Recent content by crowfather

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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    It doesn't appear to have any slop on the input side of the box. It moves very smoothly when I turn the lower shaft over center, while the intermediate shaft is outside the upper joint. The play I feel is event present with the engine off and the wheels on the ground. This makes me think that...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Well my issue was that the pitman arm was hitting the drag link and tricking me into thinking travel was uneven. I got everything back together today. I was about 2 splines off from center, but driving the truck and making corrections helped dial it in. Steering is much nicer, although not...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I had the time yesterday to do the install. I gotta say 184 ft-lb is hefty!! I was able to get the pitman arm torqued to 175 ft-lb by hand, but I couldn't close the gap to 184. I hit it with an impact for about 1/16-1/8th of a turn; should cover the delta. Other than that, the box went in just...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    So I am going to give this a shot this weekend. However, I did notice something strange. The Borg steering shaft doesn't have a flat to fit with the gearbox stub shaft. Did I purchase the wrong part?
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Oh boy!
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I appreciate the feedback. I think I will try the borg. It is cheaper on summit's website than the borg website even.
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Thanks for the feedback scott. If it is truly from the box, hopefully they warranty it for you.
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    How does the cunningham U joint shaft compare to borgeson?
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I am still working my gearbox purchase. Are redhead's boxes rebuilds or new? Edit: Also, if I do not send back my old one(pitman splines are damaged from previous owner and the pin on the stub shaft was cut off) then redhead is the same price as borgenson, more or less, which is a new box...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Looking at Redhead, the stub shaft claims to have 25 splines with flat, yet the lower steering shaft is 15 spines with the flat. Is this incorrect on redhead's website, or do I need a new coupler as well?
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Yeah. Its not like I plan on getting another truck any time soon, so I am happy to invest. I was rather crunched for time on this, and unfortunately I missed my deadline.
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    So now I am back to considering a replacement. Redhead: $316 - mixed reviews on this forum. Has a good rep with the Dodge Ram people. Borgeson: $520 - haven't seen many longer term reviews of these Bluetop: $??? - Did they go under? Website not functioning Lee: $700-850 - Depending on new or...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I appreciate the vote of confidence, but it seems my efforts were in vain. I put everything together today. Flushed and bled the system. No leaks, but still there is way too much play on center. Seems worse than before. Not sure what I did wrong. I can see the stub shaft turn with the play in...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I finished rebuilding the gearbox tonight. I am going to tape and paint it tomorrow. Hopefully, get it back into the truck this weekend. I can now say that I do not recommend the Plews and Edelmann 8775 rebuild kit. It doesn't come with all the o-rings and the tolerancing could be better with...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Good news everyone! The micrometer worked. I distinctly was able to measure all 24 ball bearings. I found 12 balls to be between 279-279.5 thousandths and 12 to be between 278-278.5 thousandths. Very tiny difference between them but distinct across multiple measurements. Hopefully this helps...
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