "within guidelines". However two companies, Redhead and Blue Top, bore the box out and put a true bearing in its place. And it is those boxes I'd use. I should have said I run a Blue Top in my 81 F100 and love it. Dave ---- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted August 10, 2022 Author Share Posted August 10, 2022 The steering boxes don't usually fail catastrophically, they just get worse and worse. The issue is that Ford used the cast iron of the box as the bearing for the front of the shaft. And while it is at the bottom of the box so does get plenty of lube, the box wears. When most companies refurbish the boxes they don't fix the wear - just use boxes with wear that is "within guidelines". However two companies, Redhead and Blue Top, bore the box out and put a true bearing in its place. And it is those boxes I'd use. That was the dilemma I dealt with before. Reman 4Runner steering racks had bad seals and no internal work done, new (Chinese) ones would just fail. You had to find a factory one that wasn't leaking which was difficult because they were the first parts picked on junkyard trucks. Same deal with the Ram. When I bought the truck it had a "new" reman steering box and it was already going out. Luckily there's "aftermarket" for that truck, so I got a RedHead and it leaks... 2nd Gen Rams have notorious steering issues so I just blame the design because I read it on a Cummins forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 The steering boxes don't usually fail catastrophically, they just get worse and worse. The issue is that Ford used the cast iron of the box as the bearing for the front of the shaft. And while it is at the bottom of the box so does get plenty of lube, the box wears. When most companies refurbish the boxes they don't fix the wear - just use boxes with wear that is "within guidelines". However two companies, Redhead and Blue Top, bore the box out and put a true bearing in its place. And it is those boxes I'd use. That was the dilemma I dealt with before. Reman 4Runner steering racks had bad seals and no internal work done, new (Chinese) ones would just fail. You had to find a factory one that wasn't leaking which was difficult because they were the first parts picked on junkyard trucks. Same deal with the Ram. When I bought the truck it had a "new" reman steering box and it was already going out. Luckily there's "aftermarket" for that truck, so I got a RedHead and it leaks... 2nd Gen Rams have notorious steering issues so I just blame the design because I read it on a Cummins forum Word on the street is that Red Head's QC has gone away and that Blue Top is the way to go. I don't know that for sure, but if I was buying it would be Blue Top based on what I've read. For instance, John/Machspeed wrote up his experience in the thread called Blue Top Steering Gears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted September 8, 2022 Author Share Posted September 8, 2022 Word on the street is that Red Head's QC has gone away and that Blue Top is the way to go. I don't know that for sure, but if I was buying it would be Blue Top based on what I've read. For instance, John/Machspeed wrote up his experience in the thread called Blue Top Steering Gears. Ended up just cleaning up what I already got instead of shelling out hundreds for a RedHead or BlueTop. I call it... GrayFace! Degreased and cleaned using Purple Power and water in the ol turkey pan. Soaked it down with POR-15 metal treatment while giving the Harbor freight shop crane a workout. Sprayed on Duplicolor self-etching primer for good measure. Top coat is Duplicolor New Ford Gray engine enamel, which is the same color I'll be using on the engine and transmission. Also cleaned up the power steering pump and polished the pulley a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted September 8, 2022 Author Share Posted September 8, 2022 Felt like this general update needed its own reply in the thread. A few weeks ago I put out another vlog video. Unfortunately the framerate did not jive when I published it and it's extremely choppy, but I added actual production value this time. As of recently I've hit some financial hardships that have set me back and I'm not really able to purchase anything for the Bronco. I've started doing overtime at work to catch up, but until then I can't really do much other than clean and restore parts. One *zero-cost* sub-project I'm going to start is the wiring diagram. It will be based on the American Autowire kit with the following additions: - 3G Alternator - A/C wiring kit - Bronco tailgate wiring kit - PMGR starter - Holley Sniper EFI - Inline electronic fuel pump - 7-way trailer plug wiring - Brake controller - Halogen fog lights - Amplifier and subwoofers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 8, 2022 Share Posted September 8, 2022 Felt like this general update needed its own reply in the thread. A few weeks ago I put out another vlog video. Unfortunately the framerate did not jive when I published it and it's extremely choppy, but I added actual production value this time. As of recently I've hit some financial hardships that have set me back and I'm not really able to purchase anything for the Bronco. I've started doing overtime at work to catch up, but until then I can't really do much other than clean and restore parts. One *zero-cost* sub-project I'm going to start is the wiring diagram. It will be based on the American Autowire kit with the following additions: - 3G Alternator - A/C wiring kit - Bronco tailgate wiring kit - PMGR starter - Holley Sniper EFI - Inline electronic fuel pump - 7-way trailer plug wiring - Brake controller - Halogen fog lights - Amplifier and subwoofers GrayFace looks good! And the power steering pump is much improved as well. Sorry about the financial difficulties. We've all been there so we can understand the need to slow down. And the idea of doing low/no cost projects during that time is a good one. Having the wiring diagram done before you launch into the project itself is the way to go, but be flexible since you may find that you need to make some changes along the way. (At least I did.) The Vlog is good, and you can get so much more in than typing it. We can see the results, and they look really good. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted September 27, 2022 Author Share Posted September 27, 2022 Felt like this general update needed its own reply in the thread. A few weeks ago I put out another vlog video. Unfortunately the framerate did not jive when I published it and it's extremely choppy, but I added actual production value this time. As of recently I've hit some financial hardships that have set me back and I'm not really able to purchase anything for the Bronco. I've started doing overtime at work to catch up, but until then I can't really do much other than clean and restore parts. One *zero-cost* sub-project I'm going to start is the wiring diagram. It will be based on the American Autowire kit with the following additions: - 3G Alternator - A/C wiring kit - Bronco tailgate wiring kit - PMGR starter - Holley Sniper EFI - Inline electronic fuel pump - 7-way trailer plug wiring - Brake controller - Halogen fog lights - Amplifier and subwoofers This build keeps getting more complex as time goes on. The 300 is completely torn down. I'm sending the block to a shop for inspection and cleaning, and then I'm going to scramble to rebuild and put it back together...with a twist! It's the same price and more work getting my carb'd head decked/ported/fitted for bigger valves as just buying a ProMaxx CNC ported head that's already good to go from the box. And the guy at a shop I talked to made a big deal about the futility of doing this with an inline six, then called some other guys stupid for building 300s, which strengthened my resolve. If I wanted 12mpg I'd get a V8. The other side of the twist is a serpentine belt conversion. Basically I'm just taking drive accessories, pulleys, and brackets off an EFI engine and putting them on my engine. Already got a crankshaft pulley, steering pump pulley, steering pump/AC bracket, and tensioner. Just need the alternator bracket, a 3G alternator, EFI water pump, and later A/C compressor. I will probably try to figure out a way to replace the smog pump with an idler pulley so I can use EFI belts. And I bought a GoPro Hero 9 and filmed the whole engine teardown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 This build keeps getting more complex as time goes on. The 300 is completely torn down. I'm sending the block to a shop for inspection and cleaning, and then I'm going to scramble to rebuild and put it back together...with a twist! It's the same price and more work getting my carb'd head decked/ported/fitted for bigger valves as just buying a ProMaxx CNC ported head that's already good to go from the box. And the guy at a shop I talked to made a big deal about the futility of doing this with an inline six, then called some other guys stupid for building 300s, which strengthened my resolve. If I wanted 12mpg I'd get a V8. The other side of the twist is a serpentine belt conversion. Basically I'm just taking drive accessories, pulleys, and brackets off an EFI engine and putting them on my engine. Already got a crankshaft pulley, steering pump pulley, steering pump/AC bracket, and tensioner. Just need the alternator bracket, a 3G alternator, EFI water pump, and later A/C compressor. I will probably try to figure out a way to replace the smog pump with an idler pulley so I can use EFI belts. And I bought a GoPro Hero 9 and filmed the whole engine teardown. You can get to 12 MPG with even a 460, so a 300 should get far better when properly built. Like well over 20. And that head should be a good start. Why not put the tear-down video on YouTube and post it here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted October 5, 2022 Author Share Posted October 5, 2022 You can get to 12 MPG with even a 460, so a 300 should get far better when properly built. Like well over 20. And that head should be a good start. Why not put the tear-down video on YouTube and post it here? I had a weird find at the scrapyard over the weekend. There was a 7.5L swapped into an aero F150. It had a brand new 95A 3G alternator and an aftermarket(?) idler pulley in place of the smog pump. I snagged both and made sure they bolted up to the brackets I got. That marks pretty much everything for the serpentine belt conversion except AC compressor and water pump. Why not put the tear-down video on YouTube and post it here? That is the plan once I get around to editing the video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimJam300 Posted October 14, 2022 Author Share Posted October 14, 2022 I had a weird find at the scrapyard over the weekend. There was a 7.5L swapped into an aero F150. It had a brand new 95A 3G alternator and an aftermarket(?) idler pulley in place of the smog pump. I snagged both and made sure they bolted up to the brackets I got. That marks pretty much everything for the serpentine belt conversion except AC compressor and water pump. Why not put the tear-down video on YouTube and post it here? That is the plan once I get around to editing the video. Engine block is at the machine shop. Machinist says it's already been bored .030 over, should clean out to .035 about. Whole block prep, pistons, and piston pressing will be $890. Did a test run of paint on my transmission. Brushed on Rustoleum rusty metal primer and hit it with Duplicolor Ford Engine Gray. Still got a ton of parts to sandblast and paint. Engine block and head will be the Ford Gray. All pulleys and valve cover will be semi gloss black. Going with the chrome Holley Sniper and a chrome air cleaner but I might change my mind. Not sure what color I want to do the manifolds, but I REALLY like the Eastwood Factory Gray for the exhaust. https://www.eastwood.com/factory-gray-hi-temp-coating.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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