2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Genos new Borgeson steering box "Dodge Box"

[GOTSOOT]

Again ==Duh!I beleive what came out of the "HORSES" mouth,Brandon will probably get the wording changed.

 

[Hammer]

Jeff...

I have a quetion you can answer for me here as it has been one of the main reasons I have NOT installed one of your steering shafts on my 98 yet.



Why is the outside finish so bad on them and the joints leaving them open to rusting very quickly when used in the states,like here in PA,where winters road salt is harsh?.



I have seen what they look like after 1 winter here in PA,rust covered from one end to the other,and for those of us who not only drive,we show our trucks,it creates a unsightly look that we need to address each season.



Why cant they be offered coated so the finish will not be hampered by outside elements?.



We passed on this box with no one knowing if the shaft needed to be used or not for my girlfriends 01. On her truck we used a "RedHead Steering Gear" box and the truck FINALLY drives better than it ever has.

 

[Grantmeyer]

Jeff,



Could you tell me is this a 3 1/4 turn box and what is the valving (16:1)? Also why does Geno's site say you must use the Borgenson shaft and you say it doesn't have to be used. Shouldn't Geno's correct the info on their site to reflect what Borgeson is warrenting?



Thanks,

Dave

The steering box internally is 3. 5 turns lock-to-lock.



Steering ratio is 14:1.



Installed on the vehicle and turning bump stop-to-bump stop will be 3-3. 25 turns total.



The install will only be "bolt-on" if using our steering shaft. To use the stock shaft will involve a flat being ground on the adapter to match the stock shaft.

 

[Grantmeyer]

Jeff...

I have a quetion you can answer for me here as it has been one of the main reasons I have NOT installed one of your steering shafts on my 98 yet.



Why is the outside finish so bad on them and the joints leaving them open to rusting very quickly when used in the states,like here in PA,where winters road salt is harsh?.



I have seen what they look like after 1 winter here in PA,rust covered from one end to the other,and for those of us who not only drive,we show our trucks,it creates a unsightly look that we need to address each season.



Why cant they be offered coated so the finish will not be hampered by outside elements?.



We passed on this box with no one knowing if the shaft needed to be used or not for my girlfriends 01. On her truck we used a "RedHead Steering Gear" box and the truck FINALLY drives better than it ever has.

Any finish we would add to the shaft would add to the cost. We leave the shaft and joints in there natural steel to be painted the color of your choice. Any good quality spray paint would provide protection from corrosion and not affect the function of the shaft.

 

[Hammer]

Somehow I expected a comment like that and I only wish I would have taken a photo of that shaft after 1 winter here in PA and it WAS painted before the install.



As with all finishes,spray paint is only as good as the weather as it is used in and with the chemical the states place on the roads there is little chance of a sprayed on paint outlasting the chemicals.



I would rather pay a bit more for a part,that is known to be in the elements all the time,with a finish that would protect it and provide longevity.

 

[J Baxter]

Borg Box is Installed

Got the Borg box on the truck yesterday.

Wow. :-laf

If anything it is a little too powerful, there is basically zero resistance when turning the wheel. It took a few miles to get used to it, it is so smooth you think the shaft must have come apart because you don't feel ANY resistance. It made the whole truck feel better, I love that feeling when they feel like new.

My steering was bad, bad, bad, the herding of the truck down the road was getting old. I didn't realize how tiring it was doing that. I did three hours of driving last night, it feels GOOD.



Had a couple problems during the install and some info.



The box has an adapter on it where the steering shaft connects to it. you can easily take this off to grind a flat for the stock shaft. But why would you? This set up is so worth the money, buy the shaft. Being the curious type, I took mine off just to see the shaft coming out of the steering box, nothing exciting but the adapter comes off, take it off if you are going to grind on it.



I have a frame repair right at the gear box from where I broke a steering box and it then tore the remaining two bolts right out of the frame, it was a really rough road. #@$%! well it was more like a goat trail. Anyway the repair consists of a 1/4 plate on the outside of the frame and three heavy duty sleeves that run through the frame. I had stock gear box bolts holding my old steering box on the truck as there was plenty of thread on them even with the extra 1/4" plate. well the new box has some stand offs attached to the body. So when the box is in place the threads are an extra 1/4" away, this also had an effect on the BD steering stabilizer which I'll get to in a minute. There was enough thread to get me down to the hardware store for some new bolts, 13mm if anyone is wondering. this shouldn't be a problem for most people.



I'll be calling Geno's today to let them know that the BD stabilizer and the Borg box do not work together. I had the BD stabilizer installed already, took it off to get the Borg box on, went to put it back on and even with the adjustment built into the BD stabilizer it didn't align properly, I had to grind off the flat tab where it attaches to the pitman arm shaft and weld it back on so it would center up with the center of the pitman arm bolt. I moved it a 1/2", it is now perfectly centered on the pitman arm bolt and the slots which are supposed to be for this adjustment are now perfectly centered on the bolts where it attaches to the frame.



This box sits closer to the Engine, mine is touching a transmission cooling line, I'll have to get under there this weekend and see what I can do about that.

If you buy the BD steering stablizer I hope you know a welder or are patient enough to send the thing back to BD to have it modified. The said part is that it had such a nice paint job on it before I started grinding and welding on it.



I would have been pretty upset if I didn't know how to weld.

At the end of the day I had a huge smile though, it is so smooth, it is fun instead of scary to drive again.



I'll get some pics up when I get a chance.

 

[rivercat]

Well I hope this box doesnt need the BD brace to keep from eating the sector shaft bearing, because Im not upto modifying it. I will probably step out on faith and sell my BD brace to those with a old saginaw box...



And yeah you would figure for considerably more more than harbor freight prices, you could get much better than harbor freight finishes!

 

[J Baxter]

I think the brace helps stop frame flex too.

I'm wondering if I got an odd box or brace, everyone is so sure they work together.

 

[barryg41]

I think the brace helps stop frame flex too.

I'm wondering if I got an odd box or brace, everyone is so sure they work together.

I am using the box, shaft and BD's stabalizer. They fit perfect. I had a little problem with the bolt on the other side of the stabalizer but other than that it fit tight. I did have one bolt torqued up to tight, loossened it up and got everything aligned and torqued all bolts as required.



Still happy with the setup! Oo.

 

[rivercat]

I am using the box, shaft and BD's stabalizer. They fit perfect. I had a little problem with the bolt on the other side of the stabalizer but other than that it fit tight. I did have one bolt torqued up to tight, loossened it up and got everything aligned and torqued all bolts as required.



Still happy with the setup! Oo.

weird mine looks to be centered in the hole but looking across the hole the hex part of the sector shaft extension is in the hole and I know that when I try and put the bearing on it will stop on the hex part and not sit flat on the tap so a shim of sorts would have to be made to run the bearing on the brace.

 

[J Baxter]

you are using the new bolt/shaft not the old nut and it doesn't clear the bearing? are you sure it is torqued all the way on to the shaft?

 

[rivercat]

yes I used a long breaker bar and put my weight on it. I guess removing the locknut would give me enough to clear the nut part on the adaptor thanks for the post jogged my slow brain.

 

[J Baxter]

so did you keep the locknut and trash the old bolt and get it working?

 

[barryg41]

yes I used a long breaker bar and put my weight on it. I guess removing the locknut would give me enough to clear the nut part on the adaptor thanks for the post jogged my slow brain.

I went out checked the distance from flat part of the steering box to the inside edge of the pitman arm. It measures right at a 1/2". I tightened it up with a impact wrench and then pulled what was left with the torque wrench. I was worried at fisrt too but all fit.

 

[rivercat]

I havent messed with it. To me the brace just isnt needed to make the steering better, its more preventative maint. Hopefully the box isnt gona get sloppy soon. I recently took the JUNKY tuff ****ry lift off for carli multi rate hemi coils and some custom arms simular to Thurens built by Cummins forum member dieseldork. With the new arms im having a hard time getting past around 2. 5 castor and also having a clearance issue with my huge thuren trackbar so I gotta take them off and hes gona take . 5" off the tops and re powder coat, Awesome guy and an awesome product.