I believe all the 4x4 power steering boxes would be the same.
78-79 bronco f100 f150 f250 f350 same

80-97 bronco f150 f250 f350 same

Not really sure if other trucks fit into each category but someone else might chime in.

 

That would explain why I couldn't find any related threads on the subject. Makes me wonder why Oreilly's would have three gear boxes listed that are same brand but different part numbers though (For the '96 250-350) but only one part number for the '96 Bronco.

Thanks for the response.

 

there the same box. and there not new, there remanufactured. usually jsut with new seals. some of them you buy will have more slop in them than your current one. just buy a redhead

 

I'm well aware that they're remans and I may upgrade to a red head in the future but I think I'll just rebuild my stock one for now.

 

Just a reseal or do you have gears?

 

If you read all the things that REDHEAD does to the steering box, you might understand better why they are a bit more expensive. Personally $266 for something I most likely will never ever have to worry about again is a good investment.

Thats why I have one!

 

I went to their website and read everything before I posted this thread. They sound impressive but there was no listing (even though I know they have them) for 80-96 Ford trucks. All the other prices were in the $300-500 range so I was thinking it would be too.

 

I can't figure out where O'reilly is showing 3 different part numbers for a '96 truck. I am only seeing one result on their web site, but looking on Rock Auto I see two options. One for a power gear, and one for a manual gear.

 

My mistake, I did 97, not 96. And used power stoke as the engine in the search criteria.

 

These are the three that pulled up.




And this one which has the same part number as the Bronco.

 

You can also get a Redhead through us (Broncoair) with the option of getting it ported for future hydraulic steering assist.

 

I need to take that into consideration as well. I'm undecided if I'll go full hydro or hydro assist. That is a project that will be a couple years down the road.

 

For a hundred dollars or so more you could buy the Redhead. Like mentioned, they only swap out the seals and maybe a small bearing or two when they rebuild those. The only ones I've heard are half way decent are the Motorcraft reman units, I think they are like 190.00 plus 150.00 core on Rockauto.

 

So, it looks like there was some shuffling going on in 97... in 1996 all trucks used the same gear.

The three units are:

2-bolt cover Ford Casting
4-bolt cover Saginaw Casting HD
4-bolt cover Saginaw Casting LD

According to the descriptions from A1 it looks like the 2-bolt ford and the 4-bolt hd saginaw gears were used interchangeably in HD trucks in 1997. In 1996 and earlier trucks you could only find the 2-Bolt Ford casting.

All this implies to me that there isn't a heavier duty stock option from this generation truck.

 

Thanks for confirming that there is an actual HD unit. Im gonna go up to the store and pull the hd and stock units to check the shafts for interchangeability.
With the 97 powerstroke being the same body style, it should be a bolt it unit as long as the shafts are the same. Otherwise, could be as simple as swapping pitman arms.

 

This is what I have found out so far. A 96 Bronco, 96 F-350, and 97 F-350 Power Stroke all use the same Left Outer Drag link (tie rod) end at the pitman arm. The pitman arm as well as the HD gear box is different for the 97 Powerstroke but if sourced together, the bronco draglink will bolt up.

I also found out that the 4 bolt HD box was used in the early 99-03 Super Duty trucks and Excursions, and from personal experience, I never had any issues from the ones I owned including my 00 Excursion with 500k miles.

I have yet to find the spline count on the HD gear box with the 4 bolt cap but at this point, knowing I could swap the pitman arm with the gear box, that isn't really needed any longer. I still need to research the specs of the HD vs bronco gear box to see if there is a noticeable difference and benefit.

 

tho the bronco stopped production in 96, the 250/350 changed body style around mid-97. theres 97 f250s that are still the old body style and 97 F250 that are new body style. thats why theres 2 gearboxes for that year. also the new body 97 f250 was actually just a heavy duty F150 that had 7-lug axles. i learned this when i pulled a 10.25" Sterling axle form a new body style 97 F250 and didnt even realize it was 7-lug instead of 8-lug

with that said i still dont know if the 2 and 4 bolt gearboxes are interchangeable. if they are then im gettnig a 4 bolt readhead box soon

 

tho the bronco stopped production in 96, the 250/350 changed body style around mid-97. theres 97 f250s that are still the old body style and 97 F250 that are new body style. thats why theres 2 gearboxes for that year. also the new body 97 f250 was actually just a heavy duty F150 that had 7-lug axles. i learned this when i pulled a 10.25" Sterling axle form a new body style 97 F250 and didnt even realize it was 7-lug instead of 8-lug

with that said i still dont thin the 2 and 4 bolt gearboxes are interchangeable. if they are then im gettnig a 4 bolt readhead box soon

Ya know, I had forgotten about the 97 F-250 new body style to match the 97 F-150. Regardless of that fact though, my research has been on the 97 powerstroke and the power stroke wasn't offered in that unique 97 body style.

The 4 bolt cap may have been offered in that particular body style as well though, since it carried on into the Super Duty trucks.

And with this comment, I can finally go browse the for sale ads, YAA ME!

Edit: If I recall, that was an F-250 LD (Light Duty)

 

I was wondering what the deal was with the different boxes, I noticed that some OBS f250s had the 4 bolt top cover where most 1/2 tons had the 2 bolt. If the box comes from that body style I believe it should interchange just fine.

I'd like to know if the ratios and power assist is the same on all of the boxes or if it varies. The 97+ f150 boxes are 4 bolt but made to work with the newer IFS. The gearing is reversed so even if you could bolt it up it wont work.

 

I did notice that today at the junk yard that it was geared backwards on the 97+ F-150.

Thanks for adding to the discussion. I'm thinking I'm gonna go pull one of the 4 bolt boxes tomorrow and play around with it. I'm pretty sure I have a dropped pitman arm stashed away somewhere from one of my old superduties that should fit it.

 

according to NAPAs website there are 3 gearboxes for the 97 f250. 2 are 4 bolt and 1 is 2 bolt. they all have the same spline count and same sized output shaft so the pitman arm may interchnage. they also have the same input shaft size. the only difference between the 2 4-bolt boxes is one has less gearbox turns for quicker steering

NAPA AUTO PARTS

NAPA AUTO PARTS

NAPA AUTO PARTS

 

That would make sense, possibly difference being one was for I-beam and one was for solid axle with leafs (and a lot less turning radius)

 

Scored a nice 4 bolt HD steering box and pitman arm today out of an '01 Superduty at the JY. Gonna pop the pitman arm off and my bronco dropped pitman arm should bolt right up. Will take and post pics after I get home and start the swap.

 

01 box will probably have 36 splines so the bronco drop arm wont work

 

Something else I wanted to add. The 4 bolt boxes are saginaw and the 2 bolt are Ford. I noticed that E series vans have the 4 bolts. I'm wondering if this is the same as the power steering pump where the Vans got better components than the trucks for some reason.

 

The van I pulled my sag pump from had a 2 bolt gear box.

 

Alright gents. Got it swapped and took it for a test drive. The difference is amazing! There is zero slack in the steering wheel. Now I realize that I'm going from a worn out piece of crap to a good steering box which is probably why I notice such a difference but like I previously said, I've had numerous Superduty trucks and even an Excursion with 500k miles and the steering was still as good as the day I brought it home. This is the same box and I should never have to spend that crazy price for the Red Head. I got this one for $50.

As you look at the pics, please be aware that I'm also doing the Saginaw conversion too but haven't got the bracket yet so the return hose situation is just kinda "in there", lol. Once I get my new cooler plumbed in and the Sag swap done, the hoses will be placed as they should be.

Just got the 4 bolt home.


Cleaned it up and threw a couple coats of paint on it.


While the paint was drying, I started tearing out the stock junk. Bolts are identical.
Left is stock, Right is Superduty.


Side by Side


All bolted in. This is where an extra set of hands would have been nice. The box is rather heavy and it was a chore lining up the bolt holes with one hand and trying to thread the bolts with the other.






For some reason my pics are missing of the hoses but I'll take some more in the morning. The hoses have different fittings at the gearbox than the stock one. These have o-ring seals. The pump end of the hose is the same. I actually stripped the threads and had to run get a new hose from Oreilly's. The Superduty hose is longer than the stock one which was nice. I didn't have to bend the fittings or anything to get it to line up.

 

This is great info. Just to confirm, you used the steering gear from a 2001 SuperDuty truck?

I'll have to see if there's one in the yard tomorrow.

 

Correct. You can pull one from any 7.3 (front leaf sprung) Superduty/Excursion. Grab the lines with it if you can even if they are bad so you have a reference for the types of ends at the gearbox you need. The connection at the pump is the same as stock.

 

Actually if the truck I have in mind is still at the yard, I already have the hydraulic lines because I took the hydroboost and master cylinder off it a few weeks ago :rofl:

 

Here are the hose pics. This is the replacement Superduty high pressure hose. (Oreilly's Brand, maybe others)


Stock hose vs Superduty hose.


The difference in hose ends. Stock = No O-ring at gearbox. Superduty = O-ring at gearbox.
Stock


Superduty


Pump side of the hoses are the same. The Superduty hose is taller and has more wrench area but threads are the same and the replacement hose will look more like stock. The o-ring is missing off the stock hose in the pic because I swapped it to the Superduty hose that was missing it's o-ring.

Note: The Superduty threads look bigger in the pic but they were just closer to the camera.


It's kinda hard to see in the pics, but with the Superduty hose being much longer than the stock one, it really helped with the installation and not needing to bend any lines to make it fit. I routed it straight back on top of the frame rail and made a u-turn underneath the steering shaft and back to the pump.
This is the only way you can keep it from trying to rest against the steering shaft.


Another view.


The return line will be super simple and hopefully I can get a cooler today and finish it up. You will need the o-ring style that goes with the new pump. I don't have any pics because I already had it on. All you need is about 10" of the factory line.

Take your favorite cutting tool (I used my tubing cutter) and cut the factory tubing right in front of the factory crimp where it turns into rubber. You will be left with the factory gearbox connection and about 6" of tubing. Get some 5/16" rubber hose and connect the hose between the new tube and the return port of the pump. You should have a cooler in between though. I am gonna run an aftermarket cooler because I need to remove the factory cooler and trim the crossmember up due to my SAS.

 

Getting the pressure side hose correct for the new gear box to the Saginaw conversion has been a chore but I finally got it worked out. In some other threads here on FSB, there was a NAPA adapter fitting mentioned that would have made life so much simpler but after a visit to the local NAPA, I found out that part is obsolete and couldn't find an alternative anywhere so this is what I did.

I had a high pressure hose made at my local hose making shop.

2' long 3/8" hose with a -6 AN Female fitting on one end and a -6 AN Male fitting on the other.

Ordered from Jegs:
1) Male 16mm x 1.5 O-ring seal to -6 AN Male adapter fitting. (Fits the Saginaw pump)
1) Male 1/2 x 20 O-ring seal to -6 AN Male adapter fitting. (Fits the Superduty gearbox)
1) 90 degree Female -6 AN to Female -6 AN fitting. ( To turn the hose out of the gearbox)

I'll follow up once all the parts get here.

 

I don't doubt one bit that RedHead is a quality product. I'm sure it is an excellent product. Just from my own experience with all the Superduty's I've owned, I know first hand that their gearboxes are far better than the ones offered in the OBS trucks which led to my research on wether they would fit and finding that they did in fact fit, do the swap. Now I have a quality gearbox that turns my 36's with ease and will do the same with the D60 I'm gonna swap in...without the need for hydro assist. And my gearbox cost $50 and should last the life of the bronco.

 

Did you get this swap finished? How is it performing?

The gear box I went to pull at my local yard ended up being a 2-bolter on a 99 Super Duty so I left it there. Waiting for the yard to get another truck that might have what I need.

 

also like ot know. im bout to go ahead and do this on both my trucks. but im gonna get a reman one so i dont worry bout it leaking as much

 

Hey guys, sorry I haven't followed up. Yes I did finally get it all finished last week. I had to order some fittings from Jegs and was waiting on them.

Then, after I got it all together, I blew a head gasket because I also did away with the factory heat exchanger at the same time I did the power steering upgrades and Oreilly's sold me the wrong lower coolant hose. Long story short, I plugged the heat exchanger hoses with bolts and shot one out and lost all my coolant and overheated before I realized what was happening.

Just got it all back together yesterday so haven't had time to post anything.

Back on topic now, the swap is amazing. I will gather my notes on fittings and hoses along with pictures and get them posted asap.

 

Here is the parts I used to finish this install. I also got a transmission cooler and in-line filter to complete the swap.

Saginaw and Superduty 4 bolt gear box conversion.

Parts needed from Jegs
# 799-648060 Male -6AN x Male 16mm 1.5 o-ring seal adapter

# 799-648010 Male -6AN x Male 1/2-20 o-ring seal adapter

# 361-935106 FTG Female to Female -6AN 90 degree coupler

Ordered 2' high pressure hose from local hose maker that is Female -6AN on one end and Male -6AN on other side.