70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
I would have tuned the splines up a bit with a small file, if I had made the mark. Getting it out of the box like that is unacceptable
Steering Box - Help!
- Thread starter SF-66TC
- Start date
If that is what Steer & Gear is now shipping, then they are off my list. Stupid way to run a business. Especially if the guy Craig didn't immediately ask you to send it back at their cost and replace it. So there are no good large scale rebuilders anymore. Just as bad as Firm Feel now I guess....................
saylor
Senior Member
wow.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
What was the very last year and make these boxes were used on. I get conflicting data on Google.
SF-66TC
Well-Known Member
Now I'm REALLY LIVID! So today I install the New Pitman arm, center link and tie-rods and check that I have the pitman installed correctly.
Note: I got the Diamond Series Pitman arm from Rare Parts. The splines of this pitman DO NOT have the 4 (flat) Master Keys to properly align it. I called Rare Parts and spoke to their lead tech and he said they were designed and manufactured that way to allow for additional adjustment as well as it could easily fit other makes/models. The pitman itself DID have two scribed lines on the bottom marking where two of the master splines would have been so I just counted the number of splines, divided them in half and found the mark where the master spline would have been... so no problem there...
I then wanted to ensure I installed the pitman correctly so I turned the steering wheel Lock to Lock (which was 3 revolutions), divided it in half (1.5) and checked to see if my wheels were straight - BUT as I was turning the steering wheel back and forth I heard a hissing sound. I looked and saw a big *** puddle of steering fluid on the floor.... WTF!! I wipe everything dry and got someone to turn the wheel so I could check where the leak was coming from and it's coming from the base of the valve assembly where the high pressure hose connects to.
Video
It's probably an O-ring, but so far the company hasn't held up to 3 of their 6 bullet points #'s 3,4 & 6
I called Craig at Steer & Gear 3.5 hours ago and haven't heard back...
Note: I got the Diamond Series Pitman arm from Rare Parts. The splines of this pitman DO NOT have the 4 (flat) Master Keys to properly align it. I called Rare Parts and spoke to their lead tech and he said they were designed and manufactured that way to allow for additional adjustment as well as it could easily fit other makes/models. The pitman itself DID have two scribed lines on the bottom marking where two of the master splines would have been so I just counted the number of splines, divided them in half and found the mark where the master spline would have been... so no problem there...
I then wanted to ensure I installed the pitman correctly so I turned the steering wheel Lock to Lock (which was 3 revolutions), divided it in half (1.5) and checked to see if my wheels were straight - BUT as I was turning the steering wheel back and forth I heard a hissing sound. I looked and saw a big *** puddle of steering fluid on the floor.... WTF!! I wipe everything dry and got someone to turn the wheel so I could check where the leak was coming from and it's coming from the base of the valve assembly where the high pressure hose connects to.
Video
It's probably an O-ring, but so far the company hasn't held up to 3 of their 6 bullet points #'s 3,4 & 6
I called Craig at Steer & Gear 3.5 hours ago and haven't heard back...
Last edited:
CanCritter
Senior Member
the horror.....imagine they may get alotta traffic if their good...persistence and paitience....
65sporty
Old Man with a Hat
Well that sucks, I hope they get you all fixed up. We were going to upgrade the steering box on the 65 but now I am not sure where to get one from.
I wonder what the Hell happened to them? - this is the kind of stuff that made me hate Firm Feel. Did someone buy them out or something? They used to supply really the best boxes. Especially good precision in the straight ahead driving. Sorry you are having all this trouble. I think I will give them a call and give them some crap. There is no excuse for this.
SF-66TC
Well-Known Member
When I placed my order with Craig I told him about the stripped threads on my pitman's spline shaft and he said the charge would be $100. Yesterday along with the photos and video I emailed him and wrote, "I mentioned to you about the damage of the pitman spline on my gear box and you said you would deduct $100 from my core charge. Shouldn’t I be getting $100 back for this damage part you sent me?" No reply to that...
As for the leak he wrote, "It looks like the valve has been moved, that's weird. Call me tomorrow" - Sounds to me like he's insinuating I did something WTF!
saylor
Senior Member
hey man i dunno if id trust that rebuild. thats not bench tested. it would have pissed all over.
when you finally test drive it go SLOWLY in case that thing decides to hang a hard left or somethin. steering boxes have to be set correctly or its gonna pull to one side. maybe horribly badly pull. unexpectedly pull. into a tree pull. if its not set right.
try not to die -
- saylor
when you finally test drive it go SLOWLY in case that thing decides to hang a hard left or somethin. steering boxes have to be set correctly or its gonna pull to one side. maybe horribly badly pull. unexpectedly pull. into a tree pull. if its not set right.
try not to die -
- saylor
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Maybe Steer & Gear is farming their work out to Cardone, now. 
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
That vavle can be moved a bit, sometimes they get hit putting engine in from top, but I don't know if you want to mess with it and just get swapped.
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
It is also an adjustment. If the steering wheel want to turn it self, loosen it, tap it and try again, may need to go the other way.
Alan
SF-66TC
Well-Known Member
Just got off the phone with Craig... As for his comment that it looked like the valve had been moved I told him, "I had no reason to remove the valve and the paint probably came off as I was wiping the fluid off of it. Besides, it's not like you POR15 the box, it's just spray paint." He apologized multiple time and said he sent me a call tag to ship it back to him. He said from the photo it really looked like it was removed and wanted to see why it was leaking for himself and he would fix whatever is wrong, file down the worm spline and ship it back out the same day. I told him since I couldn't remove the coupler I'd send it back with the coupler attached. Like you said saforwardlook, he should have told me to send it back from the getgo! CRAP! now I have to R/R it again
- I should bill him for my labor!!
saylor
Senior Member
i think if i ever have to change this out again im gonna see about the chrome stainless ujoint steering coupler thing and skip the orange rubber square thing. just throwin that out there. we had a **** time trying to stab that coupler back onto the steering gear nub.
SF-66TC
Well-Known Member
70bigblockdodge, I installed it from the bottom before I installed the LCA and I made sure it did not hit anything. Without the LCA it was a super installation. Since I had the whole suspension installed taking it back out was not so easy as I needed to disco the tie-rods, center link, pitman arm and tortion bar.
I looked the valve assembly over and noticed there's a gap between the bottom of the valve assembly and the main casting. Appears to me this valve assembly is from another unit because there's no way it could have ever functioned w/o leaking the way it is. Bullet point #6 says, "Bench tested for LEAKS and feel" - I DON'T THINK SO!
I'm sending it back to him, but now I"m having second thoughts on whether I want it back after he's looked it over and fixed whatever's wrong. Like many originally said about the damaged worm gear, "it's unacceptable"!
I originally was going to send him the gear box with my coupler/shaft attached because I couldn't get it off. I tried to fit them together in the box it was sent in, but they wouldn't fit so I had no choice but to remove it. It was a challenge, but I eventually got it off. As I originally told Craig from the beginning... I was afraid forcing the coupler on the damaged worm splines would end up damaging the splines of my coupler. He said it wouldn't and to just tap it on. Well I did... and it took more than just a little tapping to say the least.
After I got it off I accessed the damage to my couplers splines (there was some) and tested to see how bad it was. Put it this way - when I first removed it, it slid off/on like butter.... Now, it's more like sandy butter and would require some tapping to get it fully on.
All that said I'm NOT too confident NOR comfortable with their quality of work. No quality assurance that's for sure. I only want what their brochure states... that's not too much to expect...
- I want a non-damaged worm gear
- I want parts that fit correctly
- I don't want leaks
- I want it to function as it should
SF-66TC
Well-Known Member
Alan,
REALLY!!! The valve assembly is an adjustment? How can that be... there's two screws securing the top portion and it's "stepped", so how is it movable? Are the holes elongated?
MrMoparCHP
Old Man with a Hat
The FSM has pretty good guidance on how to "center" the valve assembly. With the wheels centered, the steering wheel should remain still upon start up. If the car self steers at all, loosen the bolts on the valve and tap it one way or the other depending on how the self steering is.
There are special o-rings inside the valve called quad-rings. A cross section of one looks like an "X". Regular o-rings won't fix a leak. Been there, tried that.
I would be hard pressed to accept that steering box back even after they "repair" it. Too many failures there for me.
Hope the input helps.
John
70bigblockdodge
Old Man with a Hat
You did nothing wrong, it is not as advertised.
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