Put it in many years ago. Markings say it is a delphi. Worked great. Just that darn leak.
Rich
Steering box and headers
Just wondering what steering boxes any of you have had luck with. I've got headers and BBC. When looking at reviews for some of the 14:1 and 12:1 boxes, several people have mentioned that the boxes are tight against headers and some have had to dent them to fit. I've been looking at Classic Performance and Borgeson on Summit website and that's where the reviews have come from. I had to remove my current box to get the headers out. I am pulling the motor and having it rebuilt. The last box was an aftermarket that has always had a slow, weeping leak that I never could identify so I thought now would be a great time to change since all other leaks will be taken care of (also putting in a new tremec tkx). Thanks for any advice!
Rich
Rich
1 - 10 of 26 Posts
Put it in many years ago. Markings say it is a delphi. Worked great. Just that darn leak.
Rich
I used manual steering boxes on cars with headers because they were drag strip racing cars to begin with. Headers really dont work a street performance car were underhood tempatures need to be kept below a certain level. Next time your in a room with hot water heat, notice how much area the radiators take up per size of the room. The underhood square foot is like the same was a closet yet the header size is five times the sizethe area. Another issue is headers are routing 3000+ degrees of heat!
Pickup a nice set of exhaust manifolds, big blocks have such nice factory exhaust manifolds. Then pick up a nice Lee 12.9:1 or 14.00:1 800 Series box with a nice 30 pound valve..There boxes are so nice!!
Thanks. It took my buddy years to convince me to go with headers. Once I did and saw the performance difference, I can't go back.
Rich
They sell rebuild kits for power steering boxes for like 25 bucks with all the gaskets and o-rings. Can you just rebuild your old one?
I would try if I thought that's where the leak was. I see it on the shaft for the pitman arm, but also seems to be coming from up above on the body where there is nothing that uses seals. But thanks for the idea.
Rich
'70. Just had to pull the steering box to get header out. As you said, my issue was the shaft being too close.Plan on leaving it out until I reinstall headers.I've seen where people have clearance issues with the steering shaft but not the steering box. What year Chevelle are you working on?
Rich
The shaft to header clearance issue has been discussed in here many times. There are ways to move the shaft over a tad which can make a big difference.
Thanks. I'll check it out. Curious..my steering shaft is a two piece. Is the lower piece supposed to be able to ride over the upper? Mine does not and I always thought that was a collapsible shaft as a safety feature.
Rich
As long as you are not running 2" primaries, you should clear the steering shaft just fine. It doesn't matter if its close, you just don't want it to rub.
If it does hit, pull the header and clearance the spot. Easy peezy.
Hey Rambo, I see you put in a tkx. I just got one from SST and going to put it in after this engine rebuild. Any words of wisdom?
Rich
That was going to be my next move. Thinking about putting in a Classic Performance 500 Series power steering box and hop that there won't be clearance issues.If you are not removing the engine many headers cannot be removed without at a minimum removing the motor moount main bolt and anting else required to jack/tilt the engine upward for additional clearance.
Rich
Rich
Looks like you have the standard slip joint intermediate shaft. Most headers are way clear of the steering box. this is what mine looks like.
Wow. Looks a lot like my setup. Hedman ceramic headers, 8.5mm wires ? What kind of spark plug wire looms are you using? Trying to use the factory valve cover loom attachments, but can't find any that work with 8.5mm wires and will stay in place.
Rich
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1 - 10 of 26 Posts
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