Ive found a few threads with people mentioning they bought them, and installing but not much on the after effects with the exception of 1 post where someone was mentioning a leaky seal on theirs that they fixed.

Ive noticed my Gear box in the truck seems to be leaking and been getting some noises when making turns too that i can feel in the steering wheel more than hearing it. (not like air in the system or over steering things like that).. feels more like a grinding feeling.. anyways.. ive had a couple people recommend Redhead gear boxes.. but hadnt ever heard of them till they told me about it.

So was wondering what yall think about the company and for the ones that have gotten them any major issues?? Biggest thing i keep seeing on non-factory gear boxes are mentions of sloppy steering.. they cant be adjusted.. quick failures.. ect ect... Worried id be wasting money getting something not-stock than if id had just bought it right from ford...

 

Redhead boxes are essentially extremely well built or rebuilt Ford parts so in that respect they're bolt-on replacements. No modifications to existing suspension or steering gear is needed. They do like to have a core of your old box to keep their ready supply in stock.

That being said any adjustment of the sector gear pre-load is present however well built or assembled steering boxes rarely need or benefit for that being fiddled with by the end user. Reading the factory steps on setting that value is slightly more complex and requires tools most of us don't keep around. While I have faith I could set mine easily enough its not something I'd look forward to doing.

When my '03 E250 needed a new box I opted for the Ford reman'd part---$258 plus $250 core. It was $100 more than the CarDone brand but IMHO worth it if only because its not a job I wanted to do more than once.

Redhead didn't have a core in stock, cost would be just over $400 landed. Downside there was I'd have to send them a core first, turn around time after that arrived a few weeks. Between learning I had a problem box and time of replacement was less than one week the in-stock Ford part was my best option.

Were I to do this again I'd go with Redhead, would plan a bit further in advance to have the part in hand before beginning the replacement.

Anyway hope this helps.

 

Thanks.

i still need to price out locally what ford wants for theirs... for some odd reason they seem to price well over what list should be which is why i normally end up ordering through a friend of mine..

The only thing i dont understand is the sector gear adjustment part.. seem people mention adjusting the gear boxes.. but never had to change one so dont get that part..

 

well after getting about 30+ ppl on another board saying i wouldnt regret the purchase of one i ordered it tonight...

any tricks to getting the pitman arm off the gear box?? hear they can be a bear to remove if its been on the truck for sometime.....

 

The only trick removing the Pitman arm is persistence----and a torch and a puller designed for that purpose---AND removing the arm while the old box is still on the truck. Once off its tough going since holding onto the box is damn near impossible.

I've never priced a new Pitman arm but honestly if I were to do this again that'd be my choice----saves a ton of work trying to wrestle old parts off to save a few dollars. Then again I have more money than time and patience so could be I take the "easy" way out?

BTW & FWIW I tend to agree with your other board---Redhead seems to be the way to go!

 

i wish i had more money than time.. lol.. i always seem to be the other way around...

 

Let us know which way you go or how much a PITA swapping the Pitman arm is---might be helpful to others down the road.

Only problem with more time than money--vastly easier to just make more money!

 

yup... ill be posting pics of the install when i get to it..

 

You can rent the correct puller from a lot of parts stores, very hard without one.

 

actually did... bought a 3/4" impact gun... my 1/2" one wasnt cutting it... I need to update this thread... forgot to do that... will do it tomorrow... pretty beat today...

 

got the parts ill need to install the new gear box on 3/21/16



then the box with the gear box sorta showed up...



that was one of the smaller holes...



but it appears to have arrived in one piece despite the box looking like crap...

3/26/16

So to start off i pulled the driver side inner fender out so i could get easier access to the steering gear.. found a birds nest and a cashe of acorns hidden in there.. wonder which was there first... the bird or the squirrel...



just goes to show that it wasnt the lines leaking...



10 mins after the lines came off i had the gear box out..



makes a mess when turned upside down..



nice shiny new one in a bag...



prolly shoulda changed that line.. but after several unexpected extra expenses i cant afford it atm...



one of the unexpected expenses.. needed a bigger tool to accomplish the job..



worked great too...



the one wrapped around the pitman arm is a loaner.. gotta take that back..



new and old one next to it...

after i got the new one in it was getting dark...

If you attempt this on your own.. Youll also need these 2 orings



they go between the lines and the gear box..





forgot i didnt post a pic of it put back in...

4/2/16

and my little side project since i had everything out..



This was the original design.. I called it Frankenstein.. but didnt work out too well.. in addition to space issues the fittings kept coming loose.. aggravated the hell outta me..



V 2.0... fit much better...





going to have to pull it back out so i can tape the threads.. but atleast it fits now... Jezebel sacrificed one of her oil filters for lil dually...

4/3/16

got her all buttoned back up today too.. glad i hadnt put the fender back in when i bled the system out... made a little bit of a mess lol no leaks from the truck.. im just bad with aim...



but got all the old nasty fluid out... smelled really badly burnt.. also came out dark brown much like oil from the engine.. book says it was filled with ATF.. (which is what i refilled it with too)... last time i looked ATF was bright red... as was what i put in the truck...

 

when i finally took it out for its test drive on thursday i discovered i had a bit of a leak at the filter setup..



little tightening here and there solved that issue..

although when you install shut off valves on a system that at idle outputs 200psi (and gets up to 2000 for the high end..) its a good idea to double check you didnt leave the shutoffs in the closed position before cranking it over..



opps...





because someone on another forum asked why i put in the rock shield to protect the filter... thats why.. itd be my luck that a rock would get thrown through the filter..

 

I've had my coolant filter at that location for 12 years and never had an issue on highway or throwing stuff up on the farm just to ease your worry.

 

thanks jack... i just seem to have really cruddy luck... murphys law seems to follow me like an evil shadow.. if it can go wrong it normally does... when i first got the truck i found the bottom lip of the bumper filled with large rocks and mud that had hardened to the consistency of concrete... actually took a hammer and chisel to get some of it outta there..

 

You may have another problem with your filter sooner or later, brass fittings are only rated for about 1000PSI, per Parker Manufacturing, much less than the max a power steering system can produce.