F350 steering box upgrade

[Daniel McCurdy]

I seen the super duty steering box is considered an upgrade. What exactly is better about them do they provide more steering angle. What years work the best. To install them it looks like all that needs to be done is 3 holes drilled out and it bolts right on. Or should I just stick with a factory box.

 

[aggiediesel01]

I don’t think they provide more angle. Swapping to a D60 will be tighter radius than the D50 but that’s in the knuckle stops. If you want to tighten your your steering slop, I would first suggest checking how worn out your steering shaft is. Not many people pay attention to the fit of the upper and lower shaft but there’s a nylon bushing in there that gets compressed/wears out out over time and is a major contributor to steering slop. If that doesn’t bring it up to your liking, the second best option is the redhead box.
Swapping to a later box may get it tighter but I think the lines are now metric thread which means retrofit line ends or custom lines. Unless it’s part of a complete swap to the ‘99 and newer hydro boost and pump I don’t think it will get you much less headache.

 

[Daniel McCurdy]

From the steering wheel to the steering box there is zero play surprisingly it's all in the box. My truck is actually only 2wd. I was wanting to get rid of the slop plus I think the has power steering leak I have is somewhere around the box. So I figured if I'm going to go through the trouble of fixing it might as well do any upgrades that are there as well.

 

[Daniel McCurdy]

I was thinking about swapping in a hydroboost just don't know if it's worth the extra time and money over just getting a new vacuum booster

 

[chillman88]

I was thinking about swapping in a hydroboost just don't know if it's worth the extra time and money over just getting a new vacuum booster

I much prefer it, but I tow. I don't know that it would necessarily be worth the cost if you're usually running around empty. A new vacuum booster is a good bit cheaper.

 

[kuskoal]

so the OBS boxes are pretty generic, going from rangers to the f350, 2wd and 4x4. The difference is the pitman arm. a d50 and d60 pitman arms are different, the d60 arm is long.

with that said, the +05 box and arm is an EASY swap, and i gained SO much more angle than the old leaf sprung d60.

I went further and modified/put in an f450 05+ pitman on my box, to compliment my f450 front axle swap, and WOW that 45* steering is NICE

 

[Rusgo]

I much prefer it, but I tow. I don't know that it would necessarily be worth the cost if you're usually running around empty. A new vacuum booster is a good bit cheaper.

Yeah brake feel consistent every time. Pedal feels linear. Usually get three good power stops with gas reservoir after engine off.

Drove a friends newer f250 with vacuum boost recently. Felt mushy and inconsistent. Don't think will ever have another rig without it

 

[Daniel McCurdy]

I found something interesting on oriely auto parts website. When looking at gearboxes for my 93 f350 they have a manual gearbox. Lares Corp manual geabox. It says it fits my year truck anybody know anything about them. It says 6.5 turns lock to lock so it sounds like it's got enough gear ratio to turn easy. Lares 11256 is the part number.

 

[Daniel McCurdy]

I think it would be cool to get rid of the power steering entirely. I could also always add an extension to the steering wheel to make it even easier to turn. I'm a big fan of simplicity and this is very simple.

 

[chillman88]

I think it would be cool to get rid of the power steering entirely. I could also always add an extension to the steering wheel to make it even easier to turn. I'm a big fan of simplicity and this is very simple.

I assure you you would regret it. Take the belt off the pump for a couple hours and let us know if you still feel that way

FYI I'm running a Lares box on mine. Nothing special. Redhead or Blue top if you're planning on keeping the truck. I heard rumors Blue top is a spinoff, someone at redhead didn't like the way things were going and started their own. Not sure if it's true, but it's what I heard.

 

[Daniel McCurdy]

Well what I was thinking is that the lares box should be much lower geared than the factory power steering box so it should be a lot easier to turn but I dont know what the ratio is. If it it lower geared I could also bolt some kind of extention to the steering wheel increasing the diameter making it easier to turn

 

[Daniel McCurdy]

If the gear ratio is the same then yea i would stick with the oe box.

 

[chillman88]

Yeah I missed the part about it being a manual gearbox, sorry.

 

[Daniel McCurdy]

The manual box takes 6.25-6.5 turns lock to lock so the ratio should be like 26:1 while the factory is like 16:1 so I imagine it would be a lot easier to turn compared to the original with the pump off.

 

[Old Goat]

The manual box takes 6.25-6.5 turns lock to lock so the ratio should be like 26:1 while the factory is like 16:1 so I imagine it would be a lot easier to turn compared to the original with the pump off.

A manual box is great, till you are stopped and trying to turn the wheel. Or parking in a tight spot.
You need to be rolling to make it easier to turn the wheel.

years ago I was driving mt 67 International Harvester 1500B 1 1/2 ton truck on a gravel rutted road. Wasn`t holding the wheel real tight, and the tire caught the edge of the dirt and whipped the wheel out of my hand. I was actually a long driveway that wasn`t maintained.
Power steering would have prevented that.

Having a flat or sudden loss of air pressure, power steering can give you that safety edge
to stay in somewhat control.

Goat