Steering box brand experiences?

[any4xx]

My ‘99 4.0 with A/T & P/S, 145,500 mi, has had loose steering ever since I bought it about six months ago. It hasn’t been dangerously bad so I’ve left it alone while attending to other projects. This morning I finally got it in the air to give everything a thorough inspection. Much to my surprise, all of the connecting joints were tight. But the steering gearbox itself has play in it.

I’ve never had any luck making a Saginaw box feel better by adjusting the engagement screw so I’m not even going to contemplate that step. I want to replace the box.

Over my many years of working on cars I’ve replaced a few steering boxes. In one case I went through three very expensive aftermarket boxes from a well-respected manufacturer and finally gave up on them. That particular vehicle is now very happy wearing a generic parts store rebuilt box.

My inclination is to just buy a box through one of the local chains that offer lifetime warranties. After all, these are an easy swap. BUT…. I can easily be convinced to buy from a specific reputable manufacturer if the forum experience leads me to believe that I will be better off there. I’m not a rock crawler. I’m just a road and easy trail driver.

Thoughts please?

Thank you in advance for any input.

 

[speeding_infraction]

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[TJ4Jim]

Just swapped out the gear box last week with a Lares from Summit that is new vs the rebuilts everyone sells, and it eliminated the slop that was annoying.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/lsc-11353

 

[tworley]

My inclination is to just buy a box through one of the local chains that offer lifetime warranties. A

If its a "refurb", whatever company went thru it and replaced seals and nothing more. The problem is the worm gear gets worn out which causes the play; the gear is not a replaceable part. Your best bet would be to find another stock box that doesn't have the amount of play your current one has, buy a PSC or look at the Lares unit. Which the Lares unit, if I am not mistaken, is a durango box that has had the lower shaft bushing replaced with a bearing like what comes stock on a TJ.

 

[macleanflood]

I bought a Red Top steering box. No issues. But as folks mentioned it's more or less a rebuilt box and your results will vary depending on the state of the box they rebuilt and sent you...enough wear inside in key areas and seals won't do any good.

-Mac

 

[mrblaine]

I bought a Red Top steering box. No issues. But as folks mentioned it's more or less a rebuilt box and your results will vary depending on the state of the box they rebuilt and sent you...enough wear inside in key areas and seals won't do any good.

-Mac

The seals typically do fine. What doesn't do fine is the piston bore on either side of center. That's important because the bore wears in the center more than it does on either side due to us driving with the steering wheel straight the vast majority of the time. So, when you set the lash on the gear to be tight and non sloppy or vague on center, it gets tight when the piston moves off center. If you set the lash so it is not tight when it moves off center, then it can be vague and sloppy on center. Just depends on the bore condition in the core.