Gear Box & Hose Replacement for Dummies
 

This is a write up of replacing my gear box and hoses on 2000 Ford Excursion V10 4x4.

Items Needed:
2 1/2 Quarts of ATF - I used regular Synthetic
Thread Lock - Red and Blue
Velcro Strap or Zip Ties - to hold the tie rod
Drain Pan
Red Head Gear Box
Gates 365437 Return Hose 15mm Head
Gates 352860 Pressure Hose 16mm Head
Ft Lb Torque Wrench - range from 36ft lbs to 199ft lbs
34mm socket - pitman arm to gear bolt
21mm socket - ptman arm to drag link bolt
8mm socket - battery cable
13mm socket - gear box upper set bolt
14mm socket - wheel well bolts
15mm wrench - return hose set bolt
16mm wrench - pressure hose set bolt
Ratchet
Breaker Bar - biggest one you got
PB Blaster
Standard Screwdriver
Pry Bar
Mallet
*Bench Vise
*Impact gun
*Torch
*Dead blow hammer and or a sledge
(I had someone else remove my pitman arm from the box a their shop but if you are doing this yourself you are going to need the * items or something similar)


My gearbox before I started
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116704

My new redhead box waiting to get installed
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116769


Step 1
I left my truck on the ground until this was done, but if you need the room raise and support the vehicle on jackstands. Turn the ignition to run so the steering wheel is free, then disconnect the negative battery terminal with a 8 mm socket. Take the drivers side seat belt and wrap it through the steering wheel then buckle it, then take the passenger side belt and loop it through the drivers belt and fasten it also. This will keep the steering wheel centered.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116847

Step 2
Remove the air filter housing on top the engine by removing the flip up clamp and the hose clamp by the throttle body, then strap it out of your way.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116881

Step 3
Under the truck secure loosely the front steering arm that attaches to the pitman arm to the tie rod. Then remove the cotter pin from the top of the pitman arm nut by bending the clip and sliding it out.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116848

Using a 21mm socket and breaker bar, break lose the nut holding the pitman arm and remove it.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116849


Step 4
Place a pitman arm puller on top of the pitman arm and turn the screw until the pitman arm pops off. Be sure it is tied or you have a hold of it before it pops loose.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116850

Then tighten up the straps and leave it while you do the install.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116851

Pitman arm disconnected from the drag link end
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116852

I replaced my hoses as well it was easiest to disconnect from the bottom and drain into a pan before moving to the top side. Here is where they connect on the bottom. All you need is a screw driver or a pair of pliers depending on how yours are held on.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116854

Step 5
From topside slide the cover off the steering gear connection
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116856

Here is the hose routing from the top if you are replacing your hoses.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116853

Then remove the two hose line bolts on the top side, mine were 15mm and 16mm sizes, and pull the lines out and remove (again this if you are replacing hoses), if not then you can clamp a hose over the ends and avoid losing all your fluid.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116855
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116858

With a 13mm socket, extension and breaker bar I removed the 13mm nut. It took some convincing with PB Blaster and screamed all the way out still.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116857

Pry the upper shaft off the gear box using a pry bar. Then push it up out of the way.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116859


Step 6
From the driver's side wheel well remove the 14mm anchor bolts that hold the gear box. 14 mm socket and breaker bar again. I never used a ratchet on this step, took the breaker bar every turn all the way out, but as you can see I had some rust issues on the old box. When you get to the last bolt have someone hold the box so it doens't crash to the ground when you pull the last bolt free. Mine was so stuck it just sat there held by rust and I had to give a smack with a mallet to get it free. It's really heavy!
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116861

Step 7 (this probably applies only to my case) but I took the opportunity to clean up the area under and around the box that I couldn't reach while doing rust grinding and painting this summer.

Before view
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116860

After view
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116843


Step 8
Get the old pitman arm and nut off the box you just removed.

I don't have much advice for you on this one, but others have said a bench vice, impact, and/or brut force. It's torqued to 199ft lbs which is 99 more lbs than I got to give, so I took mine to a friends shop and in two minutes he had it off and impacted back onto my new box. I replaced my pitman arm as well.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116866

Here they both are (before and after) note the orientation of the arm on the box. Same in both pictures. This is important, you don't want to remove that thing twice. Pitman arm has set groves so you can only put it on 4 ways, just make sure you note how your old one is before you take it off. My redhead box came centered correctly so if you are installing another box that isn't centered, please figure that out and don't rely on these instructions unless you are sure your box is centered already.

Old one
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116759

New one
TIP** - Remove the packing on the end before you put it in the truck, it's a real pain to get off once it's installed.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116812


Step 9
Have someone position the box and insert the bottom front bolt first. Put thread lock (Red) on the threads and tighten by hand, then rotate box up into position and do the other two bolts.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116868

Then torque all three bolts to 59ft lbs.

The shaft that goes into the upper stearing arm has a flat edge that corresponds with a flat grove on the shaft. These were both on the bottom when I reinstalled.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116870

Push it on (I did have to jiggle my steering wheel just a tad to get it lined up before I could push it on because of the flat spot pictured above, my steering wheel was held really tight and I didn't unhook it to do this I just had a friend get in an move it a fraction so I could line up the groves - it took some growling to get it just right) then tap it down onto the box, then torque the bolt back to 36 ft lbs with (blue) thread lock.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116869

Reinstall your lines (new or old ones) back into the gearbox. BE SURE each line has a small rubber o-ring on the end before tigthening the bolts.

Then slide the shaft shield back down and clip it on the upper hose.
TIP: Install the lower hose first, if you do the upper hose first it makes it really hard to get the lower hose under it and to thread properly. Ask me how I know this?

Step 10
Remove the straps holding the drag link to the tie rod and tap the pitman arm back onto the drag link, then reinstall the nut and torque to 66ft lbs and replace the cotter pin.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116871

Then regrease your drag link. All of mine pushed out removing the pitman arm.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116880


Step 11
Add two quarts of ATF to the tank and check for leaks. I didn't raise my truck until this point, jack the truck up and support front with stands, release the seatbelts holding the steering wheel and make sure the wheel is centered. Reconnect the battery cable and start the truck, then turn wheel lock to lock about 10 times holding no more than 2 seconds at each lock. Your tank fluid will turn pink! This is the air bleeding up out of the system. I let it settle for a few minutes then checked my level - added about 1/4 more quart to top it off.

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116882

Then lowered the truck and admired my new steering box, then put my air filter housing back where it belongs.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/p...ctureid=116821

Great write up, reps to you!!

Added to the tech folder sticky. Which reminds me, I REALLY need to finish the last little bit of revamp to the tech folder.

It would be nice to have one of the PSD guys do one too so we can compare and see what's different, if anything.

Stewart

THANK YOU (rep present @ the moment)
I sure hope you didn't create this thread - JUST for me!?
:-drink I've been looking @ renting/buying a pitman puller...
waiting to see how "big" of one I need...

Thanks hope it helps someone, mine was a bear. Not often you got enough rust to hold up that kind of weight with no bolts.

I am guessing it's a little bit different, ok so PSD guys who is going to take a ton of pics?

I got the heavy duty one, little grief getting it on and not tearing up the drag link bushing but the smaller one I don't think would have done the job, that's a wide pitman arm. Guys at Oreilly gave me one to keep for $10, I think just so I would go away :)

And yep all for you.

Awesome write up.... About how long did it take?

Awesome write up Sammie, Something I have never done but will be more comfy performing when I get the time hopefully soon.

Hoses which I did earlier because I had a leaking one about two hours, with an hour or more of that spent getting the hose set bolts out of the gear box.

Gear box install five hours total time working on it.

With a pause of about 4 hours in the middle of that process to deal with the rust and waiting for paint to dry. So actual time that day was 9 hours.

On the gear box the hardest and longest part for me was getting bolts loose but that's been a recurring issue on this truck as this was the last rusted piece to go on the suspension/steering. The wheel well bolts were even broken off with an impact wrench the day before and tightened back up just enough to get me home (by a friend at his shop). Didnt' matter though, I still had to use a breaker bar, a piece of pipe and some words that my daddy would blush at, and then for every turn after it broke I still had to use the bar (less the pipe), reset turn again, 6 in bolts screamed all the way out, times three. The 13mm bolt on top wasn't much better. It won't be that hard for most people, but it's par for the course on my truck with most bolts. I have spots of my blood dried in several places that I've left there as a memento. :)

Me and the advil bottle been friends today.

I have spots of my blood dried in several places that I've left there as a memento.


New form of rust protection? :-wink

Right on time, my steering box just arrived today so weekend job coming up.

Is there any procedure required to make sure the box is centered before attaching the steering, drag link and Pitman arm?

Well not an expert on this but here are my thoughts....

Gears have just 4 options for placement due to the pitman arm vs gear box groves.

Redhead says all boxes leave there centered on the inside, so you will have full movement in both directions.

If your steering wheel stays put and you tie up your rod arm and don't jack it around and somehow turn the adjusting sleeve.

You check your box goes in with the same orientation that it came out with the Pitman arm in the same one of the 4 positions....

Then you should end up in the same placed you started.
I did - my wheel is dead on centered just like it was before the swap.

Maybe someone who knows real facts will chime in but that's the "common sense" sit down and think about it conclusion I came to yesterday.

S,

That is really what I wanted to hear. I haven't pulled mine part or taken the "packing" material, which I originally thought was a huge chunk of meat slid onto the shaft... (having 8 dogs and 5 cats makes you think that way) off the RedHead box to orient myself.

Thanks for pictures and directions. My wife is real impressed that I'm actually going to follow directions given by a woman. I don't think she believes that I am that trainable! :-blah

LOL but women are much better at following directions, asking for directions and probably writing directions. Most men I know take the directions and toss them in the trash and then get started. :)

I will test that in a few years and see how the blood soaked spots compare to the painted areas. I am an "avid" rust hater now! But I love my truck!

Thats always how I learned to wrench on my truck, I learn better by pulling it apart and asking questions later!