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Steering gear box replacement

P

pikey77

NAXJA Forum User
Location
dfw
Lost it last night in the rain and I guess busted the steering gear box. Alignment shop said it would run 500 to fix 350 for the part and 150 for labor.

Anyone done this themselves. Ill be doin the rear main/oil pump this weekend anyhow.
 
You can opt for the Dodge Dakota Steering box as an upgrade. When replacing, use either bungees or ratchet strap to hang the new box in place during bolt-in. Makes its easier and wont kill your arms.
 
The labor is a pain, but can be done by anyone who can change an alternator. I don't get it though, what is the vehicle doing since you "lost it"? A steering box is really tough and almost impossible to break, so if the Jeep is driving wrong, something else may be screwed up. If it is the box, you can do it yourself and get a good one for much less than $350. There are countless places to buy them online. just google buy steering.
 
I just replace mine. Got a Lares #1353 at partsamerica.com (kragen/checker...)
http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductDetail.aspx?mfrcode=LRS&mfrpartnumber=1353

So far so good...
Took less than 2 hours to change. The most difficult part is holding the heavy box up with one hand and trying to start the bolt threads with the other. A pitman arm puller is a must have for this project.

Mines a 1990, not sure what other years that box fits.
 
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Got mine for $20 at the junkyard. When you are using the puller, get it nice and tight and then tap on the pitman arm with a hammer to free it up. If you over tighten the puller you might break it.
 
Jackhill442 said:
I don't get it though, what is the vehicle doing since you "lost it"?There are countless places to buy them online. just google buy steering.
Click to expand...

Lost control getting on the highway and hit a curb doing about 75 with the front left wheel/tire. Evidently the steering box spun a gear or jumped some teeth. The steering wheel sits about 100 degrees turned to the right when going straight ahead.

I checked out autozone and they quoted me 150 with a lifetime warranty so I figured Ill give it a shot. Thanks for the help.
 
When doing this on a pre-97 you'll find that it's not possible to install the steering shaft once the box is held by all three bolts. The telescoping part is not meant to move unless you break it, and the back and forth give at the ends is about 1/4 inch too short. At least it was on my 95 and my son's 96. So you will need to hang the box on one bolt, engage the shaft with the box so it tilts forward a bit, then slip the bottom of the steering shaft onto the box before you put the other two bolts in.

Factory calls for new bolts every time, I think. Your call, but you should at least put some loctite on them and sock them down well. This is not something you want ever to come loose!
 
pikey77 said:
Lost control getting on the highway and hit a curb doing about 75 with the front left wheel/tire. Evidently the steering box spun a gear or jumped some teeth. The steering wheel sits about 100 degrees turned to the right when going straight ahead.

I checked out autozone and they quoted me 150 with a lifetime warranty so I figured Ill give it a shot. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...
I see you live in the DFW area. Check out PSC steering, they are in Weatherford. I bought a stock ratio steering box from them for my son's XJ and it ran me $189. This is a box rebuilt by professionals who also built my crawler box. http://www.pscmotorsports.com
If you live close to Fort Worth I might be able to come help you put it in.
 
DO NOT DO NOT DO NOT GET THE AUTOZOO fenco/atasco box .. read the other posts on here
 
djblade311 said:
You can opt for the Dodge Dakota Steering box as an upgrade. When replacing, use either bungees or ratchet strap to hang the new box in place during bolt-in. Makes its easier and wont kill your arms.
Click to expand...

I hadn't heard about this? What are the advantages and such? Does it bolt up directly or?
 
I still am not convinced you need a new box. If the wheel is off center, just get under and adjust the collar that is on the rod that connects the pitman arm with the pass. side knuckle. Play with it until you get it on center. Make sure all the joints, especially the track bar to frame, are ok and no rods are bent. Making the box skip a tooth is virtually impossible. Does it still steer okay and not make noises? Understand that those boxes are made to take so much abuse because it is a huge safety issue.
 
I must add, I have wasted more hours than I would ever like to admit reading and experimenting with the steering system and the box, and there is alot of info available on them.
 
The mechanics said there wasn't enough room to adjust it back to center because its about 95-100 degrees to the right. Ill take a look though. I looked at everything underneath and had the Mech. check too and said everything else looks solid except I did hear a clicking/clunking sound when turning earlier today. I'm thinkin thats prolly the wheel hub because it was doin it occasionally before and its the same sound just louder and more frequent now.
 
I have to agree that it's hard to see how you could skip a tooth on a recirculating ball steering box without pulverizing the innards so badly that it would give clear indications of damage. As far as adjusting the wheel, a little goes a long way, so I would be surprised if there isn't enough thread to do it. It might be worthwhile to pop the drag link off the pitman arm and test the box apart from the rest of the steering to see if there's roughness or excessive looseness in it. A little clicking when you wiggle the wheel back and forth is not unusual when the power is off, and might go away when the system is under pressure, but of course it should turn smoothly from one extreme to the other. If you feel roughness it might have internal damage.

Obviously something happened here and you'd better figure out what, but I would not start with a new steering gear without further testing.
 
The Dakota Conversion would be nice . . .

Once the Pitman is off you might see if there are any splines left to engage the arm. Sounds like you spun the arm on the shaft. The splines aren't real deep.
 
TiRod said:
The Dakota Conversion would be nice . . .

Once the Pitman is off you might see if there are any splines left to engage the arm. Sounds like you spun the arm on the shaft. The splines aren't real deep.
Click to expand...

Dakota conversion??? I hadn't heard about this until now,,, what are the advantages?

I would agree,, you might have slipped a spline,,, but I would also check for other things being bent... To break the insides of a steering box would be the first time I have ever heard of it....
 
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