Power Steering gearbox

[tom9961]

I have a 72 Bronco that has factory powering steering. I had WTOR rebuild it and upgrade to a 3:1 turn to turn ratio.

After all the other repairs new ball joint, lower steering shaft, wheel bearings and steering column rebuild I still have play in the input shaft of the steering box. I sent it back to WTOR for them to check it and they said it was all OK and it must be ball joints or something.

I have rechecked and even taken it to a local shop, we can't find the problem. There seems to be about 1/2 to 1 inch play in the input shaft before you feel any resistance from the box. With the 3:1 ratio at any real speeds above 45 it is really hard to keep from over correcting in curves and any other time a slight correction is needed.

Can anyone help with this. I am in over my head on what can be done the the steering box! I know there is an input shaft adjustment with a locking ring but can't find any information on what this does or if I can be tightened to get the layout of the inout shaft.

And of you guys that have rebuilt a box know what this adjustment does?

 

[68rockcrawler]

I beat myself up for years over a similar issue with my F250 even buying a rebuilt box from supposedly the best box rebuilder in the business and getting multiple alignments. The truck still wandered. I took it to Ford dealer dealer and they tightened down the adjuster on the box and its all good now. I know my experience was on a different vehicle, but hopefully you find the same kind of easy solution if you can find information on tightening that adjuster.

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

 

[broncodriver99]

The adjuster in the top of the box will take out slack in the mesh of the piston and pitman gears if that is the problem. There is a procedure that should be used which requires pulling the pitman arm or separating the drag link from it and using an inch/lbs. torque wrench on the steering wheel nut. That will get you to the mesh and resistance it was designed to run at. There are plenty of guys that will tell you just to tighten it up till it feels good, I don't recomment that. Too tight and it will wear the gears in short order and possibly bind up, not good when doing anything over 5MPH, too loose and it will walk all over the road. The input shaft is not directly connected to the piston. There is a torsion bar built in to that shaft that absorbs some of the road feel and also "buffers" the input to the box. It may be that whatever vehicle they used to convert the ratio had a very light torsion bar which could be what you are feeling. 3:1 is a pretty quick ratio for a Bronco, especially one with lift.

 

[tom9961]

Thank broncodriver99

The slack is in the input shaft. I am stupid about the torsion bar and what WTOR used to convert the box.

My question is can the slack be adjusted out of the input shaft or what I can do to resolve this issue. It is scary to drive.

I need to fix this!

 

[broncodriver99]

I would start by verifying the setting I mentioned earlier. I will see if I can find the spec. Do you have an inch/lbs torque wrench? If not, the beam style(I think it is advertised as a bicycle torque wrench) can be found on Amazon for about $20. Adjust the adjuster until it is within the spec or do not adjust if it meets the spec. If that checks out than it is something in the input shaft, maybe the torsion bar.

What size lift and tires are you running?

 

[broncodriver99]

Here is another thread about it and a link with some light reading. ;D Also attached is a section from the saginaw(who make's your steering gear) manual.

http://classicbroncos.com/forums/showthread.php?t=263646&highlight=inch/lbs.

http://www.stangerssite.com/adjustment.html

 

[tom9961]

Yes I do have a in/lb torque wrench. I printed the image you posted and will try to check this setting in the next few days. If it in the input shaft an torsion bar can I get a replacement for that.

 

[tom9961]

Oh I forgot rebuilt Bronco as stock. No lift regular size tires.

New ball joints, wheel bearings all around, lower steering shaft, steering column rebuild, shocks, front coil springs, rear leaf spring and c bushings, duel exhaust and new gas tanks main and aux.

 

[navalbronco66]

Kind of along the lines, my bronco didn't have power steering and want to upgrade to power steering on my frame off resto. I don't have the time to go and hunt for the f150 box and then get sent in to have it rebuilt etc..I wanted to purchase a brand new power steering box and was torn between the Delphi unit offered by jeff's graveyard or the borgeson power steering box for early Broncos. I think the price is reasonable for a brand new box. Any one have info on either box, though I hear the Ford F-150 4x4x2 are some of the best. Anyone know where I can find the ford box fully rebuilt without having to send a core with a price comparable to the others I mentioned.

 

[sykanr0ng]

Kind of along the lines, my bronco didn't have power steering and want to upgrade to power steering on my frame off resto. I don't have the time to go and hunt for the f150 box and then get sent in to have it rebuilt etc..I wanted to purchase a brand new power steering box and was torn between the Delphi unit offered by jeff's graveyard or the borgeson power steering box for early Broncos. I think the price is reasonable for a brand new box. Any one have info on either box, though I hear the Ford F-150 4x4x2 are some of the best. Anyone know where I can find the ford box fully rebuilt without having to send a core with a price comparable to the others I mentioned.

It is my understanding that the Borgeson is the same steering box as the Delphi.

 

[FordBronc]

Have you checked into Redhead? http://www.steeringgears.net/remanufactured-steering-gears/

They might have one on the shelf rebuilt and ready to ship?

 

[68rockcrawler]

Have you checked into Redhead? http://www.steeringgears.net/remanufactured-steering-gears/

They might have one on the shelf rebuilt and ready to ship?

Redhead is the reputable company I mentioned in my earlier post that I bought a box from for my F250 that ended up not being adjusted right when they sent it to me causing me to chase down wandering issue threw the rest of my steering system when it was still a problem in the new box.

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[Timmy390]

It is my understanding that the Borgeson is the same steering box as the Delphi.

Yup, got one on my rig and love it. Got tired of fighting with the stock box and old steering components and bought all new (box and linkage).

Drives like a dream new

Tim

 

[tom9961]

Ok. Can I have my post back please.

Does anyone else have any ideas about the play in my steering box input shaft.

I really need a fix.

 

[DirtDonk]

You still own the thread. They're simply trying to help with alternate box suggestions and not off your beaten path by more than a couple of steps yet.
But we are pretty easily sidetracked slightly sometimes.;D

Are you getting your 1/2" to 1" play up at the steering wheel? If so then that's as tight as any old style box could expect to be.
If it's down at the box itself when you turn it by hand, then yes that's something that's off by a mile and I'm pretty sure that adjusting the preload screw won't get you where you need to be. Unless WTOR was so far off from smoking the wrong stuff that day!
But I would have thought once you sent it back to them they would have caught that big of an issue.

If it's at the wheel, let us know and we can try other suggestions. No way it should be scary to drive with that little bit of freeplay. At that point, maybe the C-bushings were installed backwards or something along those lines.

Good luck.

Paul

 

[navalbronco66]

Ok. Can I have my post back please.

Does anyone else have any ideas about the play in my steering box input shaft.

I really need a fix.

LOL yes you still own your post, guess what I was implying was that you should have just bought the brand new steering box. My 67 was manual and I'm not going to go through the trouble of looking for a power box, then send it to get rebuilt hoping it gets done right. I know the company in Texas does good work but bottom line is they starting with a used part.

If borgeson and the Delphi are the same, both with good track record and at around 549 give or take, I think it's a win win situation. Quality and a good price.

 

[navalbronco66]

FYI I just installed the "Delphi" power steering box. I was actually sent a Borgeson steering box. Oh well, just in case anyone goes this route, I had to use a grinder to shave some meat off the upper left mount. Though the frame isn't drilled for this bolt, I will eventually drill it out and add the fourth bolt for strength. I also had to use a drill press to open up two of the the three mounting holes I used. I also shaved a bit off the front of the box so it wouldn't contact the frame and make it easier to line up the holes on the steering box to the holes already on the frame.

 

[markw]

As above, me too.

 

[DirtDonk]

Saw two installs just last week where they'd drilled and used all four holes too.

Yours sure looks far forward. Where do the rear two holes come out on the inside of the frame in relation to the crossmember?

Paul

 

[Slednut10]

IIRC 73 was the first year for factory power steering and you say yours is a 72. If thats the case, chances are it was added to a truck that originally had manual steering and the purposely low caster that was considered normal. The addition of PS often makes these trucks very touchy and the 3:1 is more than Ford ever used on these Broncos. Have you had it aligned lately, and if so have the caster numbers? With PS, more caster can help to make it feel much more controllable as more effort is needed to turn the wheels plus the return to center tends to improve adding to the stability of the steering. My F150 box has about an inch of "slop" that can be felt at both the wheel and the box, yet it handles well and is not at all scary to drive.