steering gear box garbage....? (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

jjdeneen918

SILVER Star
Joined
Jul 23, 2008
Threads
78
Messages
1,046
Location
Long Beach, CA
I went to get my rig (1996 Lexus LX450) a wheel alignment since I put on a new set of 315/75-16 Dick Cepeck radial rII's. Sweet tires by the way.

The guy at the shop said the output shaft of the gear box (septor shaft) was twisted (most likely from the wreck the car had). The pitman arm twisted the splines of the septor shaft.

I've read several post about re-builds but they only speak of seal replacement.

Does anyone know if the shaft is replaceable/available?
Are there other rigs that have the same or transferable boxes (ie: a FJ60) that I could swap in?

I'm looking to stay away from a new box, I read on one post upwards of $2,500. Used are still several hundred on some parts sites. Even the rebuild kit of seals sounds like $150.

Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks fellas.
 
Not only is there a rebuild but there is an upgrade if I remember some of the other threads. I would talk to CDan, he knows all about it. Then I would try the search on here and look up gear box rebuild.
 
I did Most of my searching via google. My computer is dumb and doesn't like the 'drop down' search tab on ih8mud. It is way beyond not user friendly.

I read about Saginaw steering pumps upgrades but I believe that may have been an fj60 thread I read, and it was the pump not the box.

If you could steer me in the direction of that thread I'd appreciate it. I'm about to throw this thing across the room.
 
Your cheapest bet is a used steering box. Then send it for a reseal to West Texas Offroad for a rebuild. Seriously, there is no way to do this on the cheap.

There is an upgrade for the sector shaft, but it requires a new Pittman arm, plus the rebuild. That's a good option, but likely $600-$700 by the time you are done. I'm pretty sure only Cruiserdan has sorted this out.
 
You have options and a new replacement shouldn't be first on your list. As Cruiserdrew stated a used box found on MUD or Car-part.com is the best and most economical. There is no reason to pay any more than $100-125 + shipping for a used unit. If you can find out how long the truck has been sitting idle that will dictate whether or not an overhaul of the box is necessary. Depending on how hard you wheel; drop the pitman arm, clean and inspect the sector shaft spline area, reinstall the pitman arm one spline in the direction you need to go (if there are no cracks found). Yes, this is somewhat of a band-aid if you do not have adequate means to inspect the shaft but I have two seasons on a twisted sector shaft and unless you abuse your rig's steering shouldn't be an issue. IIRC nearly all the internal components of the 80 box are the same as the late 60's and 62's, Beno or CDan can offer confirmation. The 105 series upgrade should be your last choice unless you won Powerball yesterday.
 
IIRC nearly all the internal components of the 80 box are the same as the late 60's and 62's, Beno or CDan can offer confirmation. The 105 series upgrade should be your last choice unless you won Powerball yesterday.

I have heard this too, but it isn't true. Some of the seals like the input and sector shaft seals do appear to be the same.

However, the power piston is much larger on the 80 series trucks. The power piston on the 60 is 3 1/4 inches (roughly) and on 80 series trucks is 4 inches. I think that is why the 80 series trucks are much more likely to twist the sector shaft. The turning force is higher and the reactive force on the sector shaft is also much higher. Since the 60 and the 80 share the same sector shaft spline diameter, the 80 sector is much more likely to bend.

I know of only 1 steering box, upgraded to the 105 sector shaft and Pittman. Inverness had Robbie do this on his 80. I hope to see it next week.
 
I know of only 1 steering box, upgraded to the 105 sector shaft and Pittman. Inverness had Robbie do this on his 80. I hope to see it next week.

I saw it at SnT.

:)

The 60/62/80 series gear boxes are *almost* the same....some slight differences as Cruiserdrew pointed out.

I've just bead blasted the spare gear box I bought to keep in the truck for wheeling.

I'm going to get the OEM rebuild kit and send it off to West Texas as CDrew mentioned. Outsourcing this when one has no garage or bench is not a bad idea.

I was thinking about doing the 105 sector shaft upgrade but cannot justify the price currently (well over $500 for the sector shaft and pitman arm and related nuts and bolts).

I'd rather save it for Rubithon gas money. ;)

-o-
 
My computer is dumb and doesn't like the 'drop down' search tab on ih8mud. It is way beyond not user friendly.

If you could steer me in the direction of that thread I'd appreciate it. I'm about to throw this thing across the room.

Search is a very handy tool & for me, it really helps to find, otherwise, very difficult to find threads. Let me give you a little help with search on this site: First off, hopefully you're using the right browser, either Mozilla Firefox or Internet Explorer 7. They give you the option of having more then 1 tab open in a browser window, which, as you'll see is necessary. Using one of these browsers, the next time you use search, instead of clicking with the left button, use the right button. This will give you a drop down menu with "open link in new window" & "open link in new tab" as the first 2 choices (Mozilla. IE7 just says open in new tab or window). You can choose either, but the "open link in new tab" is the one I'll explain. When you choose this you will see a new tab appear directly above your working area and below your toolbars. It will also show "IH8MUD Forums - Search Forums" on the tab. You will then notice that the tab you are in also has a title on it. Click on the Search Forums tab (left click is always assumed unless right click is specified) and you should see a window that you can fill in the blanks such as: Keyword. I usually just use the Keyword, and use the "search titles only" option on the drop down menu directly below keyword. And the other choice is the 80-series tech in the "Search in Forums" field. If you're really having a tough time finding a subject, use the "search entire post" option under keyword. When you filled in the 3 options: 1.Keyword, 2.Search entire post or search titles only, 3.Search in forums; click on the "search now" button and you should see a list of threads with your keyword choice. If, by chance, you get no hits, you'll want to wait about 15 - 30 seconds before you hit the back button and try another search. HTH
 
...
However, the power piston is much larger on the 80 series trucks. The power piston on the 60 is 3 1/4 inches (roughly) and on 80 series trucks is 4 inches. I think that is why the 80 series trucks are much more likely to twist the sector shaft. The turning force is higher and the reactive force on the sector shaft is also much higher. Since the 60 and the 80 share the same sector shaft spline diameter, the 80 sector is much more likely to bend...

This is the best explanation I've heard for this problem. I don't recall reading about bent sector shafts in the 60-series forum, but it comes up here in the 80-series a couple of times a year or more. The additional forces due to the larger power piston make a lot of sense. Good logic Cruiserdrew.
 
Thank u all for the replys.

I found a used box local for $150, no shipping required. I'll be going to check out it's condition tomorrow and pick it up.

I've been told the shaft is hardened and prone to cracking and/or sheering off it has becomed stressed of tweeked, probably would be more of an issue if I were bombing down a bad road or rocks. I'm going to replace for piece of mind.

As for the browser info I appriciate it but I'm using a mac operating system so maybe that's the problemo...
 
I have no problems using any of the forum functions with Safari on my Mac :meh:
 
The current list price for the larger-spline-diameter sector shaft, pitman arm and seal kit is $667.21. Wholesale is ~500 bucks. This is compared to a new box/pitman arm for a list of $2,788.23 and a net of $2,091.17.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom