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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...
  5. C

    '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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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Yeah I read this part. I cant reliably figure out which are smaller with my calipers. Might need a micrometer.
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Thanks so much! I found that part number just before your reply. However, I only saw it elsewhere for $60. I'll have to bookmark this one, in case I need other parts. Visually, most of the parts look in good order. I could replace the bearings($100), but they don't show much wear and the...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    #5 above has me kinda worried. I can somewhat see a coloration difference on some of the bearings, but not 12 of them. I read that one size is smaller than the other but I cannot break that out with my calipers. The sizes are so close. Any idea on how I can proceed?
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Here are the rest of the photos.
  12. C

    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    So i took the gearbox apart today, cleaning as I went. I was following this video: It is very thorough. Everything looks mostly in good order so I am just going to replace the seals and o-rings that came with the rebuild kit. However, I do have a few questions that may or may not matter. 1. The...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I'll take a look when I get back under there today.
  14. C

    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I am unfamiliar with the EVO sensor, so I don't know where to look. I watched a video on how it works. Can a bad sensor cause slop?
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Able to get the gearbox out. Looks original, 83 box. Splines look ok as well. I ordered the rebuild/seal kit so I am going to clean up the casing while I wait for it to arrive. Hoses look original as well so I will replace those too. Pitman arm is confirmed new. You can kinda see from the...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    So the steering shaft was replaced and came with a new rag joint. So rivets = yes, but still new. Splines look good here.
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Hard to tell on the rivets. The sleeve that cover the rag joint wont move up far enough to be sure. When I take out the box I will see it and I can order if necessary. Anybody know if the rebuild kits on rockauto are any good?
  18. C

    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I followed the procedure in the service manual and I see a very small amount of fluid at the steering shaft input side of the gear box (H in the diagram). However, so fluid elsewhere. If I am going to replace the seal, like the manual suggests, I might as well do a rebuild since I will be in...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    Don't I know it. I have an '04 civic that they failed because the plastic hood latch release handle was broken off. Apparently vice grips was not "a safe alternative"
  20. C

    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I don't know where the leak is yet. There is a procedure in the manual that describes how to find the leak. I will try that.
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    It was pouring this afternoon and evening following work. Coupled with the fact that I can't fit the truck in my garage, I didn't do any investigating. However, I decided I will be doing the following list of things: 1. Replace PS lines a. Thinking about getting some of that leak dye to...
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    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I spent most of my time around Lake county, Fox Lake area, and the NW suburbs, Algonquin.
  23. C

    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    This is all really helpful. I love the truck, I want to keep it a long time, I am not opposed to doing work correctly to ensure that happens. I am at work now. I will try to get under there to check things out tonight.
  24. C

    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    I think I will attempt this first. Is there a thread/how-to on adjusting it on the forum here? I read that you need to adjust it in two places, in order to get it done proper. Can I just replace the rag joint and keep the original steering shaft if it is good (also, how to know if it is good?)...
  25. C

    '97 Steering Gearbox Replacement Guidance

    So I've done my first night of reading. I might just replace the rag joint first since that seems to be a large source of slop in these systems. I don't really trust the inspector saying that it's definitively the gearbox, considering the same shop provides a quote to fix it. If that fixes the...

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