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After tossing a new transmission into my '76 I was rewarded with puking fluid out of my steering box. Being short on time I ordered a rebuilt unit.
Well it arrived and turns out it is far too wide to clear the headers on the 460. Everything else looks like the proper location. The rebuild sticker has the correct part number on it for what is listed in the books. However the plate that has the adjuster nut has four bolts instead of the normal two.
I have yet to find out what this was designed for. It does not have ford's stamping on it so it might be a aftermarket part. But I cannot find anything that looks identical to it. Technically they sent me the correct part. I want to understand why there is a steering box that has the right mounting points, spline counts and all, but is almost an inch wider in the casting.
Does anyone recognize this design? Is it from a different year truck, cheap knockoff, other?
The truck was supposed to be running again by now!
No, they didn't. "Technically" or otherwise, it's the wrong part. It was mis-labeled.
That looks to me like a Ross unit, an HF-54. This is used on the F500 not the F100-350.
The only problem is that it still looks nothing like what I have sitting here.
this is the HF54:
If I had a smaller motor or maybe even stock manifolds the new box might clear. Without the header it would bolt right up. This is what is confusing me. The three bolt frame rail setup is somewhat unique to this generation. So where did this one come from?
I have been able to source another rebuild kit locally so I will be able to at least clean up the original one.
Return it and get the right one. This is on the supplier. Regardless of what it says on the box, they gave you the wrong unit. Why go to the effort and expense of doing it yourself.
There is only one power steering box used on the 2WD dents. The one in the top of the first picture you posted (which I assume is your original one) is the correct box for your truck.
Just so you know, the bolt spacing isn't really unique to the 73-79 trucks. A couple of years ago I converted a '65 F100 to power steering by swapping the box out of my '75, total bolt in.
If you do end up using your old box, they can be resealed fairly easily without taking them apart. One thing that is very important, DO NOT TRY TO DISASSEMBLE the steering box. First, you don't need to, and second, reassembling them correctly is extremely difficult, especially if you've never had one apart before.
Put together incorrectly what can happen is the steering box will lock up mid-turn.
So as an update. I found a store with a steering box in stock about an hour away. Turns out its the same one that doesn't fit. It looks like this part is what is now available for the 2wd trucks.
I picked up a rebuild kit and yes, I disassembled it. I am not encouraged by the number of people citing failure in rebuilding steering boxes. However this one was fairly nasty inside. I will also have to do something about the sector shaft as the area for the bottom seal is pitted heavily. It would probably tear up a new seal. I am a little concerned about the wear in the main housing as well.
Its not the most space age part i've ever disassembled. The trick looks like care with teflon rings and sealing surfaces.
I will update again once I have it back in with either success or utter failure.
So as an update. I found a store with a steering box in stock about an hour away. Turns out its the same one that doesn't fit. It looks like this part is what is now available for the 2wd trucks.
I picked up a rebuild kit and yes, I disassembled it.
There is no such thing as a rebuild kit for these P/S gear boxes, as most of the parts are obsolete.
What you bought is either both the input and sector shaft SEAL kits or just the input or sector shaft seal kit.
Because of this, so called auto parts store rebuilt steering boxes are nothing more than RESEALED gear boxes.
The Ford/Saginaw gear box has a flaw, there are no bearings on the sector shaft, it rides directly on the housing. So before too long, fluid begins leaking from the sector shaft.
redheadsteeringgears.com takes the gear box, machines it to install the bearings that Ford omitted, on purpose, so they could sell a gazillion sector shaft seal kits!
So the parts-store boxes are completely different castings. So I gather that they may be using internals that are available in a new housing.
I hadn't thought to measure the bore of the sector shaft bushing surfaces. I will check those for concentricity. The kit I bought did include a needle bearing that is big enough for the sector shaft(iirc). As for rebuild vs. reseal, as long as the parts are within tolerance and it works. It's fine by me.
My concern with a bearing over a machined housing over a bronze bushing is that the bearing would wear a pattern into the shaft and create a gritty feeling. This also would be difficult to repair. I think a bronze bushing would be the best solution and replaceable when is wears. I didn't feel any play in mine before I took it apart, the wear on the shaft looks even and minimal. The damage looked to be from water settling at the bottom of the casting at the seals and eating away at the shaft. Although the leak that caused this to come out was the input shaft seal that shattered when I went to remove it. The ford embossed rubber had dried out and hardened beyond belief.
So the parts-store boxes are completely different castings. So I gather that they may be using internals that are available in a new housing.
What new housing might this be, since the only parts that are still available are the input shaft and sector shaft seal kits? Everything else is OBSOLETE!
No Ford/Saginaw P/S gear box has any sector shaft needle bearings, as Ford omitted them.
So, the only way there could be sector shaft needle bearings is, if Red Head installed them.
Here's a pic of the Ford/Saginaw P/S gear box. Do you see any needle bearings for the sector (3575) shaft?
No, you don't...because there was never any such thing as original.
The entire reason I began this thread was about the housing itself. It is NOT a ford part. It looks like someone out of mexico (cardone, acdelco, etc) is casting aftermarket housings. maybe I should eat the $130 and pull it apart to see what internals are in there?
The kit I bought covers a number of different ford/mercury/lincoln boxes. There is no needle bearing in my original steering box (you are correct). There is however a bearing included in the kit. I cannot explain why, but It is not the end of the world to fixture and bore out the hosing to accept it.
Just out of curiosity, when you go to the parts store, what do you tell them you have and what are you looking for?
1976, F250 2wd with the 460. A1Cardone part 27-7504 is the only one that pops up as available. In their catalog it shows the correct factory box. Two I have found so far have the 4 bolts on the sector shaft cover (metric bolts holding it on).
Most places I called told me to call back because they showed none available or online showed estimated shipping dates in August.
Also some boxes show a needle bearing on the input shaft side such as the galaxy: SKF FC65753 {#C5AZ3D525A, D8AZ3D525A}
I sent mine to Red Head in Seattle to be rebuilt. They rebuilt mine for me but they also have units in stock for immediate shipment.
This was a few years ago but mine was about $225.00. This included return shipping. REDHEAD steering gears ? Steering Gear Rebuilding & Re-manufacturing
Well as I promised, an update. I re-sealed and re-built the box. I repaired the corrosion on the bottom of the sector shaft. I made a custom bushing or two to keep play and future wear under control. Inspected, measured and honed the bores of the housing. The only thing I didn't do was replace the ***** in the ball-nut to reset preload. The wear appeared to be acceptable.
Installed it last night and after filling and bleeding the system it works a treat.
Moral of the story is that if you have a 2wd with a 460 and headers, do not get the A1Cardone part, it won't fit as it is not a duplicate of the factory ford part.
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kit and yes, I disassembled it.
