Each their own.

True... what we actually "need" in life is much less than what we "want" in life. However, life would be pretty boring if we only focused on our needs.

Not really. Material things that are perfect aren't going to make you happy in the long run and that goes for money too. And believe me; I've been on both sides of the fence. What I said was; "you don't really need THAT much". And that includes a few toys to keep you entertained.

A-1 Cardone is remanufactured to OEM standards and Redhead is supposed to be better than OEM specs. Nothing wrong with A-1. But it's like a blueprinted engine compared with a new engine from Ford. Redhead should have tighter tolerances than OEM, hence the higher price.

Farian...don't forget to subtract out the price of the rebuilt Red Head box.

That makes the cost for the hydraulic under $400 for those (like me) who are running 35's on the factory original equipment at 140,000 miles...

LOL! Why didn't I think of that... You know, there is a big difference between 35" tires and 40"-41" tires. But I like the way you think! :-missingt

Mike,

I sent you a PM.

I have the same steering problem and will probably get a Red Head at some point. What bothers me is the spline count. Huge margin for error. I found these tag codes (cast into the body) on another site that sells boxes. SPA-KN=9 splines and SPA-JN=8 splines. I haven't checked mine yet but can anybody verify this?

Thanx.

the 9 is the 36 spline and the 8 is the 32 spline. What year is your truck and other info. Mine is a 03 and they all came with the 36 spline.

I don't have the red head yet. I replaced my worn gear with a reman from advanced to save some $... The replacement was worse than the old one, complete garbage. I wish i had gone with the red head to begin with, now it is going to end up costing me more than if i had just done it right in the first place. :-arrgh

You probably got a rare bad one. Red head probably has bad ones too.

Perhaps, but i called the red head guy to ask about pricing, and he ended up explaining to me how he remans the gears using hand-matched parts and bearings to get better than factory fitmen. Really nice guy and I was impressed by what he said. I like buying from companies where i can call them and speak to an actual person.

'03, 5.4, 4x4

I wonder what the people from the other place would say? It's been my experience in my 67 years that 1; nice means nothing when it comes to sales, 2; higher prices can sometimes mean a better product, 3; people with bad products don't last long.

I have some advice for you.

1.) Nice does mean something in sales just not everything.
2.) A good product produced by a good company is worth a premium.
3.) A big company that can hit main stream markets at the cheapest price can often stay in business regardless of product quality.