My steering box leaks like crazy! I've never changed/rebuilt one before. Are they tough to remove or install? Is it worth a rebuild or buy a new one?
NC500
My suggestion, you have just purchased this car and have lots of questions, naturally.
Get the 1966 Ford and Mercury Shop manual, they have them on ebay very cheaply. I prefer the printed copy, but it comes on CD also.
Read about steering boxes in Section 3, which talks about suspension and steering. You will need to apply if you have power steering or manual steering to the equation.
The procedure is spelled out- and some google searches of this forum have the info you are looking for. Most everything you are asking you can find the answers for here by some searches that you can do.
I only say this to help- showing you have done some basic research on the subject first is going to keep what I consider our higher level people here engaged in helping you. Asking too many questions without showing your digging into the process a bit more is going to not get you the types of people involved here you want.
And, to show that I am on your side here, I had a similar issue. Power steering box was leaking bad. Figure shaft seal, etc. Read about it in the afore shop manual, read about it here, it is a pain in the butt to take out.
But, I got lucky. The top cap 3 bolts were loose, I simply tightened them and 95% of my leak went away. I was so far in the weeds about thinking to remove the box, that I didn't do the basics first.
Get the 1966 Ford and Mercury Shop manual, they have them on ebay very cheaply. I prefer the printed copy, but it comes on CD also.
1966 Ford Mercury Shop Service Manual | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1966 Ford Mercury Shop Service Manual at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
Read about steering boxes in Section 3, which talks about suspension and steering. You will need to apply if you have power steering or manual steering to the equation.
The procedure is spelled out- and some google searches of this forum have the info you are looking for. Most everything you are asking you can find the answers for here by some searches that you can do.
I only say this to help- showing you have done some basic research on the subject first is going to keep what I consider our higher level people here engaged in helping you. Asking too many questions without showing your digging into the process a bit more is going to not get you the types of people involved here you want.
And, to show that I am on your side here, I had a similar issue. Power steering box was leaking bad. Figure shaft seal, etc. Read about it in the afore shop manual, read about it here, it is a pain in the butt to take out.
But, I got lucky. The top cap 3 bolts were loose, I simply tightened them and 95% of my leak went away. I was so far in the weeds about thinking to remove the box, that I didn't do the basics first.
Point taken. Ill order a manual today. Some of my confusion comes from google searches that get me close to what I am looking for such as changing or repairing the steering for a 63 Galaxie or a 60's mustang, I found a lot of that. Ill get the book and see what I can figure out. Thanks!My suggestion, you have just purchased this car and have lots of questions, naturally.
Get the 1966 Ford and Mercury Shop manual, they have them on ebay very cheaply. I prefer the printed copy, but it comes on CD also.
1966 Ford Mercury Shop Service Manual | eBay
Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for 1966 Ford Mercury Shop Service Manual at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!www.ebay.com
Read about steering boxes in Section 3, which talks about suspension and steering. You will need to apply if you have power steering or manual steering to the equation.
The procedure is spelled out- and some google searches of this forum have the info you are looking for. Most everything you are asking you can find the answers for here by some searches that you can do.
I only say this to help- showing you have done some basic research on the subject first is going to keep what I consider our higher level people here engaged in helping you. Asking too many questions without showing your digging into the process a bit more is going to not get you the types of people involved here you want.
And, to show that I am on your side here, I had a similar issue. Power steering box was leaking bad. Figure shaft seal, etc. Read about it in the afore shop manual, read about it here, it is a pain in the butt to take out.
But, I got lucky. The top cap 3 bolts were loose, I simply tightened them and 95% of my leak went away. I was so far in the weeds about thinking to remove the box, that I didn't do the basics first.
Here is a search I did here on "steering box"
It may give you some info
www.fordmuscleforums.com
It may give you some info
Search results for query: steering box
www.fordmuscleforums.com
Hello NC500,
What year is your full size Ford and is it manual or power steering? That information can help us help you better.
Cheers
What year is your full size Ford and is it manual or power steering? That information can help us help you better.
Cheers
Hello NC500,
I just looked at your other post and noticed you have a 1966 with a 352. Assuming you have power steering and not manual, if you want to see what's involved and what you'll need feel free to have a look here if you have a Ford steering gear. According to the factory service manual a Saginaw power steering gear was also a possibility.
1966 galaxie 500XL Refurbishment
Hope this helps determine if you want to rebuild your old original OEM one or buy an aftermarket one.
Cheers
I just looked at your other post and noticed you have a 1966 with a 352. Assuming you have power steering and not manual, if you want to see what's involved and what you'll need feel free to have a look here if you have a Ford steering gear. According to the factory service manual a Saginaw power steering gear was also a possibility.
1966 galaxie 500XL Refurbishment
Hope this helps determine if you want to rebuild your old original OEM one or buy an aftermarket one.
Cheers
NC500,
I have a '66 Galaxie with a leaking Ford steering box. I saw three options:
1) Follow DesertXL's most excellent rebuild tutorial. This requires an inexpensive rebuild kit, a bushing, which I found OEM on Ebay for $12ish and a "torque tool" that she had the expertise to fabricate. My service manual says the box is 17:1.
2) Rebuild - Red Hat Steering (Auburn, WA) part number 17504-2F, price on this gear is $316 + $200 core charge + S&H + tax (15:1)
3) Borgeson 800128 $386 no core charge (from Summit). Have to purchase a rag joint and PS hoses to mate to Ford PS pump. They claim "Total box turns will be +/- 3. 5 with 1.75 turns from full lock to center". (14:1).
I went with 3). The box and rag joint has mounted with minimal difficulty. I unbolted the idler and pulled the pitman arm with the steering centered. (rented a puller from Autozone). The pitman arm has 4 flats at 90 degree, so not much choice how you match up. My steering wheel ended up off center. The turn signal mechanism doesn't seem to care. I easily pulled horn ring by pushing in and turning CCW. I'm hoping a 2 bolt puller and re-land will remedy this. I think the other proper thing to do is loosen the steering column and pull it back a bit as the rag joint looks slightly cramped.
This is as far as I've gotten, so I can't say it was a good decision. I'm a novice, so keep that in mind. Also, I was able to do this while the engine and tranny were out.
This box ~2 3/4 turns lock to lock.
![Image]()
![Image]()
I have a '66 Galaxie with a leaking Ford steering box. I saw three options:
1) Follow DesertXL's most excellent rebuild tutorial. This requires an inexpensive rebuild kit, a bushing, which I found OEM on Ebay for $12ish and a "torque tool" that she had the expertise to fabricate. My service manual says the box is 17:1.
2) Rebuild - Red Hat Steering (Auburn, WA) part number 17504-2F, price on this gear is $316 + $200 core charge + S&H + tax (15:1)
3) Borgeson 800128 $386 no core charge (from Summit). Have to purchase a rag joint and PS hoses to mate to Ford PS pump. They claim "Total box turns will be +/- 3. 5 with 1.75 turns from full lock to center". (14:1).
I went with 3). The box and rag joint has mounted with minimal difficulty. I unbolted the idler and pulled the pitman arm with the steering centered. (rented a puller from Autozone). The pitman arm has 4 flats at 90 degree, so not much choice how you match up. My steering wheel ended up off center. The turn signal mechanism doesn't seem to care. I easily pulled horn ring by pushing in and turning CCW. I'm hoping a 2 bolt puller and re-land will remedy this. I think the other proper thing to do is loosen the steering column and pull it back a bit as the rag joint looks slightly cramped.
This is as far as I've gotten, so I can't say it was a good decision. I'm a novice, so keep that in mind. Also, I was able to do this while the engine and tranny were out.
This box ~2 3/4 turns lock to lock.
It's true, the steering wheel is off nearly 90 degrees. But from this "wheels centered" position, I have very close to 1.4 turns to either lock. My thinking is I will re-position the steering wheel once she's back together with a front end alignment.
I'm not an expert but I think you need to make sure that when the tires are straight ahead, that the steering box is also in the midpoint of its travel. Not sure how to adjust that or if it's possible. But once that is done, then the steering wheel can be put on straight.
Pat
Pat
Pat, I agree...and again I am novice here so I don't want to report out with any authority, only my humble experience. I believe I'm at the mercy of Mr. Borgeson and my 50 year old steering linkage, as the pitman arm mounts to the steering box in only one orientation. Eye balling it and with the front end off the ground, it seems like I have ~20 degrees more steering wheel travel to the left than right from center. This feels acceptable to me. But I'm hoping an allignment with center in mind followed by a reposition of the steering wheel will make everything right as rain. Mike
The steering shaft at the nut where the steering wheel bolts on should have a mark to show where center is.
It's basically just a chiseled mark in the top of the shaft.
That mark needs to be aligned with the steering box "center" of it's travel.
Steering boxes have a very definite "center" position.
It's sometimes called a "high spot" where it has increased torque to turn either direction past that high spot.
It's important to get it all centered.
With the steering shaft aligned with the box in the center position,
the pitman arm can then be installed in it's center position and the wheels should be "more or less" pointing straight ahead.
Final centering of the wheels is done by adjusting the tie rod ends while the steering shaft (and box) are held in their correct center position.
If you can't get it all centered, the car won't drive/steer properly.
It's basically just a chiseled mark in the top of the shaft.
That mark needs to be aligned with the steering box "center" of it's travel.
Steering boxes have a very definite "center" position.
It's sometimes called a "high spot" where it has increased torque to turn either direction past that high spot.
It's important to get it all centered.
With the steering shaft aligned with the box in the center position,
the pitman arm can then be installed in it's center position and the wheels should be "more or less" pointing straight ahead.
Final centering of the wheels is done by adjusting the tie rod ends while the steering shaft (and box) are held in their correct center position.
If you can't get it all centered, the car won't drive/steer properly.
289Galaxie, mine as found with Ford box was past 1 o'clock and horn ring was pretty much aligned going down the road straight.
NC500, I apologize for hijacking your thread. You were looking potentially for a seal replacement!
But, after reading galaxiex's reply, I took things back apart to assess. I re-centered the box with pitman removed. The flats on the box input shaft are horizontal when centered. Borgeson instructions state "At the center position the metal rag joint flange attached to the gearbox will be vertical." This is not possible as the rag joint flats are 90 out if i want to align with column center mark. Also, at this centered position, wheels are to the left a bit. I believe there is sufficient tie rod adjustment to correct. When turned by hand, the box has more resistance about the center position. I will contact Borgeson Monday and discuss.
![Image]()
![Image]()
NC500, I apologize for hijacking your thread. You were looking potentially for a seal replacement!
But, after reading galaxiex's reply, I took things back apart to assess. I re-centered the box with pitman removed. The flats on the box input shaft are horizontal when centered. Borgeson instructions state "At the center position the metal rag joint flange attached to the gearbox will be vertical." This is not possible as the rag joint flats are 90 out if i want to align with column center mark. Also, at this centered position, wheels are to the left a bit. I believe there is sufficient tie rod adjustment to correct. When turned by hand, the box has more resistance about the center position. I will contact Borgeson Monday and discuss.
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