Well over the last several months my front end has been rebuilt. It started with a draglink, then ball joints, and now a new Red-Head Steering box. I can't believe that my truck could feel this good again! After years of driving and getting use to worn out parts, the wow factor is unreal. I had a few questions about the box and Harvey got on the phone and explained what he does to make his box better, great customer service! A side note for guy's with lifted trucks, check the nut holding on your pitman arm, mine was loose after years of wheeling! I thought the 200ft/lbs, a lock washer and red lock-tite would of done a better job........

 

I know what you mean. I installed a Red Head last year, along with other front end work, and my truck handles better than it ever has. Love driving it again!

 

This is the next mod on my list.

 

I just called and was surprised to find that the box is only something like $275-$315, depending on the number of splines on the shaft.... but those prices are for the 2WD trucks, if that makes any difference. Mine's doing fine right now, but I've already bookmarked their web sit eofr future reference.

Oh... there is also an additional $100 core charge that is refundable upon return of your unit.

 

Mine was the 36 spline, 4x4, and it came out to $468 with shipping/return shipping and core charge. Like F250 said you get the $100 back when you return them yours. Mine arrived in 3 days UPS, and they included the return label.

 

OK guys, I've been wondering when someone would solve this long standing problem for Ford. What's the web site, I'm in.

 

Red-Head Steering Gears, Seattle WA - Red-Head Steering Gears Home

 

interesting, subscribing

 

That means that the upcharge for the 4x4 box is really not bad (~$50).

 

I think this would fix some of the wondering going on with my truck !

 

It did it for me! Harvey really knows what he's doing.

 

Thank you very much. Stan

 

Do they put a quicker ratio in it or something, or is it just a re-built stock unit.

God knows to do any quick manuvering in a 1 ton dually I have to file flight plans, code variations, and zoning law regs...

 

Update: I went turkey hunting/fishing today up in the Sierras and I can't ever remember my truck handleing so good through the twisty mountain roads. I felt like I was driving something with rack and pinion!

"Do they put a quicker ratio in it or something, or is it just a re-built stock unit."

This is taken directly from Red-Heads site.
<TABLE cellPadding=3 width="90%" align=center><TBODY><TR><TD align=left colSpan=2><CENTER>Red-Head Steering Gears Remanufacturing Process</CENTER>

</TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD>Machining out the housings and installing needle bearings</TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD>Flamespraying or replacing the shafts as needed </TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD>Installing new control valves on some applications</TD></TR><TR><TD></TD><TD>Custom fitting each worm & piston assembly with special ordered, precise oversized ball bearings </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>

<HR align=center color=red SIZE=4>Other things we do to produce a top quality product include: Install every sector shaft on a lathe to check for straight and true, polish the sealing surface to a higher polish than new.
Some original housings are manufactured without bushing or bearings. This is commonly seen in some Ford gears and Chrysler Corp. gears. We rebore these units and install needle bearings.
We use only the highest quality seals. All our seals are either O.E.M. or produced by two high quality, long time suppliers of our industry.
There is no substitute for experience. Harvey, the owner and lead technician, has been remanufacturing steering gears for 21 years and many, many thousands of units.
Probably the most unique and important thing we do is custom fit every single worm and piston assembly with new precision fit steel *****. This is a process not matched by any other company in the industry. This process is very important. The machining tolerances of the original manufacturing leave a small and varying amount of play that can be corrected in no other way.
Why don't other builders do this? It is expensive and time consuming to set up. This is one of the reasons you may find another unit somewhere else for less money but the quality cannot be beat. This is why we proudly declare that we are "Not the Biggest... Just the Best!"
We also stock what we have found to be the highest quality RACK and PINION units available. Although these units are not built in-house, we have selected the highest quality manufacturer and product we could find. They have the most comprehensive testing process in the business.

 

In addition to the adove info from RedHead's site, I talked with the guy a little while when I called for pricing info. Essentially, what they do during the rebuild process on any units is to remachine the original non-bushing/non-bearing housing assembly to receive new needle bearings, and the ball bearings in the lower end of the unit get trial-and-error custom fitted bearings so that the bearing diameters metch the machined parts with near perfect tolerance gaps.

Accoding to Red head, both the neddle bearings and polished shaft allow for an improved shaft life due to the reduced friction. Also, the stock ball bearings have varying degrees of play (slop in the fit) due to sometimes wide margins of error in accumulated manufacturing specifications. You see, the shaft, bearings, and machined casing all have a target specification with room for error (larger or smaller than target. If the shaft is on the smaller side, the bearings are on the smaller side, and the machined housing is on the larger side, you end up with an individual unit that may have too much play in it, or at least more than desired. Red Head has gone the route of getting bearings manufactured in small incremental sizes, and when the remachining is completed, they drop in the ball bearings and test fit the different bearing diameters until they get the best fit possible.

So, yes, the units are remanned OEM's, but built back with improved design and much improved and repeatable "fit" for internal components. Having spent the last 25 years in technical/engineering support in manufacturing, the approach Red head is taking is the most ideal approach possible for rebuilding OEM components. I am very impressed, and will go that route when I need to replace my stock system.