Steering Box

[BlueovalFE]

Is there any adjustment screws on a Bendix style steering box? I seem to have a lot of slop when I move the rag joint. Truck steers badly, just wondering.

[69timemachine]

My '69 has a manual box but I'm not sure what type. It had a little slop, so I raised the front wheels off the ground, loostened the jam-nut on the slack adjuster and turned the slack adjuster in about a turn or so until it stopped. Then I backed it off about a half turn and ran the steering wheel lock to lock. The steering wheel should not get tight or be hard to turn; if it is, back the slack adjuster off more. The steering wheel should have virtually no resistance when you turn it lock to lock with the wheels off the ground. I then tightened the jam-nut back down making sure to hold the slack adjuster from turning. The steering is much more responsive now and doesn't have so much slop. Granted, this little tweak only works on a good box with good bearings that has some miles on it and needs re-adjustment. This tweak will not take the place of rebuilding a box that needs rebuilding. Hope this helps.

[willowbilly3]

Yes they have a screw but more than likely it is the lower bushing. Have some one else move it while you watch and you will see the shaft moveing side to side in the bos if the bushing is bad.
I have not had a bendix box apart but other Ford boxes actually have no bushing, it is just machined into the casting so it is actuall the casting that's worn out.

[Maltybuck]

Slightly off topic, but how hard is it to get the Pitman arm back onto the steering box without a press? I need to swap out the steering gear, but I don't know how to get the pitman arm back on.

Also, I was thinking that it is possible to replace the rag joint without removing the gear box, but the local mechanic said you have to remove the gearbox in order to swap the rag joint. Isn't it possible to swap the rag joint without really messing with the gearbox?

Thanks.

[cdherman]

No press needed at all to get a pitman arm on, just a large wrench. I snug mine up, then finish the rest of the steering, tie rods etc. Let the vehicle back down so the front tires have full weight on them and then finish torquing the nut on the pitman arm down.

Now, removing the pitman requires a pitman arm puller.

Finally, the mechanic who told you that about the rag joint is full of it.

With a manual box it is as easy as just removing the bolts and the lower bearing retainer on the steering shaft and sliding the shaft up into the cab. Then you can remove the rag joint.

For the larger/longer Saginaw PS box, you may have to loosen up the steering column brackets at the firewall and under the dash as well, but that is certainly easier than removing the steering box.

[MadMaxetc]

No press needed at all to get a pitman arm on, just a large wrench. I snug mine up, then finish the rest of the steering, tie rods etc. Let the vehicle back down so the front tires have full weight on them and then finish torquing the nut on the pitman arm down.

Now, removing the pitman requires a pitman arm puller.

Finally, the mechanic who told you that about the rag joint is full of it.

With a manual box it is as easy as just removing the bolts and the lower bearing retainer on the steering shaft and sliding the shaft up into the cab. Then you can remove the rag joint.

For the larger/longer Saginaw PS box, you may have to loosen up the steering column brackets at the firewall and under the dash as well, but that is certainly easier than removing the steering box.

Ya, what he said.

If your manual box is not as tight as it should be, agjusting the screw on top is a temparary fix. it makes the box wear even faster. So adjust it and start looking for a better box.

[Maltybuck]

Thanks for the info on the pitman arm. I was able to remove it from the used gearbox I scored from ebay, and I only blew out two gear pullers in the process. I was planning on paying the mechanic almost $500 to do the swap and replace the rag joint, but now I'm thinking I may be able to do it myself.

I guess my next question would be how do you remove the bolt/axle/?? that attaches the other end of the pitman arm to the steering rack?

Also, once I get the new rebuilt gearbox installed, is there a procedure for bleeding the system? I have both the Chilton's and the Clymer manuals for the truck, but neither say anything about the power steering.

Thanks.

[cdherman]

Do already have a power steering setup and you are just installing the rebuilt PS box?

A mechanic wanted $500 to do that?

I am in the wrong line of work........

Now, for a full manual to PS swal, there a lot of other complications, which I would refer you to the techncal papers section here.

As for bleeding, once the PS unit is installed (consider a good filter in the line, as the remains of the dead PS box and/or pump are still floating around in there, or even better, as a line flush), you gradually add oil while slowly turning the gear back and forth from almost full "stop" then back in the other direction.

About 1.5 quarts, if the sytem is dry to start with, thats for Thompson pump (67-77).

[Maltybuck]

Yeah, I already have the PS setup. They wanted $100 for parts (including rag joint) plus 5 hours of labor, but they were also running new hoses to hook up to a transmission cooler I want to add on.

Filter or flush sounds like a good idea. The old PS gear operates fine, it was just rebuilt in 2006. It just has a bad leak on the rag joint end, and I think that's from excessive heat from the headers. If I go with a filter, what kind of filter do I ask for at the parts store? If I flush, do I just flush a bunch of fresh fluid through, or should I use like a radiator flush?

Also, is it still recommended to use Type F transmission fluid in the PS system?

Thanks.

[cdherman]

I thnk Type F remains the "correct" choice, though I personally put Mobil One Synthetic ATF in there. I'd have liked to have put in a synthetic type F, but I ran out of the amsoil stuff I had. Its impossible to find synthetic type F locally.

Its possible the mobil is not the right choice -- my first set up with a Thompson pump growled a lot (new reman pump) and I switched to a later Ford pump. It was more quiet, but of late is growling too. But the Ford pump was used - I harvested it for the core and stuck it on just to check belt lengths and whadayaknow, it was OK at first so I kept it.

Anyhow, what I have read is that PS fluid MUST have antifoam additives. Type F has that. So some of the aftermarket PS oils.

If your pump or steering gear is exposed to lots of heat, by all means, put a PS cooler in there. The heavy duty trucks got a frame rail cooler that doubled as the return line. Of there are lots of aftermarket units that you can hid down along the frame rail.

I suppose sythetic is a tad better if you are worried about heat as well.

[Maltybuck]

Thanks for your help. I think I've convinced myself that I can do it myself.

The main obstacles I've had for replacing it myself were getting the pitman arm back on and physically getting the PS gear out of the truck. It was looking like I'd have to take the headers and/or the master cylinder off to get the gear out. I think I've convinced myself that removing the header won't be necessary.

So, hopefully I'll roll up my sleeves this weekend and get this thing swapped out.