Cash around here is kind of tight with the latest project car. But I will get one eventually. The bronco is relaxing now and since I have a second vehicle I can work on it slower and fix the bigger issues that I couldn't fix with it being a DD.

 

what is it in gear box that gives me lots of movement with the steering wheel ? about 4 - 5 inches back and forth with steerwheel , I can move the steerwheel back and forth about 3-4 inches each way with no response from steering

I know ball joints are very bad, maybe excessive movement from wore out ball joints?

or do I need new steergear box ? what wears out if anything in the box. from your pictiures of your rebuild it all looks pretty rugged,,,

thanks, Olga

 

The internal gear can get worn in time, but I would advice you to check if the three bolts that hold the Steering box to the frame are properly tight, they can become loose and cause that excessive play at the steering wheel. To check the ball joints, lift the tire and try to wiggle it, it shouldn't move (movement would indicate a worn ball joint on that side). Don't assume your balljoints are worn because you backed up in a parking spot and the front tires look like this //-o-\\ , that's just the way the Dana TTB 44 behaves, move forward a couple of feet and the tires will return to their proper position ||-o-||.

 

Once again I updated this thread... Took me a couple of hours, but it's done, now every single picture is hosted at FTE, so I hope there are no more problems with this write up in the future. On another note, I've either become very proficient at this or the Transtec seal definitely has been of higher quality (actually it's a little of both), definitely that's the brand I'll be looking for for future seal replacements.

 

Thanks for the great write up Encho! I am in the middle of fixing the box on my '78, there are 28 of them little ball bearings in there too! I haven't found the small allen screw you noted in your build so will look for it tomorrow as I resume disassembly.
I purchased the seal kit and the sector shaft top, which broke on mine from Redhead steering. So far I'm only $110 into this project which is much better then $350.

 

I'm wondering if this procedure works on the F250 as well or are there major differences between the power steering gearboxes.

 

yep they are the same. not matter if it's just the inline 6 on the f150 or the 7.3 turbo on the 250/350 they are the same. (At least that is what cross referencing the part numbers on the rockauto site lead me to believe)

 

Yeah, pretty much the same across the range. Heck, even most Ford US big cars from 1964 on have these SB.

 

Awesome write up. This has given me the confidence to give rebuilding my steering box a go. Only difference is being in Australia mine is right hand drive.
hopefully I can save myself the ~$500 of having to get a reco box.

 

As you might have noticed there were no hard parts replaced, but if you need those I'm sure there are replacement kits for those too, and the procedure will be the same, just some extra steps.

 

cool, thanks. Yes Im hoping to just get away with only doing the seals. the truck has only done about 110000 km so with any luck the hard parts are still good.

 

I'm glad you found it useful, I'm still around if you have any questions, Welcome to FTE!

 

Thanks for the thorough write up. Mine had a slow leak at the output shaft seal that has gotten worse.
I now have the SB out and disassembled. But does this look correct, is it supposed to be peened and split like this? This is the shaft that has the stop nut, opposite end of the output shaft. A small piece of metal broke off. Is a rebuild kit supposed to include this part?
Thanks.