Here we are once again, another installment of upgrades for Project Obsessed, our long term build-up of a 1996 F350 7.3L Power Stroke. In hopes of building our rendition of the perfect Old Body Style Ford we’ve already made significant improvements in this old truck with the most notable being the installation of an intercooler system from Banks Power and the new front suspension swap to a Reverse Shackle kit with Super Duty leaf springs from Sky’s Offroad. Of course, we’ve dialed up the horsepower a bit with a Banks 4” exhaust, S&B cold air intake and custom tuning from AA Design & Tuning. As it sits, the old girl made a little over 300hp to the tires and does a pretty decent job of towing our fifth wheel around the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. The new front suspension made this quite possibly the best riding leaf spring truck we’ve ever been in, but 23 years and a couple hundred thousand miles has not been kind to the steering system. With some noticeable play in the wheel and a significant ‘wander’ at freeway speeds, this F350 isn’t quite the ultimate daily driver just yet.
Steering Gear
At 230k and what appears to be the original steering gear, it’s understandable that there’d be some slop in the steering wheel. While the factory box does offer some adjustment that could take up some of that play, with its age and mileage, replacing with something new just seemed logical. Redhead Steering Gear of Auburn, WA has been remanufacturing steering gears since 1981 and has learned a thing or two after an estimated 61,000+ rebuilds.
Since most of the original steering gear housings used by Ford didn’t use a bushing or bearing, Redhead increases longevity and improves steering feel by machining a new bore and installing needle bearings. Sector shafts are also checked on a lathe to be sure they’re straight and true and all sealing surfaces are fully polished to eliminate leakage issues. Going through the entire rebuild process with all new seals of course, but they also take things one step further by custom fitting each worm and piston assembly with new precision fit steel balls. As the only steering gear to offer this kind of attention to detail, they can ensure that the most exacting tolerances are assembled into the gear box and eliminate every bit of play you may feel from an OEM replacement and standard reman box from your local parts house.