Redhead or Borgeson?

[snowaholic]

Time for a new steering box – I can’t handle the clunk, thump and sloppiness anymore….



I am down to deciding between a Redhead and a Borgeson??



I need help deciding; like Pros and Cons of each or your experiences with each would be greatly appreciated.

 

[MullenaxM]

I like redheads, Especially if they like to drink beer. I cant say that I've ever met a borgeson berfore.

 

[BarryG]

Cant speak to the borgeson as I have no experience with them. Within the last two months I have put on a redhead and it works great. I have no complaints though it is still early in its life to be touting it too much. It really does drive better than new. My steering stabilizer required no modification to fit and I was able to reuse my existing shaft as it appeared/seemed to be fine. At this point the redhead is awesome but time will tell how awesome.

 

[jjdiesel]

Redhead here... . so far so good.

 

[tkerrigan]

I was impressed with this part,

Red-Head Steering Gears Inc. Remanufacturing Manual Steering Gears & Power Steering Gears since 1981.
Manual & Power Steering Gears
Rack & Pinions, Power Rams, and Control Valves

Home About Us Remanufacturing Process FAQ Inventory

Red-Head Steering Gears Remanufacturing Process
Machining out the housings and installing needle bearings
Flamespraying or replacing the shafts as needed
Installing new control valves on some applications
Custom fitting each worm & piston assembly with special ordered, precise oversized ball bearings

Other things we do to produce a top quality product include: Install every sector shaft on a lathe to check for straight and true, polish the sealing surface to a higher polish than new.

Some original housings are manufactured without bushing or bearings. This is commonly seen in some Ford gears and Chrysler Corp. gears. We rebore these units and install needle bearings.

We use only the highest quality seals. All our seals are either O. E. M. or produced by two high quality, long time suppliers of our industry.

There is no substitute for experience. Harvey, the owner and lead technician, has been remanufacturing steering gears for 21 years and many, many thousands of units.

Probably the most unique and important thing we do is custom fit every single worm and piston assembly with new precision fit steel balls. This is a process not matched by any other company in the industry. This process is very important. The machining tolerances of the original manufacturing leave a small and varying amount of play that can be corrected in no other way.

Why don't other builders do this? It is expensive and time consuming to set up. This is one of the reasons you may find another unit somewhere else for less money but the quality cannot be beat. This is why we proudly declare that we are "Not the Biggest... Just the Best!"

We also stock what we have found to be the highest quality RACK and PINION units available. Although these units are not built in-house, we have selected the highest quality manufacturer and product we could find. They have the most comprehensive testing process in the business.

 

[snowaholic]

Right on, thanks for the input. .

I read where some have been experiencing leaks out of some of the redheads but seems they were mostly Ford PS Boxes. .



I'm headed up to Seattle in the next few weeks; I'll stop by and check them out further.

 

[ENafziger]

I read where some have been experiencing leaks out of some of the redheads but seems they were mostly Ford PS Boxes. .

Mine is leaking, and is 14 months old. Too much going on right now to deal with it though.

--Eric

 

[AlaskanCummins]

I'm on my second Red Head.



First one lasted about 15 months. The customer service was/is EXCELLENT. They sent me a new one out right away. And when I say EXCELLENT customer service, they even go so far to ship it in a flat rate box to save me on shipping to Alaska.



I was experiencing a problem (another thread) where the steering wasn't going back to center and I'd have to actually hold it to the opposite direction for about an 8th of a mile before it'd correct.



So far, the truck's been fine. It did seem to act up once a couple of days after I put the new box in, but that was a couple of hundred miles ago and it hasn't done it since.



I'd go with Red Head because of their product, service and they're a small business - family owned/operated. Can't beat made in the USA!!

 

[steved]

I've had mine (Red-Head) installed for almost two years, and probably 50k-ish miles. I installed a brace at the same time.

For those experiencing problems with centering, catching, etc... . I did too, here's my solution. I came to the conclusion it wasn't the box in my case, its a piece of dirt/debris in the PS system (it will come and go as it gets flushed through the system). I installed a filter on the PS system, the issue has not returned.

 

[snowaholic]

Where are the leaks normaly coming from?



steved: which PS Box brace did you use? I am pondering ordering up the BD Brace and installing at the same time. .

 

[steved]

steved: which PS Box brace did you use? I am pondering ordering up the BD Brace and installing at the same time. .

I bought a Defiant brace based on reviews here, but I don't think they make them any longer.



IMHO, any brace is better than no brace at all... most of them share similar designs and its not like they really ever "wear out". Basically pick one that looks right for you and forget about it.

 

[04blackcherry]

snowaholic,

Check out the brace in my sig from Vulcan Performance. I believe they are locally made in Vancouver, WA.

 

[snowaholic]

snowaholic,



Check out the brace in my sig from Vulcan Performance. I believe they are locally made in Vancouver, WA.

Cool thanks! I'll add that to the list to do at the same time. .

 

[Hammer]

RedHead Hands down over the Borgeson anyday...



We did a RedHead in my gals lifted 01. 5 4x4 2 years ago and it was well worth the time and money to have it done. She had had many other boxes on the truck prior to the RedHead with nothing but issues. You will not go wrong with one of their boxes.

 

[mpaulson]

I've got the Borgeson and have been very happy with it until tonight. I was under the truck doing the shocks and looked at the box and a bolt didn't look tight. After checking every friggin one of the 8 bolts that hold the sub assemblies to the main box were finger tight!!!!! What a flippin joke!!! They couldn't torque the bolt while they assemble it!!! worst of it was is that you need a modified 17mm combination wrench to get at a few of them and of course I broke mine while trying to modify it.

CHECK ALL BOLTS BEFORE YOU PUT THE BOX ON YOUR TRUCK!!!!

 

[snowaholic]

Thank you for all the replies. . I am going to go with the Red Head.



Wondering sould I replace the shaft too while I'm at it?

 

[AlaskanCummins]

I put a Borgeson shaft on my truck and it was a waste of money.



Nothing was wrong with the OEM one and I ended up putting it back on the truck. And, the Borgeson ended up being seized where it wouldn't collapse to get it off - I had to force it from the steering wheel end.



So, unless your shaft is loose, I'd leave well enough alone.



Just my . 02

 

[snowaholic]

Cool - thanks I'll leave well enough alone

 

[Cafferty]

I had the same issue with a redhead (All bolts Loose). They said it never should have left their shop that way. I tightened everything up, and it began leaking after a few months. When I contacted them again they tried to sell me a seal kit! They won't stand by their product at all. Used to be good, but apparently under new management. They wouldn't even respond to my last two e-mails asking them for advice. I have a Borgeson on the way. Redhead is DEAD! Quality and service are HORRIBLE!

 

[whitexc]

Redhead on my 2002 and no issues so far - maybe 15k miles. I did a brace and Borgeson shaft just prior to the box and they are still in place. I am about to do the Rock Solid Ram Truck steering fix if mother nature would get her I TRIED TO BY-PASS THE CUSSING FILTER together!