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Non-pwr steering box, educate me

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Ok, so I've been told my steering box is rooted. I have never had to deal with steering boxes so I know diddly about them.

Do I need a xf specific one?

If I find a second hand one, how do I tell if it's any good?

Are they rebuild able?

 

I do not want to convert to power steer.

What are they worth?

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Firstly, have you tried adjusting it?

Nut and screw on top, tightens them up a bit.

Don't tighten it too much or the wheel won't return to centre itself.

 

They should be the same XD-XF, some earlier ones had a different ratio too.

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Firstly, have you tried adjusting it? Nut and screw on top, tightens them up a bit.Don't tighten it too much or the wheel won't return to centre itself.They should be the same XD-XF, some earlier ones had a different ratio too.

Yeah the mechanic tried tightening it, it apparently improved it a bit but still not great.

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Not much to the non-power steering boxes.

They're pretty easy to adjust, but time consuming to get right.

 

Depends where the wear is - ie, definitely in the box, or steering column rag joint, or the pitman arm, or idler arm, or tierod ends etc.

Or a combination of the above things.

 

Or the mechanic has forgotten how these things steer from factory.

:P

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It had the control arms fitted today, obviously wheel alignment is well out. It's booked into fulcrum tomorrow night for them to try and get the alignment as good as possible and give me a heads up on what's going on.

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The problem with adjusting a worn out box is that most of the sector wear occurs at centre, so you go taking up that slack and it binds or even locks up when the sector gear goes into a less worn area, ie when winding on more steering.

 

Not sure how many places still reco them but I'm sure somebody does. They'd re-cut the gear teeth and harden them, replace worm ball race, bearings and seals. Probably a couple of hundred bucks.

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On eBay at an exchange basis http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/360169060716Pretty sure Repco could also do an exchange one, my store were able to do one for a P/S box.

Bloody legend...

 

Considering the only one I've been offered the dude wanted $150 and it came out of wreck years ago and is in unknown condition I reckon that reman' one looks like a bargain.

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Be surprised how little is done, to 'remanufacture' them.

 

Usually just sift through their box of steering parts to find the least worn components bolt everything together - chuck a seal kit through it,

bit of black paint, and she's out the door.

:P

 

My advice would be to either re-kit your own steering box, or spend some time adjusting it.

X-series boxes need adjusting every 50-100,000km or so.

:)

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I bought a xd manual box from a wreckers in redcliffe few months back.. $150 i think it was..

 

All bolted up fine ... easy as to change over, unless you have extractors where they shouldnt be :P and had to pull the spline from the coloumn down but thats because it was powersteer before.

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I bought a xd manual box from a wreckers in redcliffe few months back.. $150 i think it was..

 

All bolted up fine ... easy as to change over, unless you have extractors where they shouldnt be :P and had to pull the spline from the coloumn down but thats because it was powersteer before.

Engine conversion is still a way off so no extractors in the way just yet lol.

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xe and xd are better than xf

 

pitman arm is 50% of the play

Xe and xd what are better than xf? If steering box aren't they all the same?

 

 

 

 

Aaaand, now have a recon unit in my pano, what a difference! Still need to get wheel alignment done but it actually points where I aim it now, and doesn't wander half a lane on the motorway anymore.

Just gotta drop the rear down,,roll,the guards and get wheel alignment done and thats the suspension done for a while.

Interior next.

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no, the XF steering box has a bing "sneeze factor" right in the middle and it's way over assisted 

 

I also thought the boxes are all the same internally.

I'll ask old Gaz.

He used to work at KirbyBishop/TRW/Reliable Rack and Pinion - where these things were made.

 

I always thought the assistance level, would be governed by the pressure valve, in the back of the power steering pump,

behind the high pressure line output.

 

XD's and early XE's, ran the C2 pump from factory also.

Those may have offered less hydraulic assistance?

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no, the XF steering box has a bing "sneeze factor" right in the middle and it's way over assisted

 

I have no idea what you mean by 'sneeze factor' lol, as for over assisted this thread is about manual steering boxes, not power steer.

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So does anyone know if these boxes are the same as mustang ones?

 

Was on eBay the other night and I found a few places that sell brand new (not recon') 16:1 boxes for about half the price of a recon unit here.

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He used to work at KirbyBishop/TRW/Reliable Rack and Pinion - where these things were made.

 

 

Reliable Rack and Pinion made the boxes?

That's interesting, because I looked into them to source a new boxes for both my XFs, and they can't help as they no longer have the tooling for them, power or manual.

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So does anyone know if these boxes are the same as mustang ones?

 

 

Was on eBay the other night and I found a few places that sell brand new (not recon') 16:1 boxes for about half the price of a recon unit here.

If they're LHD then I'd say no, everything would be mirror-reverse, ie pitman arm would kink in the opposite direction, mounting bolt flanges machined on the opposite side, etc.

 

That was the good thing about RHD conversions with Stangs, they used Falcon bits.

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If they're LHD then I'd say no, everything would be mirror-reverse, ie pitman arm would kink in the opposite direction, mounting bolt flanges machined on the opposite side, etc.

That was the good thing about RHD conversions with Stangs, they used Falcon bits.

Duh. I never even thought about lhd. Yeah, they will be a no go.

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Reliable Rack and Pinion made the boxes?

That's interesting, because I looked into them to source a new boxes for both my XFs, and they can't help as they no longer have the tooling for them, power or manual.

 

I believe all or some of it ended up at Newcom Industries.

Maybe enquire with them?

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3 hours ago, CHESTNUTXE said:

how hard is it to tap the p/s colum down to fit non p/s like does the colom need to come out ? or can it be done still bolted to the car ?

if you remove the plate thing from the inside (with the self tapper screws) you can tap it down using some wood and a hammer..
i did mine from in the engine bay and scratched the paint by just levering it with a crow bar .. 

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