Manual steering gear box question

[StG58]

Question for the experts here...

Did the 1999 TJ ever come with a manual steering gear box. The '97 and 98's did. Will a '98 steering gear box fit a '99?

Just curious...The FSM mentions it, once, but that's it.

 

[Chris]

No reason a 98 steering gear box wouldn't fit a 99. The changeover occurred in 2003, so anything prior to that would fit a 99.

 

[Squatch]

So, just how rare are the manual steering gearboxes?

 

[mrblaine]

So, just how rare are the manual steering gearboxes?

Quite rare but they do exist on the 4 cylinder models. All TJ steering gears will interchange with regard to fitment from 97-02 and from 03-06. All pitman arms will interchange from 90-06 on the Wrangler.

 

[Squatch]

Quite rare but they do exist on the 4 cylinder models. All TJ steering gears will interchange with regard to fitment from 97-02 and from 03-06. All pitman arms will interchange from 90-06 on the Wrangler.

Thanks for the response, @mrblaine. Fitment/interchangeability was going to be my next question. Appreciate the input!

 

[StG58]

So, just how rare are the manual steering gearboxes?

Pretty rare. I've never actually seen one in real life. Or talked to anyone who has or had one. Pretty small sample though.

The two options that seem to be on almost all TJ's are power steering and A/C. It looks like power steering is standard from '99 on.

Thanks for the response, @mrblaine.

 

[mrblaine]

Pretty rare. I've never actually seen one in real life. Or talked to anyone who has or had one. Pretty small sample though.

The two options that seem to be on almost all TJ's are power steering and A/C. It looks like power steering is standard from '99 on.

Thanks for the response, @mrblaine.

Surprisingly or maybe not, but most of the rigs I see without AC are from your neck of the woods and your part of the world is also responsible for a lot of recommendations on poor radiator selections.

A feller moved from Washington down to this area. Brought his TJ with him and after a few days I noticed he was not driving it during our days in July but only drove it at night. Asked him why and he said it would overheat and the only way to drive it was with the heater on full blast.

I asked him why he had been driving it without a good working system at home and he said it was never a problem up north. Swapped out the radiator, thermostat, and filled it with Mopar coolant and he was able to drive during the daylight and pull a small trailer around with no problems. Manual trans if that matters.

 

[mrblaine]

Thanks for the response, @mrblaine. Fitment/interchangeability was going to be my next question. Appreciate the input!

Notice my wording. They will fit, doesn't mean they will work. Power boxes won't work well in place of a manual box without hooking up the lines to the pump that aren't there.

 

[Squatch]

Notice my wording. They will fit, doesn't mean they will work. Power boxes won't work well in place of a manual box without hooking up the lines to the pump that aren't there.

I was considering going the other way, from power to manual, so that's not an issue for me. But yes, my use of the word "interchangeability" was a little sloppy. I was only looking at it from the point of my personal direction. But thanks for pointing that out, lest someone be misguided by my wording.

 

[mrblaine]

I was considering going the other way, from power to manual, so that's not an issue for me. But yes, my use of the word "interchangeability" was a little sloppy. I was only looking at it from the point of my personal direction. But thanks for pointing that out, lest someone be misguided by my wording.

I don't know many folks with TJ's that I dislike enough to do that to.

 

[astjp2]

I was considering going the other way, from power to manual, so that's not an issue for me. But yes, my use of the word "interchangeability" was a little sloppy. I was only looking at it from the point of my personal direction. But thanks for pointing that out, lest someone be misguided by my wording.

Drag car? that is about the only people who actually WANT to run a manual box..

 

[TheGanzman]

I have no problem with manual steering boxes for SOME reason...

 

[Squatch]

I love manual steering, but I guess it could be dependent on the vehicle. The combination of oversized tires and a manual transmission may not work for me on a TJ, but I wouldn't know until I tried. I've had a number of cars with manual steering through the years. I've always liked the feel, personally.

 

[astjp2]

Awe, come on, 37's, lockers, manual steering, Fin's n Things...whats not to love in that workout.

 

[StG58]

One of the things that I keep in the back of my mind is "how long can I keep this thing running?".

Right now, I can rip the ECM out, loose the A/C, loose the power steering and still keep it running essentially forever, for about $1,500. You can do that with a 2.5 SE manual. You can't do that with any other TJ.

31 or 32" tires will get me anywhere I need to go.

 

[astjp2]

Yes you can to any TJ, 4.2 intake on the 4.0 head, Carter carb, electric fuel pump, points distributor from a 258, GM 1 wire alternator, manual transmission, it can be done for about $300 in parts, your 2.5 is about the same money. If you want, you can also add a CJ7 dash so you have a speedometer oil pressure, and volt gauge...Tim

 

[TJ Hunnicutt]

One of the things that I keep in the back of my mind is "how long can I keep this thing running?".

Right now, I can rip the ECM out, loose the A/C, loose the power steering and still keep it running essentially forever, for about $1,500. You can do that with a 2.5 SE manual. You can't do that with any other TJ.

31 or 32" tires will get me anywhere I need to go.

Yeah, but after the Zombie Porklips, they'll be plenty of abandoned mall-crawlers to pick parts from

 

[mrblaine]

I love manual steering, but I guess it could be dependent on the vehicle. The combination of oversized tires and a manual transmission may not work for me on a TJ, but I wouldn't know until I tried. I've had a number of cars with manual steering through the years. I've always liked the feel, personally.

The feel is easy to duplicate. Just send the steering gear out and have them bump up the torsion bar to about .220-.240 in diameter and that will get you the assist going slow but firm it up to "manual" feel at highway speeds. We don't go quite that large but we do get them larger to slow down twitchy or light steering at road speed when we do a custom install.

 

[mrblaine]

One of the things that I keep in the back of my mind is "how long can I keep this thing running?".

Right now, I can rip the ECM out, loose the A/C, loose the power steering and still keep it running essentially forever, for about $1,500. You can do that with a 2.5 SE manual. You can't do that with any other TJ.

31 or 32" tires will get me anywhere I need to go.

I come at scenarios like that from the other direction. I want to keep this going. What are the critical parts to do that? Make the list, acquire them, toss them on the shelf, and hope I have it right. A couple PCMs, a few sensors, bits of wiring and connectors and the rest is cake.

 

[Squatch]

The feel is easy to duplicate. Just send the steering gear out and have them bump up the torsion bar to about .220-.240 in diameter and that will get you the assist going slow but firm it up to "manual" feel at highway speeds. We don't go quite that large but we do get them larger to slow down twitchy or light steering at road speed when we do a custom install.

I’ll have to check into that. We have a local shop that rebuilds boxes, but I don’t know if they do modifications. They should. Been around forever. Who would you recommend?