Power steering leak location? Which part should be replaced?

[Kingralph88]

Power steering leaking from Gear box I believe?

I pretty consistent leak coming from the gear box on the power steering side would you guys recommend pulling the box out and starting with a new one?

Just making sure I’m replacing what needs to be replaced!

 

[IDIBRONCO]

My opinion is that it depends on how worn your box is. If it's almost wore out (there's little or no adjustment left) I would recommend replacing it. People have had good luck with resealing them so that is an option. I feel that it's a lot of work to reseal it just to have to replace it in a few more months because it's wore out.

 

[Clb]

Sorry up front to the op
Ummm
The leaky one?
Start with is everything tight.
Then check the hose @ crimp fittings and clamps.
Then you go from there.
I'm not a fan of chineezium replacement parts, so try and salvege/reseal oem.


Incidental antidote
My crawler started to sweat @ THE ifs box this fall.
Then it started to drip like yours, kept blaming the reman box, got in there and detailed the snott outta it and kept an eagle eye on it that next trip.
Lo and behold.....














That old factory hose that looked cherry was the culprit.

 

[Kizer]

If the hoses look relatively new, you might check that "O" rings aren't double stacked.

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I'm not a fan of chineezium replacement parts, so try and salvege/reseal oem.

Me neither. That's why I only want to use Red Heads or Blue Tops these days. I have had pretty good luck with parts store replacements in the past, but I don't want to run the risk anymore. "The past" was over 10 years ago too. Makes a difference.

 

[The_Josh_Bear]

Me neither. That's why I only want to use Red Heads or Blue Tops these days. I have had pretty food luck with parts store replacements in the past, but I don't want to run the risk anymore. "The past" was over 10 years ago too. Makes a difference.

I've have a RedHead steering gear from ~8 years ago. Works great!

 

[KansasIDI]

I have heard, not experienced, that the quality of the RedHead gearboxes has faltered since COVID. That would be worth looking into to confirm, as I’m not certain that it’s entirely true.

By my understanding, Blue Top is just about the best option. I have driven a 2004 F350 (gas) with new tie rods, ball joints, steering shaft, and a Blue Top box. I was pleasantly surprised at exactly how well it drove.

I would think a Borgeson shaft and Blue Top box would be an excellent combination.

 

[Kingralph88]

I will take a good look at hoses, but pretty confident right where the shaft meets the gear box she’s leaking, I seen some drips coming while the truck was running with a trusty flash light!

 

[Brian VT]

I have heard, not experienced, that the quality of the RedHead gearboxes has faltered since COVID. That would be worth looking into to confirm, as I’m not certain that it’s entirely true.

By my understanding, Blue Top is just about the best option.

I bought a RedHead about a year ago and had it installed. It has had a slight drip since day one. I have to add fluid every few weeks. I wish I knew about BlueHead when buying.

 

[Rocknit4x4]

I got a bluetop about 1.5 years ago, no issues, no complaints

 

[Kingralph88]

Anyone in Colorado that would be up for this job, swapping gearbox for a new redhead or similar quality? I am slammed with work & it might take 6x longer for me to do the swap than someone who knows what they’re doing!

 

[franklin2]

Getting the pitman arm off can be a real hassle, even with the correct puller.

I have heard when they made the original boxes, the housing was machined for the pitman arm shaft, and no bushings were used. So when it wears, there is no replacing bushings to repair it. I think the redhead and bluetop people machine this area for replacement bearings to repair it, thus the higher cost.

What is little known to most people, Ford used the same exact steering box in the little ranger and bronco II trucks. These steering boxes lead a much better life guiding these little trucks around, compared to guiding a f250/350 with a diesel engine in it. Just in case you were thinking about getting a used box, you could get one from one of these lighter vehicles.

 

[Kingralph88]

That’s interesting, I do not have a puller but I will need to purchase one for the removal, would you recommend purchasing a new pitman arm or re-use the same one?

My local junkyard is huge and has so many old fords to pick from, I’ll pick one up!

 

[IDIBRONCO]

I've reused pitman arms in the past. I don't see anything to wear out on them unless there's serious wear on the link that connects to it. Of course if you're planning to put a suspension lift on your truck, then you'd want a dropped pitman arm.

 

[franklin2]

Would you be lucky and get one off a older ranger, and the ranger pitman would work on the larger truck? That would be nice and you would not have to take it off. Like the previous poster said, nothing much to go wrong with a well used pitman arm. I know the box is the same but not sure on the pitman arms.