Power Steering box recommendation

[furyus2]

I have the firm feel box on one car, and Borgeson on another. The firm feel is nice, but I wish I had bought the stage 2, instead of stage 3. Best thing is that it doesn't require a special pump.
The Borgeson is good too, but you need the higher output pump, and and the coupler, and the fitting for the box. If you go with Borgeson, get the larger fitting, and use a power steering hose for a 1969 v8 Dart.

 

[abodyjoe]

I have the firm feel box on one car, and Borgeson on another. The firm feel is nice, but I wish I had bought the stage 2, instead of stage 3. Best thing is that it doesn't require a special pump.
The Borgeson is good too, but you need the higher output pump, and and the coupler, and the fitting for the box. If you go with Borgeson, get the larger fitting, and use a power steering hose for a 1969 v8 Dart.

its not really a "special" pump. just a saginaw pump that was standard on 73-up mopars i think it was.

you are the first that i've seen that wished they went with a lowere firm feel.. everyone i know that has/had a stage 2 wished they went stage three..lol

 

[Duster360LA]

I put the Borgeson unit in my 74 Duster when I ran into trouble with my rebuilt PS unit. I have a Flaming River Steering column and had to re-do the shaft and coupler (bit of a pain), but am very happy with the steering. It is pricey, though.
The kit looks pretty complete, but you will need to set up a cooling system for the Borgeson box (the tech guys were adamant about having a cooling system for the longevity of the PS box).

 

[abodyjoe]

but you will need to set up a cooling system for the Borgeson box

no cooler on mine and i was never told to run one. has 8200 miles on it so far and its been flaweles.

 

[ITSAH]

I have been considering this unit for my Duster. Curious if anyone has used it? It's listed as a bolt in and has a faster internal ratio. Lares Catalog - Lares Corporation

 

[RustyRatRod]

I have been considering this unit for my Duster. Curious if anyone has used it? It's listed as a bolt in and has a faster internal ratio. Lares Catalog - Lares Corporation

You can probably get it cheaper right from Firm Feel.

 

[junkyardhero]

You can probably get it cheaper right from Firm Feel.

rock auto has 'em...

 

[ITSAH]

rock auto has 'em...

Unfortunately we can no longer order from RockAuto in Arizona. Some sort of tax dispute they stopped shipping here back in November I believe...

 

[Triple Dart]

There is a company called Lars that has steering gear boxes. I think I got mine thru Summit

 

[Icetech]

I have the firm feel box on one car, and Borgeson on another. The firm feel is nice, but I wish I had bought the stage 2, instead of stage 3. Best thing is that it doesn't require a special pump.
The Borgeson is good too, but you need the higher output pump, and and the coupler, and the fitting for the box. If you go with Borgeson, get the larger fitting, and use a power steering hose for a 1969 v8 Dart.

Why a larger hose/fitting?

 

[Icetech]

I put the Borgeson unit in my 74 Duster when I ran into trouble with my rebuilt PS unit. I have a Flaming River Steering column and had to re-do the shaft and coupler (bit of a pain), but am very happy with the steering. It is pricey, though.
The kit looks pretty complete, but you will need to set up a cooling system for the Borgeson box (the tech guys were adamant about having a cooling system for the longevity of the PS box).

The borgeson did run a little hot but i think would have been fine without a cooler... I did add one though.. ended up around $40 and 30 mins of work. not a big deal.

I mounted it here to keep it out of the way..

.

 

[TheTieWrapKid]

I have been considering this unit for my Duster. Curious if anyone has used it? It's listed as a bolt in and has a faster internal ratio. Lares Catalog - Lares Corporation

I posted in 2022 about having tried the Lares 11033, which I got from Classic Industries. Search that thread. We discussed problems and got it on and working after a few days. It's still on the car and drives pretty good. Feels different than stock style.

 

[tom999w]

So one question that hasn't been brought up in this thread, what goes wrong with a power steering box that it needs to be replaced? The soft spot in the middle was talked about but it appears they are soft in the middle from the factory.

The reason I'm asking is because my power steering box has had the top hose disconnected for 20 years but fluid still squirts out like a champ when I turn the wheel. I was thinking to keep it because it may still be good.

 

[junkyardhero]

So one question that hasn't been brought up in this thread, what goes wrong with a power steering box that it needs to be replaced? The soft spot in the middle was talked about but it appears they are soft in the middle from the factory.

The reason I'm asking is because my power steering box has had the top hose disconnected for 20 years but fluid still squirts out like a champ when I turn the wheel. I was thinking to keep it because it may still be good.

generally seals are the culprit. followed by bearings or some knuckle dragging neanderthal reefing on steering couplers or pitman arms and buggering up the splines.

rarely do the internal hard parts themselves go bad.

 

[TheTieWrapKid]

My 72 Duster power steering was working normally. I replaced the pump to get rid of the squealing noise it had. Accomplished that and was still driving normally. A few months later I guess blew the lower seal which led to me trying another box . A new Lares unit. I have seen instructions on replacing the seal on the car. Didn't want to try that.

 

[ITSAH]

In my case I converted to 16:1 manual steering many years ago, and as I'm getting older that is pretty brutal around the pits with 245/45R17 tires and a 14" Tuff Wheel.

 

[TheTieWrapKid]

In my case I converted to 16:1 manual steering many years ago, and as I'm getting older that is pretty brutal around the pits with 245/45R17 tires and a 14" Tuff Wheel.

Maybe have Steer and Gear build a box and pump with stock parts.

 

[tom999w]

generally seals are the culprit. followed by bearings or some knuckle dragging neanderthal reefing on steering couplers or pitman arms and buggering up the splines.

rarely to the internal hard parts themselves go bad.

Ok, so it will drip steering fluid on the ground and/or start squealing around turns. Got it.

 

[junkyardhero]

Ok, so it will drip steering fluid on the ground and/or start squealing around turns. Got it.

squealing is the pump not the box. if the box is squealing there's a whole different set of problems.

but yeah, bad seals will cause a leak.

 

[tom999w]

Not to hijack a thread, but is there a way to test a power steering box and it's seals before installation? I'm reading other threads about this and some people didn't discover their power steering box was faulty until after it was installed...

 

[RustyRatRod]

I sure do love my manual gear box. lol