I am curious if there is anybody that has experience with selling or buying power assist unit parts . I removed my complete power assist unit from my 76 F250 when I swapped in a parts from a 79 F250 .

I'm not sure if I should just throw the whole greasy , dirty power assist unit in the trash , or if there is a market for the units . If there is a need for the complete power assist unit , what would a fair price be for booth parties .

Thanks for any advice .

 

Another user suggested we contact you about the work you did on your 76 F250. We have a 1975 F250 highboy and we are trying to figure out the best way to correct the sloppy steering. It has been recommended that we upgrade to the steering for a later model 78 or 79. Can you tell us the best way to get this done, what is involved and where to go for parts? Someone mentioned West Texas Offroad. Thank you in advice for any help!!! The truck is parked until fixed. <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>

 

hi, what all did you have to do, mine was bad i just put manual deal in between , don't know how it will drive yet any help would be app. thanks

 

DO NOT TRASH!!! Some of us like the factory look. The power assist units works great if your truck is in stock form, they just wear out like any other front end part. If you spend the money to have them rebuilt it will last a long time. Heck I bet yours is origanal. That is 34 years of service! Even the "great 78-79 steering boxes wear out to the point of no return. That is just my thought. I will step off of the soap box now.

 

Well said, the power assist has a bad rap from guys that buy a beat down abused old highboy with umpteen million hard miles on it and find the power assist is sloppy and leaks, when in reality the power assist is a very tough setup that works extremely well if it's in good shape and you keep it clean and grease it now and then, the power assist via the hydraulic ram puts the steering force directly to the tierod, it will turn the tires no matter how big or what they're up against and won't stress the steering linkage as much as a power steering box.

 

I agree 100% Why they get beat up like they do is beyond me. Are these set up's as responsive as some others, NO. These trucks are not new model super duties with most lessons learned built in. I've rebuilt my system 1 time on this 34 year old truck and have no problems. It has been 12 years since I rebuilt the entire steering system, it performs as new and does not leak one drop of fluid. For the average user, this system works just fine. For a rock crawler, who knows for sure what is the best set up is.

 

I may be wrong, but I see a lot of power assist looking set ups on trail rigs to help steer those big tires they sport. Must be good for something. Same principle new spin on marketing.

 

Glad to see there are other proponents out there of this much maligned power assist setup.

 

Woody75 , sorry I'm late getting back to this thread . There are a lot of good threads on this forum if you just type " power assist " . I used the information from members who have done the conversion .
I doubt I would have done the work involved if it had not been for the fact several things happened that just made it the right time . I pulled the engine for some work ,and I pulled the front clip to make things easy . A buddy had a 1979 , F250 that he was junking . My power assist system was a leaking mess , and I was getting sick of the mess .
I just figured while the front clip was off and the engine was out and I had a free donor truck why not .

Thanks guys on the advice of keeping the power assist system for some one else who may need it . I'll store it in the barn for a while , and see if any body local can use it . Its pretty heavy and I wouldn't want to ship it .