My first post ... yes, my sons and I are having fun fixing this truck!

We just recently bought at 66 F100 flareside with 390, front disc brakes and power steering.

The gear box seems to be the issue behind the slopping steering. There is a series of tubing bends on the low pressure / return side of the power steering pump and I am wondering if this "cooling system" is really needed.

I am planning to purchase a RM gearbox from Advance Auto (Lares #1061 quick ratio) with new hoses. Any advice and/or does anyone have power steering cooling on their setup?

 

Welcome to FTE!

You have found a great place for your truck - and you too!

I am going to ramble on about your comments, so there will be some variety. Your power steering and disc brakes are transplants from later trucks, by the way.

Cooling: YES. You NEED the cooling lines. The sort of funky cooling tube that sits around and below the gearbox is factory. Post a picture to make sure, though. And in any case, any cooling setup will work. I have an old transmission cooler for my power steering. (To post pictures, upload them to a online site, and put a link in your message to the photographs.)

Sloppy steering: It is possible the gearbox is the cause of your sloppy steering, but I seriously doubt it. I would save your money and wait. There are many possible causes or sloppy steering, but they all should be easy to identify and fix. Start by looking for slop the steering wheel, and work your way down through the firewall to the rag joint, the linkage parts after the gearbox, king pins and even wheel bearings. Everything should be tight. When in good condition, the power steering in '65 - '79 trucks is quite nice yet beefy enough for a truck.

390: There is a saying around here at FTE that 352 engines turn into 390s on sale day. The only V8 engine that came in your truck originally would have been the 352. Outwardly, it looks identical to any other FE engine. The FE family includes the 352, 360 and 390 (there are more, but are found in muscle or classic cars.) The only way to tell the difference is to measure the stroke. This isn't hard to do, and takes about 15 minutes at the outside.
Even if you do not have a 390, the FE engines have so many interchangeable parts that upgrades are pretty easy. In fact, there is an entire separate forum for discussing the FE engine, if you are not familiar with the FE.

Don't hesitate to ask all the questions you have. There are no stupid questions! We enjoy helping others out, and there is a wealth of knowledge here.

Be sure to have fun with it and your son most of all.

Again, Welcome to FTE!

 

welcome to FTE. don't let people hear you call it a "stepside" here! I made that rookie mistake myself. it's a "Flareside". "stepside" is a chevy term.

I can't help you with your steering. I have a 64, and it's totally different. someone will be along to help soon, though.

 

[QUOTE=svolpone;15369693]welcome to FTE. don't let people hear you call it a "stepside" here! I made that rookie mistake myself. it's a "Flareside". "stepside" is a chevy term.

I won't make that mistake again I've edited my post. Thanks!

 

Thank you, I will take a closer look at other components and keep the cooling lines.