Red Head Steering Gears

[Twisty]

This is for my 1996 F350.

I have been chasing a sloppy component in my steering system for a long time, and have replaced almost all the major components (steering shaft, u-joints, ball joints, tie rods and tie rod ends, poly spring bushings, poly sway bar bushings, poly track bar bushings).  The only thing I hadn't replaced was the steering box with 226k miles on it.  I had tried adjusting the box with the screw on the top and it would work, but soon the sloppy feeling would return.  

I could have purchased an A1 Cardone box from AAP for $150, but went with Red Head instead.  Here's why.

Some original housings are manufactured without bushing or bearings. This is commonly seen in some Ford steering gears and Chrysler steering gears.  We rebore these units and install needle bearings.

We use only the highest quality seals. All our seals are either O.E.M. or produced by two high quality, long time suppliers of our industry.

Probably the most unique and important thing we do is custom fit every single worm and piston assembly with new precision fit steel balls. This is a process not matched by any other company in the industry. This process is very important. The machining tolerances of the original manufacturing leave a small and varying amount of play that can be corrected in no other way.

Why don't other builders do this? It is expensive and time consuming to set up. This is one of the reasons you may find another unit somewhere else for less money but the quality cannot be beat. This is why we proudly declare that we are "Not the Biggest... Just the Best!"

The Red Head boxes get stellar reviews on all of the Ford truck forums, and I have yet to hear a bad report.  The cost was $266 for the box, $100 for a core and $35 shipping.  I ordered Wednesday afternoon and picked it up at the post office on Saturday morning.  


I installed it last night, and other than a cross threaded bolt (which was my fault, and I cleaned it up with a tap....hope it holds) the install went smooth.  Bleeding the system sucked too.  But when I took it on a test drive, the difference was night and day compared to the old box.  If the steering box was indeed my issue I am going to be a very happy camper.  


Check them out if you want a high quality steering box for your tow rig.  

http://www.redheadsteeringgears.com/

[jps4jeep]

Funny you put this up, I sent them an email last week about internal stops in a dodge box versus chevy box.  They responded with in the hour.

Have not ordered yet though.

[Twisty]

Same experience with me.  I emailed a quote request and had a reply in less than an hour. 

I've been driving on this box for a week.  So far I'm happy.  It took me a few days to get used to how the truck drives, but I'm liking it!

[jerry k]

 Tim, I'm glad to hear you got it squared away .

[jps4jeep]

I ended up pulling the trigger on this, up-graded 88-98 chevy box, with the internal stops removed. $256 plus $34 shipping and same $100 core fee.  Will report back once installed.

Tim, Glad to hear yours was worth it, gives me confidence that this will resolve my situation.

[Twisty]

Cool, John!  Hope it fixes your issues.


I sent my old box back last week, and the PO delivered it on Monday.  Still waiting for my core refund.