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cheap steering box swap.

A

andyr354

NAXJA Forum User
Location
North Central KS
Anybody know some easy to find steering boxes that I can put on my xj. Will ones from a 70s-80s gm car work ok? I also have access to some waggy and J10 boxes.
or how hard is one to rebuild. Mine has lots of slack after 330K miles. the pitman shaft wigles likethe upper bearing is pretty loose.
 
andyr354 said:
Anybody know some easy to find steering boxes that I can put on my xj. Will ones from a 70s-80s gm car work ok? I also have access to some waggy and J10 boxes.
or how hard is one to rebuild. Mine has lots of slack after 330K miles. the pitman shaft wigles likethe upper bearing is pretty loose.
Click to expand...


Did you check out Ashman's thread about the hydro steering? Here's a link: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20532 It's not 30 threads down from yours and goes into detail about rebuilding the steering box... just omit the part for the hydro.
Billy
 
Do a search and you'll likely find a whole lot of good info. This has come up for discussion alot.

Dunno about the GM car to Jeep compatability, but when I was looking for a stronger gear box, the local rebuilder I went to turned me on to the larger box from a '99 Dodge Durango. It's a direct bolt in - the only mod required are some 3/4" spacers between the box and frame to compensate for the larger diameter of the valve body. Stacked washers would work, but having some steel tube welded on would be best for this application.

I understand that the steering boxes from the old J10 - J20 Jeep trucks will bolt in too, but they use 4 bolts to mount to the truck frames so the extra bolt flange may need to be trimmed off.

Again, do a search using "steering box", and that should get you some good posts to review.

Good Luck! :guitar:
 
I just did a J20 gear box swap on mine last week.
you want the J20 gear box.....it has a 3.5" bore vs. the stock 3".
this bolted in with out any trouble but with one exception, hose fittings.
the stock gear box is an o-ring style and the J20 is a swedge style.
i just took my stock pressure line to a hydrolic shop and they adapted it with a swedge fitting.
note: the J20 gear box uses Ford fittings......#7 pressure side and #6 return.


performance wise....it's great, especially with a front locker
 
Warthog said:
I just did a J20 gear box swap on mine last week.
you want the J20 gear box.....it has a 3.5" bore vs. the stock 3".
this bolted in with out any trouble but with one exception, hose fittings.
the stock gear box is an o-ring style and the J20 is a swedge style.
i just took my stock pressure line to a hydrolic shop and they adapted it with a swedge fitting.
note: the J20 gear box uses Ford fittings......#7 pressure side and #6 return.


performance wise....it's great, especially with a front locker
Click to expand...
Will a box from any year J-20 work, and did you use you stock pump?
TIA!
 
JeepFreak21 said:
Did you check out Ashman's thread about the hydro steering? Here's a link: http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=20532 It's not 30 threads down from yours and goes into detail about rebuilding the steering box... just omit the part for the hydro.
Billy
Click to expand...

There are two bearings on the pitman arm shaft, the upper one that attaches to the cap that is held on with 4 bolts, that bearing is not included in the rebuild kit I bought from www.westtexasoffroad.com. My kit did come with the lower bearing for the pitman arm shaft, and did come with a new bearing for the Input shaft. i dont know if the bearings in the $50 kit would fix your problem, it would have to be taken apart....If the teeth on the pittman arm shaft or on the piston are worn to the point of having too much play, youd be better off with a junkyard box. The factry replacement parts are way PRICY!!

If you take it apart for a rebuild, drill and tap it for hydro assist. you can just put some 1/4in NPT caps in the holes if you dont want to do the assist now...
 
BillR said:
Will a box from any year J-20 work, and did you use you stock pump?
TIA!
Click to expand...

i believe any year J20 will work, if it's a 3.5" bore.
almost any box will bolt in but the reason for going to the bigger J20 is the extra power it provides. I'm turning 36" iroks with a locker and the improvement over stock is great!

and yes I'm still running the stock pump......just a little wine when turning at full lock....but seems to be going away as the rest of the air bubbles are bled out.
 
i bet the teeth and all are worn in my high milleage box. I will have to go junkyard shopping this weekend and see what I find. My thoughts on the J20 box is that I wouldn't want it. I would rather stay with the less powerfull gear so it can't put as much force on the mounting on the xj. I think a stock gear + assist would be better.

I guess an S10 box up to 95 or so is the same as an XJ box to. I know there will be some of those in the yard. Have been searching pirate this afternoon.
 
andyr354 said:
My thoughts on the J20 box is that I wouldn't want it. I would rather stay with the less powerfull gear so it can't put as much force on the mounting on the xj.
Click to expand...



you are correct......you wouldn't want to run this gear box without additional support like a steering box brace or uni-frame support. I run both the steering brace and C-rok's inner and outer plates.
 
Warthog said:
you are correct......you wouldn't want to run this gear box without additional support like a steering box brace or uni-frame support. I run both the steering brace and C-rok's inner and outer plates.
Click to expand...

ORGS (now jks owns them) SBS-960 is going on mine. Have it sitting in the house, just need the time. I liked the welded on construction and the new weldin spacers. My frame is already messed up from a wreck the XJ was in. Thats how I bought it so cheap :)
Not messed up bad but the upper hole is kinda messed up. They hit a power pole and it sheered the bolts for the gear off and completely knocked it loose from the body. Had to straighten the frame up a bit and make a new front crossmember.
 
andyr354 said:
ORGS (now jks owns them) SBS-960 is going on mine. Have it sitting in the house, just need the time. I liked the welded on construction and the new weldin spacers.
Click to expand...

yea, i like that unit too. i'm just not a very good welder. the c-rok unit is pretty stout. i got both the inner and out plates and it comes with tube spacers that run between the two plates. in addition to the 3 steering box bolts its held in with 6 more bolts......it ain't move'n!
i also mounted my tow hook thru the plate as well........thats 11 total bolts.
more than enough to bloody every nuckle :)
 
you want to be carefully when searching for a J20 box. Most parts places will give you a J10 box which is exactly the same as the XJ box because they interchange with the J20. The real J20 box is hard to find in some locations.
 
Rufies97XJ said:
Ok... sorry to bring this thread back...
But what vehicle does a true J20 box come out of.. I wanna go to a salvage yard and look for one.. but I wanna make sure I don't waste my time and get the wrong box.
TIA!
Click to expand...

:huh: Ummm, probably a Jeep 3/4 ton J20 or ton J30 pickup truck with power steering...
 
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