Steering Box Woes (Again)

[R.Brooks]

Just wondering what is the latest on Steering boxes? My 96 is ready for another one, and wondering what is the latest greatest box, and how are they holding up?

 

[Valkyrie99]

Wondering what your symptoms are? Mine is leaking. Seems to leak only when it feels like it. Can go for weeks without a drip then all of a sudden a puddle. Seems to steer alright, without play.

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Rbrooks,



I would be tempted to try the SB-2 AGR steering chuck. They cost a little more, but seem to have close tolerances and an overall a higher quality chuck than a generic rebuild.



http://www.agrsteering.com/OFF/offroad.htm



I'm pretty sure you can get a rebuilt chuck from Napa, Acme, Advanced Auto, Auto Zone, Pep Boys ect now. If I remember right, they are less than $200.

 

[R.Brooks]

Valkyrie99, The box has a bunch of play in it. Have never had a leak, but it seems to have play at the pitman shaft and at the input shaft that I can't adjust out.



I believe that DC had a later rev box that is made by Delphi, wondering if anyone has input on them, and what is the part #?



RB

 

[Alan Reagan]

RBrooks, I had one of the Delphi's installed last year. I believe the one I had installed was an AC but this has since gone to the AD version. Maybe someone can verify. Anyway, the box solved my problem. I just rolled 36K miles and did a minor adjustment on the overcenter which corrected a slight "sticky steering" that was developing. I/4 turn solved the problem and I'm still happy with the box.

 

[ItsOnlyMoney]

RBrooks,

I just had mine replaced last week due to excessive play in steering. The steering box number is "Delphi 52113500AF".



David

 

[HEMI®Dart]

Figure on about $800 bananas for a new Delphi steering chuck from the Dodge Dealer.

 

[Valkyrie99]

Hi Guys,



I just took mine apart. My symptom was a leak. It turned out to be side to side play on the pitman shaft. Seems the roller bearing inside is worn a bit. I didn't notice any other actual driving/steering problems other than the occasional puddle under the truck.



I went to DC and got the seal kit but couldn't buy the roller bearing. They showed a picture but it is not an available part.



Everything looks good inside except the seals and the feel of that bearing.



I did locate a replacement steering box from Kragen on the web for $179. When I called the local store they had no listing. Seems it has to be purchased from the web. Other local parts stores had them for around $240 with next day delivery.



Lots to pay for a stinking bearing!

 

[Shelby Griggs]

TRY AN INDUSTRIAL BEARING SUPPLY HOUSE

Just a thought, but I would try a bearing supply house, most areas have at least one. If you can get the sizes on the bearing, they may be able to fix you up.



Shelby

 

[grizz]

I can't seem to get rid of the 'sticky steering ' in mine. I replaced the steering box last week with a Delphi box from Dodge. Ball joints are fine, not dry, steering stabilizer isn't hanging up. HELP! What do I try next?

 

[RT66DOC]

Verrry interesting. While crawling around under my truck last Sunday I noticed that my steering box is leaking. Does this mean I need a new one??? The truck doesn't seem to steer uch differently than it always has since new, i. e. , numb and dumb - no Jaguar fer sure.

 

[johnrv4]

My '98 had play in the pitman shaft with only 20K on the odometer!! I also checked another one with 11k and it did also. There was a thread on this quite a while back. If I remember correctly, the bearing was changed (in production) from a Torrington to a different brand with less rollers. I think that even putting in a new bearing will not get rid of the play. Another member said he pulled one apart with low miles and thought that the pittman shaft was undersized in relation to the bearing. He claimed that the company AGR was aware of the problem and was in the process of a fix. Maybe you should contact them and see if they have any more information on it. By the way, the new truck with the Delphi box has zero play in the pitman shaft (so far).

 

[Valkyrie99]

Shelby,



I did find a couple of bearing shops listed in the yellow pages. Going to check one this afternoon.



Also "miked" the shaft, appears to have no wear on the bearing surface compared to the area away from the bearing. The bearing looks to be very sloppy in manufacture. It also shows little wear. I agree a new one may not help any.

 

[jimc]

New truck, sloppy steering

New kid on the block.



4900 miles on 4x2 quad cab lwb. Intermediate shaft has been replaced, front realigned, and a mysterious "soft clunk" removed. Clunk felt like loose shock nuts or shock mount. Still has too much play in steering, more when turning left than right. Most noticable under 35 mph. Truck seems to wander when hit with side winds. Round 3 will be fought with Chrysler rep. Steering box??



I took a new truck, equipped the same, off the lot. Steered like it should.



Any of this sound familiar?

 

[Valkyrie99]

Here is an update on my steering box repair.



I did find a replacement bearing at a steering box rebuild shop. It is a Torrington SH 2020. They have twice as many rollers and are considered to be stronger. The shop owner was amazed that so many of us are having problems with this particular box. He said they have been around for a long time and are one of the strongest boxes out there. (He has been in business for 16 years. )



It turns out there could be a factory assembly problem. The pitman shaft bearing is suppose to get its lubrication from the fluid in the steering box. When I disassembled mine, I found a seal at the top of the bearing keeping the PS fluid from reaching the bearing. According to the rebuilder, this seal was suppose to be installed on the bottom after the spring clip to act as a dust seal. This make sense since the instruction sheet in the seal kit I received from Dodge showed this layout.



This could be the whole problem with the many of us that have had bad steering boxes. As the bearing wears and gets sloppy due to no lubrication, the adjustment screw on the top of the box will take the play out for a while. The bearing wears more until the adjustment can no longer be made. Then the box is considered bad.



In my truck this also fixed a problem I had where it pulled to the right. The bearing was sloppy side to side and as I turned to the left, it actually pushed the pitman shaft to the right before turning.



You will also like to know the steering box rebuilder had a pitman shaft from a new Ford. It was sheered off clean. He claimed it is a major problem with these vehicles. Its probably a good thing ours only get sloppy. I can't imagine having no steering at all at ANY speed.



Only time will tell if I have actually fixed this problem. So far it works and steers great. And NO LEAK!

 

[Shelby Griggs]

Very good report What is the approximate cost of bearing and repair?



Shelby

 

[R.Brooks]

Valkyrie, Nice report! Thanks for the info. Hard to believe that nobody picked up on this earlier, but makes a lot of sense to me so far. I will be investigating shortly. Please keep us posted.



Rodney

 

[Valkyrie99]

A little more info on the bearing.



The bearing that was in there was a INA (Can't think of the number right now. ) But I would have had to buy 100 of them from a bearing distributor. The Torrington SCH 2020 was $6. 00 from the distributor and I could buy only one. I ended up buying the bearing from the steering repair shop for $15 but feel I got $25 in education. (I found the $6 after I bought the other).



The seal kit from Dodge was $36, so I have about $52 total cash investment and a whole bunch of new experience. The hardest part of the job was getting the pitman arm off. I welded up a puller that looked like the one in the shop manual. It worked but it was still a job. Next time I may take it somewhere and pay to have it removed.



HMMMMM... . I see a new tool on the horzion. I don't have a hydraulic press yet.