Will be needing to get a new power steering pump for my 96 F-350 460 CID. Will be installing hydra-boost in future also. Have read here about some using an AGR pump? Any advice and thoughts are appreciated. Thanks!

 

The Saginaw pump is the bomb.com. However, you cannot just buy one off the shelf for a Ford like you used to be able to do. The best bet for you is to find an E-350 van with a 460 and rob the Saginaw pump and brackets off of that. The last one I did, I found the pump on eBay and asked the seller to include the brackets. The whole thing was about $75 including shipping.

 

I've heard good things about AGR and not so good things about A-1/Cardone. Other than that I don't know of any other rebuilders although there are of course others.

Me personally, I ain't putting any GM (Saginaw) parts on my Ford so no saginaw pump for me. Besides, I don't know if it'll clear my air compressor. Our trucks came with the Ford CII model pump, but I'm going custom and will make brackets to mount a Ford CIII pump like this one. It uses a remote oil reservoir and won't start whining after a while for no reason.

 

You do understand the Ford used the Saginaw pumps on the vans, right? I have seen them on older Mercurys and Lincolns, as well.

 

Yep 10-4 copy all, but as far as I know (or thought?) Saginaw Steering was a division of GM. Not saying it's a bad pump or anything, I just prefer not to use Chebby parts on my Ford. Not ones that are manufactured by them anyway. Lol.

That pump I linked to is made by TRW I think. They supply Ford, GM, and probably everybody else too. I like it because it has a remote reservoir I can mount that on a fender out of the way. Plus my old 4.6L Thunderbird used a variant of that pump and at 320,000+ miles it was still damn near silent!

 

Ford used GM manufactured Saginaw steering pumps and boxes for years on many cars and trucks and even Hydra-Matic transmissions in early 50's Lincolns.

GM used Ford made T&C toploader 3 speed transmissions in Buick, Olds and Pontiac muscle cars in the mid 60's

 

I am as big a Ford snob as anyone, but our PS pumps suck. Always have, back as far as I can remember. Anyone who has done the Saginaw upgrade will agree with me on this, I am confident.

Having said that, I can respect dixie460s loyalty to the brand. I wouldn't put a GM 1-wire alternator on my 1964 Ford 2000 tractor for the same reason. I used a Ford alternator off an 1968 F100 with external regulator, instead.

 

Sounds like the Saginaw pumps are really good. If I can find one and the brackets. What about AGR?

 

I can agree… but I'm more of an "No SBC in a Ford snob"… same church different pew. Coming from a racing and hot rod background the lines get pretty blurred sometimes.

I have an all-Mopar dirt car coming together. But it's mostly because I have everything in Mopar to build it. My son Derek is a Ford guy with a Chevy powered dirt modified he pulls with a Dodge! Go figure...

 

Yeah they do suck. Ford should've never invented that oil leaking whiny pile of dog doo they call the C2 pump. Lol.

 

Tire company's make tires for all makes. Does that mean you won't buy tires from them?

 

If you don't like GM (Saginaw) P/S parts, better remove your P/S gearbox...because that's who made it!

Ford/Saginaw P/S was introduced initially in 1969 F100/250 2WD's and F350's from serial number D96,001.

Ford C-II P/S pump (has a plastic reservoir) introduced in 1978 on everything except Econolines and Passenger Cars with Hydro-Boost.

Saginaw P/S pump: 1975 and later Econolines, 1972/79 Passenger Cars with Hydro-Boost.

460's with Saginaw P/S pump available in 1975/97 E250's & E350's.

krosser: Hydra-Matic introduced in the 1940 Oldsmobile, Cadillac got it in 1941, Pontiac in 1947. Was also used in 1950/55 Lincoln's, 1951/55 Kaisers, 1951/55 Nash & Hudson's with I-6's.

1955 Nash/Hudson and some 1956's used the Packard V8 and Twin Ultra-Matic. Packard "nuts" call it Ulcer-Matic, because this was one of the worst A/T's ever made!

 

The question was what is best, and the Saginaw pump is the best.

Check the AGR pump carefully as it is likely a ported Saginaw pump. The AGR pump may be appropriate for a full hydraulic steering system, but doesn't add anything to regular power steering and/or Hydro-Boost.

You can debate the merits of any perceived brand loyalty while driving your quiet and more tractable truck down the highway or dirt track.

I would put a used pump on my vehicle long before I would put any rebuilt pump on it. Rebuilt pumps suck, and Cardone rebuilds suck harder than anything else. Plus, there's no reason to buy a rebuilt pump when new ones are so cheap. See this:

It's even in a new can and has a second nipple for the Hydro-Boost return line.

The only unpleasant-ness going with this can is that neither return line nipple matches up nicely with the factory PS cooler line on the cross member, but it's also not the end of the world. If you want to install a PS fluid filter (and you should), you're going to have to change the return line routing anyway. If you put a separate PS fluid cooler in the system then the existing nipples work just fine as they are.

If a Hydro-Boost upgrade is planned, just don't waste your time screwing around and go straight to the Saginaw pump. It develops a higher pressure than the Ford pump and, in this case, pressure is king. The Hydro-Boost is a pressure multiplier so, if the upgrade is going to demonstrate its full benefits, you have to use the Saginaw PS pump. Note that this is exactly what Ford did when they put Hydro-Boost on those big cars back in the '70s and '80s.

 

Lol... oh damn really wouldn't have thought that, thanks for the education NumberDummy!

I can't find a straight answer but apparently that C3 pump might be a Sag pump too! It's all good though, I am not flat our refusing to use GM parts, I just prefer not to.

 

Here's a pic (upper) of the Saginaw P/S pump that resembles a "canned ham."