Well,  the  Cardone unit  I  put in  18 months ago   is leaking like a sieve.   The  output shaft is  loose.

I noticed  it  was  pretty wet  when  dismantling the   front end  last week.    After   disconnecting the  pitman arm link,     I  can  wiggle  the   shaft  about   1/4 inch,  and  fluid is   pouring out.

 

Anyone   recommend  a  GOOD   rebuilder?    In  the  Rockauto  site,   the  "Lares Corp"   unit   has  a little  'heart',  meaning it's popular. (cheapest too)       Should  I  try that  one?

They offer  ATSCO,  Cardone,  ACdelco, and  Mopar  rebuilt.      

A co-worker has been rebuilding them since he was a kid with his dad, he has since bought the company from his dad and is a stand up guy. Ryan Vigessa is his name. Give him a shout and see what he can do for you.

 

http://www.bluetopsteeringgears.com/

I just replaced mine with a napa rebuilt box. , recommended by MinTom they are not rebuilt by Cardone. Seems to be a good moderately

priced rebuild. So so good.

Thanks guys.      After talking with Ryan @ bluetop,   I think  I'll give em a  whirl.

 

He explained how   he  corrects  for  wear in the worm gear  using  slightly larger    recirculating balls...     Which very very few rebuilders do.

He also   uses  a higher quality  bearing  in the output shaft.

 

Oh,  Bill,   he   didn't  act like he  'knew' you?      LOL,   does he owe you money??    

 

Looks like   $179  plus  shipping.    Which is  about 50 bucks more than  the  cardone unit.

He doesn't know I refer people to him or that I am doing so on forums, he actually has a nice 95 Cummins 4X4 reg cab dually he built his own tilt bed flat bed for, turned out real nice. He works in the shop for me quite a bit and is a good jack of all trades kind of guy, hard to find handy guys like him who can do anything now days.

I will ask him about it next time I see him, I'll tell him he owes me commission now lol. Looked at the schedule and today is his day off this week. Will give him some grief tomorrow night if I see him.

He doesn't know I refer people to him or that I am doing so on forums, he actually has a nice 95 Cummins 4X4 reg cab dually he built his own tilt bed flat bed for, turned out real nice. He works in the shop for me quite a bit and is a good jack of all trades kind of guy, hard to find handy guys like him who can do anything now days.

I will ask him about it next time I see him, I'll tell him he owes me commission now lol. Looked at the schedule and today is his day off this week. Will give him some grief tomorrow night if I see him.

And tell to keep his hands away from the lathe!

You know him too?  Yeah he is lucky to have his fingers attached to his hand yet after that incident with his lathe it was pretty ugly.

 

He stopped in my office and asked if I was the one who referred Robert to him, there are 3 of us named Bill here at work, he figured it was me but asked to make sure and thanked me for the business referral.

You know him too?  Yeah he is lucky to have his fingers attached to his hand yet after that incident with his lathe it was pretty ugly.

 

He stopped in my office and asked if I was the one who referred Robert to him, there are 3 of us named Bill here at work, he figured it was me but asked to make sure and thanked me for the business referral.

He is lucky that was a pretty ugly cut. I've spent a lot of time in the little town of Kensal ND over the years where i met Ryan. Geez talk about a small world. Next time you see hid ask him about deer hunting in his 1/2 ton chev and how to get frozen deer poop off your windshield.

He had to think about it for a bit then broke out laughing when he remembered it, said there was a bit of libations at work that night as well.

 

Sounds like Roberts Old Cardone special gear box is a dead horse, was cobbled together and is un-repairable, said it looked to have been in an accident and had some bent parts.

He had to think about it for a bit then broke out laughing when he remembered it, said there was a bit of libations at work that night as well.

 

Sounds like Roberts Old Cardone special gear box is a dead horse, was cobbled together and is un-repairable, said it looked to have been in an accident and had some bent parts.

makes me  wonder  how many more times  a  rebuilder  would've  just have   re sealed it,  and  boxed it up for the next victim!     He   said it seemed ok  at  700 psi,  but when he  kicked it  up to 1200..   flood city.

 

Ryan is    sending me  a  good    '3 turn'   gear.   So far,   I'm  impressed  with his honesty!

 

I learned  that  these  Saginaw  boxes   all pretty much  have the same internals,     it's the  case  that  is  different  on   various  applications.  (which is  junk on mine)       Which  makes  the   'case'  the most  expensive  part!

Edited January 24, 201510 yr by rancherman

Just to add on here, I did my box about 2 months ago with a Napa reman. I went to napa to avoid a revealed and painted junker Cardone. The Napa box had a name that I looked up after installing, and guess what, it's a re labeled cardone! It was nice and tight with no wander for about 3 weeks, but she got back to the way the old one was in about 6 weeks. I have since adjusted the bearing jam nut and that seemed to help for sure, I'll do the over center next- but it sucks that I have had to do this at all. Anyone else doing this, it's not hard but not something I want to do again. Anyone know of an off the shelf quality rebuild available locally?

Same situation here, put a redhead on and it was tight for weeks or months. Now she's wandering again...

makes me  wonder  how many more times  a  rebuilder  would've  just have   re sealed it,  and  boxed it up for the next victim!     He   said it seemed ok  at  700 psi,  but when he  kicked it  up to 1200..   flood city.

 

Ryan is    sending me  a  good    '3 turn'   gear.   So far,   I'm  impressed  with his honesty!

 

I learned  that  these  Saginaw  boxes   all pretty much  have the same internals,     it's the  case  that  is  different  on   various  applications.  (which is  junk on mine)       Which  makes  the   'case'  the most  expensive  part!

Can I ask (ballpark figure) what you were quoted for a rebuild before it was determined your case was bad? This sounds like a great alternative to the box store rebuild scams, provided shipping both ways doesn't make it cost prohibitive.

So far I've been fortunate and haven't had to deal with this issue but considering how many horror stories I've heard about reman pumps I'd probably opt for Borgesons new box they're building. They are an upgraded box over the original series with better internal valving, variable assist,bigger pistons and a bigger bearing bearing on the output shaft. They also improved the ratio for less turns lock to lock. They come with a pretty good warranty, I think 3 years/unlimited mileage if I remember correctly. BUT...they are pricey. Somewhere around $550..

Ryan  said   all   his   gears   are  $169        

I  put  mine  in  a     usps    flat rate box   and   shipping   added  another   36   for the round trip.       about  $ 205  total

 

After  the  'bad news'  phone call,      my  total  cost     is  now     $265.           (60 bucks   was for  the core)  

Basically  double  of  what  I paid   for the   A-1 Cardone  unit...      (never again- cardone)

 

1  year  guarantee.     And  Ryan    said    this could  be  extended.

 

www.bluetopsteeringgears.com      

 

The  neat thing  was,   I took my old  gear into town on  Wed,   to be boxed up,   and  I missed  that day's   mail pick-up.   So  it didn't get  shipped until   2 pm  Thursday.       Bluetop  got it   Friday morning,    Ryan  had it  DONE  by  Friday  NOON,  and  it failed his  test.   I got the bad news  @  1 pm  Friday,    and  he  shipped  his   last   3  turn  box  later that day.  I expect  it in the mailbox   today.  (I don't get Saturday delivery here)

Edited January 26, 201510 yr by rancherman

I couldn't source a good steering box here for less than the price of a new truck.

  My buddy told me to put on 1 from a 1/2 ton.

I was a bit sceptical but I put it on and it works great. Not the 3 turn box for sure but much better than what I had.

Chris

Funny  thing about these,   they list  different  part numbers  for  regular cabs,  and  extended cabs.    Suppose they are valved   differently? 

OH,  what the hell...

 might as well  do the  wheel bearings too!    Everything else is   fresh,  no reason to  stop  throwing money at it now!    I know  one side   was  replaced  when  FIL  was  owner,   and the other  has  230k miles.     

 

$175  Timkens,  w/  abs  sensor.    Pretty good I thought,  since the  sensor alone pushes  40 bucks.

 

Last  Timkens  I bought were for my  ram 1500,  and   the  bearing itself  said  "Made in USA".       The  housings looked  top notch too for   machine work.

I just wish the   mud/dust slinger on the stub shaft was available  separately.    It is  for  the  Dana 44  applications.   One of mine is mangled.

For the amount of money we can potentially dump into the front end of these trucks, you could just about go buy a beater car...lol.

The front wheel bearings are one thing that hasn't been replaced on my truck yet.

I inadvertently separated them trying to remove them about 3 years ago and there was very little grease in them. I drilled and tapped a grease fitting and used a good pipe dope to seal the threads, and can now grease them every few years.

You can do the same thing with a needle tip on a grease gun since you have front abs.

For the amount of money we can potentially dump into the front end of these trucks, you could just about go buy a beater car...lol.

The front wheel bearings are one thing that hasn't been replaced on my truck yet.

I inadvertently separated them trying to remove them about 3 years ago and there was very little grease in them. I drilled and tapped a grease fitting and used a good pipe dope to seal the threads, and can now grease them every few years.

You can do the same thing with a needle tip on a grease gun since you have front abs.

That  drilling and tapping  of the  bearings  seems  like  a  good  'how to do'   article  for 'here'!  hint hint.

 

 

I found this article   http://www.dodgetalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=311901

 

Kinda gives me the willies   drilling  into a  cavity,  and  hoping  ALL   shrapnel  makes it out!    That  guy   drilled almost through,  then  busted out  the last  part with a magnetized  punch.     

 

Would a  cone shaped   nozzle on the end of  a  grease gun  seal up against the  abs  sensor hole?   

Edited January 27, 201510 yr by rancherman

I had the luxury of having my wheel bearings separated when I drilled and tapped mine but seeing what I saw I wouldn't be too concerned with trying it out. Of course, patience and common sense would be paramount on a project like this... I would drill most of the way through with the proper bit needed for the tap then stop before punching through, clean the hole out and tap it. Then I would proceed with a SMALLER bit. You don't need much of a hole at all to push grease through, and a smaller bit equals less shavings. I'd probably try the last little bit upside down or at least horizontal in a vice to prevent anything from falling in once I punched through. The last little bit would be an exercise of patience, drill a little, blow with compressed air, repeat. Then once I was through, I'd GENTLY probe the hole with one of the small pencil magnets I own to try to get any shavings that may still be there out. I had some pictures of my bearings separated and the process of drilling and tapping, but they are on my phone which is presently at the bottom of Lake Erie somewhere...

 

You guys with front abs have it easy, I'd just pop the sensors out and either try something like you mentioned or perhaps a grease needle.

 

http://www.sears.com/search=grease%20gun%20needle

You guys with front abs have it easy, I'd just pop the sensors out and either try something like you mentioned or perhaps a grease needle.

 

 

Can't drill through the tone ring.