from 9 o'clock to noon - Diesel Forum

Rulebreaker · 11-17-2009, 09:26 PM

I just replaced my original power steering box with one i had laying around. It most likely came off a Ranger, B2, or explorer. Now the top of my steering wheel is at 9 o'clock. Can I just pull the steering wheel and put it at noon or is it keyed? RB

speeddemon31176 · 11-18-2009, 10:23 PM

Well for starters that steering box is not built for use on a heavy truck like ours. Your wheel is out of wack because the steering boxes are keyed different. You could move the steering wheel or you could put on a steering box that will last more than a few months. The boxes built for our trucks wear out at a fast rate. i can only imagine how fast a box for a ranger is gonna wear out on one of these trucks.

Rulebreaker · 11-18-2009, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeddemon31176

Well for starters that steering box is not built for use on a heavy truck like ours. Your wheel is out of wack because the steering boxes are keyed different. You could move the steering wheel or you could put on a steering box that will last more than a few months. The boxes built for our trucks wear out at a fast rate. i can only imagine how fast a box for a ranger is gonna wear out on one of these trucks.

Actually the boxes do interchange. I called the local salvage yard and they looked it up on their computer. The reason why the steering wheel was off was because the pitman arm on the new box was lower so i just shortened the drag link and now all is well. RB

speeddemon31176 · 11-19-2009, 12:14 AM

Well what I am trying to explain is that the steering box for a ford ranger is not built with the same internals as the ones for our trucks. Just because it fits doesn't mean it is the right one. You make my statement clear when you say that the pitman arm is in a lower location than the original one on your truck. According to the little bit of quick research i just did it appears there are two steering boxes available for our trucks. There is a light duty model which although it fits our trucks it was designed for the rangers and f-150. Then there is the heavy duty one which is made for the f-250/350/450/550. The one you put in will work but it isn't as stout as the HD version. Look and see how many bolts hold the cap on the sector shaft(3 or 4). That is what i have read makes the difference in appearance between the two.

Rulebreaker · 11-19-2009, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by speeddemon31176

Well what I am trying to explain is that the steering box for a ford ranger is not built with the same internals as the ones for our trucks. Just because it fits doesn't mean it is the right one. You make my statement clear when you say that the pitman arm is in a lower location than the original one on your truck. According to the little bit of quick research i just did it appears there are two steering boxes available for our trucks. There is a light duty model which although it fits our trucks it was designed for the rangers and f-150. Then there is the heavy duty one which is made for the f-250/350/450/550. The one you put in will work but it isn't as stout as the HD version. Look and see how many bolts hold the cap on the sector shaft(3 or 4). That is what i have read makes the difference in appearance between the two.

Thanks for the info they didnt tell me about the strength difference. I really dont care tho as this truck is on it's last leg and I'm driving it to it's death.

speeddemon31176 · 11-20-2009, 03:03 AM

Well in that case you made the right decision to go with the yard unit.