Joined: Mon Jun 18 2007, 10:33PM
Location: St. Charles, MO
Posts: 27
Mine is leaking on the 67 300. Priced a seal kit (@$35) but my Advanced Auto Parts guy mentioned a completely rebuilt box is $110 with core. Has anyone used these rebuilt boxes? Finally, are there any better years to get than what came on my 67 300? Thanks!
Joined: Mon Oct 10 2005, 09:48PM
Location: Calgary Alberta Canada
Posts: 305
I did get a rebuild from NAPA and... I guess was fairly luckily as it was not too loose of a box. Some of the rebuilds are junk. They seal well but are basically worn out inside. For $100 it is worth your time to get one, install it, but keep the old one till you are satisfied.
SteveH wrote ... I did get a rebuild from NAPA and... I guess was fairly luckily as it was not too loose of a box. Some of the rebuilds are junk. They seal well but are basically worn out inside. For $100 it is worth your time to get one, install it, but keep the old one till you are satisfied.
It went in my 67 300!!! Same are yours
Steve
Why or how could a rebuilt steering gear bought from a reputable parts outlet be "basically worn out inside"?
Joined: Fri Dec 22 2006, 08:41PM
Location: Warrenton, Virginia
Posts: 1366
Well, I've just gone thru quite an ADVENTURE with steering boxes. I'm on my 4th box now!!! And I'm finally satisfied with it.
When I got the car, it was scary to drive at any speed over 50 mph. Basically the front end was worn out. I had the following repairs done (round 1): New upper and lower control arm bushings, new idler arm, new (cheap) shocks, Steer & Gear remanufactured steering box.
Result: Car was Much better, at least it wasn't totally scary to drive. But I wasn't satisfied....AND the steering box had too much play (over 1 1/2")!!!
Round 2: New Just Suspension torsion bars, Firm Feel front sway bar, new jounce bumpers and new steering coupler and steering support bearings.
Result: Pretty decent handling while still maintaining a good ride. Finally decent high speed stability. Shake and free play in the steering column gone.......still......too much play on center!!
Round 3: Decided to bite the bullet....get ANOTHER steering box...we got it from Steer and Gear because my mechanic has an account from them and because we thought we'd get some compensation for their "faulty" box (we didn't). We got the power steering pump rebuilt, installed Just Suspension heavy duty tie rod ends, upper and lower ball joints (WORN OUT!!!!!!!!!) and heavy duty strut rods and bushings.
Result: Decent handling BUT although the steering box had a "firmer feel" it still had THE SAME 1 1/2 " play on center.
Now, the steering box was becoming an ANNOYance! After all the suspension mods, the car was vastly improved and felt capable....but the play in the steering was keeping me from enjoying the car...SOOOOOO
Round 4: Even though my mechanic was thinking I was really wasting money, I decided I'd give Firm Feel a try (they make blueprinted steering boxes too). Their box is about $100 more expensive than Steer & Gears and they are on the other side of the country from me.....so more expensive shipping and longer wait time.
It WAS WORTH it!!!!!! Replace the steering box with a Firm Feel Stage 2 box and replaced the pitman and idler arms with their pieces. There us virtually no play in the steering now and I can finally enjoy my handling and suspension mods!!
MY ADVICE:::Go directly to Firm Feel, by-pass rebuilding it yourself, NAPA and Steer and Gear.........
I bought my reman steering box from a local parts outlet (Car Quest) installed it in the Fury and everything was good. One hour and I was good to go. !thumb
Joined: Mon Feb 13 2006, 12:39AM
Location: Fresno, CA
Posts: 516
I bought a '67 PS box off EBay and had it sent directly to Firm Feel for the Stage 1 upgrade, one of the best things I did for "Chaz", since it had a leaky box.
That said, I have read that most of the rebuilt units are "upgraded" to eliminate the sloppy/no feel steering these cars were originally built with.
Joined: Mon Jun 26 2006, 11:31PM
Location: Newtown, PA
Posts: 239
Definitely hold on to the original if you go new. I bought one from RockAuto, who I always have good luck with. I know everything was put back together right, but the steering wheel is off by about 60 degrees to the right. The car drives straight and the steering feels good, but I think there might be a few choices of boxes, and I may not have gotten the exact right one. An old timer mechanic friend told me it might just be an alignment issue, and an alignment shop might be able to straighten it from this position, but I have not done it yet. Looking back, I would have done a rebuild of the original. Dave
Joined: Mon Jun 18 2007, 10:33PM
Location: St. Charles, MO
Posts: 27
MoeParson wrote ... ...it had a leaky box.
That said, I have read that most of the rebuilt units are "upgraded" to eliminate the sloppy/no feel steering these cars were originally built with.
That is what I was wondering. I've rebuilt a couple of steering boxes before and willing to do this one, but are the reman'd boxes "upgraded" to eliminate the "no feel steering"? If so, does anyone know of any "tricks" or upgrades we can make to our original box during a rebuild? Thanks!
I have a rebuilt box from Advance in my Fury also. I am very happy with it! I was leery, they were $100 in 2004. Figured if I didn't like it, I would put it in my other Fury which needed one and call Firm Feel. It is still in place and no plans to replace it.
As for road feel, not much you can do. The stiffer boxes are just that, harder to turn, no change in ratio. Is the rest of the suspension up to snuff? Worn out, these things wallow all over. Get everything in shape, and it can be an amazing improvement, even with stock spec parts. Upgrade the shocks, springs, torsion bars, sway bar and wheels/tires and you can have a nice slot car! I have ran my Fury at over 100 mph on the Kansas Speedway NASCAR track with the rebuilt box and no problems keeping it where I wanted it!
Joined: Mon Jun 18 2007, 10:33PM
Location: St. Charles, MO
Posts: 27
Sounds like I will just rebuild my current unit. No slop in it, just leaking badly. Upper ball joints are new along with KYB shocks. That leaves the lower control arm bushings this Spring along with the ungraded torsion bars and should be in good shape.