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ATTN: Bones and others, regarding the J20 steering box.......

YELLAHEEP

NAXJA Forum User
Hey guys, I was looking for that J20 steering box with the 3.5 inch end cap Bones was talking about and I couldn't find one anywhere. So, I called this steering rebuilder guy to see what it'd cost to rebuild a used one if I located one at a salvage yard.

This guy really came through for us! He knows his stuff and has been building these 3.5 inch boxes and modifying them with the hydraulic assist ports for a few guys building rock buggies for years he said.

Here's what he suggested for our XJ's: !Use a steering box from a '99 Dodge Durango/Dakota!!! He pulled a rebuilt one off the shelf for me and we compared it to my core. EVERYTHING was the same except for the larger piston and chamber! It has the correct 3 bolt tabs - not 4 like the J20, and the steering shaft input, the pitman shaft and the threaded hose ports are all the same as the XJ's.

He said it's easily drilled and tapped to accept the additional lines for a hydraulic assist ram if you're looking to go that route.

I was out the door with the rebuilt box for $175!!! He even swapped my pitman arm over to the new box for me!

Hope this helps!
 
Thanks Troy,
I'll check into this. I will probably go to a Lee prepped XJ box (~$450) this winter but I need something now for Moab.
I did find out that the bigger box isn't the best one for hydro assist on a street rig because of its larger fluid requirement but it should work great on a trail rig. I will MTL grab one of these boxes and keep it as a backup to the XJ hydro-assist box I'll do this winter.

Let me know if you run into any install problems when you put it in.

Bones :skull1:
 
Good info, I'll look into it for my buggy.

CRASH
 
Re: 2wd or 4wd?

ryurabbit said:
Was it from a 2wd or 4wd.
Rabbit

I *think* the 2wds use a rack and pinion system not the gear box like ours.

Any update on how this works, fitment, performance ect?...

Tim
 
you are right my bad!

Sorry should have researched, but I was out of time. Went to moab ya know. Was gonna look into this when I got back.
Rabbit
 
Yeah, the box is from a 4wd '99 Durango.

The entire box is set up with all the same mounting tabs, input shaft and steering shaft as the original XJ box, but it has the 3.5" piston/valve chamber.

I put the box on about 2 months ago and it works great! I was able to tell a big difference in it's ability to turn my 35" tires while 'wheeling in the rocks - it didn't bind up once.

The box is bolt up and accepts your original hydraulic line fittings which is what makes this swap very easy. The only mod you have to do is fab up some spacers to put in between the frame and the box. The best way to do this is to cut some steel tube (I believe I used 3/4" diameter) and weld that to the back of each mounting tab. Then weld a washer to the end of the tube to give a nice flat platform for the box to press against when bolting it to the frame. You'll need new grade 8 bolts that are 1/2" longer too.

I imagine you could just as easily stack washers to make the spacers as well, but you really need to torque the box down and use lock-tite to make sure there is little chance for movement. Mine came loose after running Rusty Nail in Moab.

Good luck!

Troy
 
'scuse the potentially dumb question but how does a bigger box help when the pump puts out the same pressure it did to the smaller one? I might understand (or think I do) but would like someone to explain. The context of my question here, without starting a debate on my choice of a hydro winch, is would a larger box help/hurt or not matter...thanks!

P
 
I, too, would like to know how a larger box would help. My 97 XJ w/32's goes thru a stock box every 5 years and is hard to turn at low rpm's. My goal is to get larger, more durable gears and hopefully to get a little more umph at low rpm's.

I have looked at AGR and PSC and like the added turning power but am concerned about the pressure on the stock gears.

Papa George
 
I, too, would like to know how a larger box would help. My 97 XJ w/32's goes thru a stock box every 5 years and is hard to turn at low rpm's. My goal is to get larger, more durable gears and hopefully to get a little more umph at low rpm's.

I have looked at AGR and PSC and like the added turning power but am concerned about the pressure on the stock gears.

Papa George
99 Durango box and PSC smaller power steering pulley should make you happy.
 
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