Hal O'Peridol
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Is there a way to change out the power steering system for one that has more "feel", like possibly fitting a unit from a 1996 or so 1500 pickup? Tried the search, not much luck. thanks.
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Upgrading power steering?
- Thread starter Hal O'Peridol
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cucvrus
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They are both basically the same Saginaw units. What upgrade would that be? Put rack and pinion electric steering on from a 2014 - 2018 Silverado then you have a different steering system. I am being nice not a wise guy. But really you are comparing apples to apples with the same basic parts. They used the hydro boost on many trucks over the years. I thin your issue with feel is one failing component on your truck. Be it the frame unit gear box, hydro boost, or pump. These systems work well when all is working well. Have a Great Day.
MarcusOReallyus
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I have heard it said that installing a steering shaft from a Jeep Cherokee is a nice upgrade. I'm scrapping one now, and plan to grab the steering shaft and pop it into my M1028.
I'm actually scrapping two of them, but I sold the steering shaft from one of them to a guy who is planning to use it to upgrade the steering on his 85 Chevy pickup.
Found out today that the steering column is basically the same. My son replaced my lock cylinder today, and broke a plastic piece on the steering wheel. He thought it looked familiar, so he went out to the 94 Jeep and found the same part (right down to the part number) and popped it in. Nice!
I'm actually scrapping two of them, but I sold the steering shaft from one of them to a guy who is planning to use it to upgrade the steering on his 85 Chevy pickup.
Found out today that the steering column is basically the same. My son replaced my lock cylinder today, and broke a plastic piece on the steering wheel. He thought it looked familiar, so he went out to the 94 Jeep and found the same part (right down to the part number) and popped it in. Nice!
How deep down this rabbit hole do you want to go?
Feedback / feel is controlled by the size of a torsion bar inside the input valve assembly. If you do a nice job of cleaning off the splined input shaft on a full size GM steering box you will see the splined shaft, and a smaller 1/4" ish smooth section of shaft that protrudes beyond the splines. You will also see where the splined section is cross drilled and there is a small solid pin installed. The splined section is the input shaft, the smooth section is the torsion bar and they are connected together with the pin. As you turn the wheel the torsion bar deflects a bit in the internal valve, porting oil in the valve assembly to give you assist in whichever direction you are turning. The smaller the torsion bar is the easier it is to get it to twist. The early pickups and cars in GM vehicles came with small torsion bars (.180" ish). Later performance applications came with larger ones, like the fancy "F" body cars (Firebird, Camaro). The largest torsion bars available in any GM production cars were in the V8 F-Bodies like the Z28 package. They can be identified by "XH" on the piston cap in ink (*be careful cleaning to see if it has the marking, you can remove it on accident. Those applications were .210". There is no way to measure the diameter without taking the input assembly apart, and this should be avoided.
To have better feel just swap the input assembly with one that has a larger torsion bar. Magically you have more steering feedback and a more modern feel. You can do it yourself or send it off to a legit steering shop. There are aftermarket torsion bars that are even larger, but you need special gear to install them that only a steering specialty shop would have.
Here is a link to a chart showing what the specs were in different boxes. This can be helpful while searching the local self service wrecking yard.
http://www.chevelles.com/techref/ftecref29.html
It is pretty simple, you just knock off the lock ring with a large punch, then unscrew the nut with a spanner wrench. Take out the entire assembly from the donor box, put it in, torque the nut to 20 ftlb. Back off the nut 1/2" then tighten the lockring. See the link at the below...
https://www.midweststeering.com/wp-content/uploads/Sag800-Service.pdf
Other info...
The above holds true to any Saginaw 800 box. Large piston steering boxes for pickups / blazer/ suburban/ and the small piston ones for Jeep SUVs and many GM cars. While you can’t swap castings / pistons / ballscrews between the two different sizes there are a couple things that swap with no issues. One is the input assembly, the other is the sector shaft. So a Camero box can be a good donor for better feedback by harvesting the input assembly, and a nice 2wd sector shaft if you are going crossover. Only thing is the Camero “XH” car boxes are fixed ratio and the sector shaft will only work in a fixed ratio pickup box.
Feedback / feel is controlled by the size of a torsion bar inside the input valve assembly. If you do a nice job of cleaning off the splined input shaft on a full size GM steering box you will see the splined shaft, and a smaller 1/4" ish smooth section of shaft that protrudes beyond the splines. You will also see where the splined section is cross drilled and there is a small solid pin installed. The splined section is the input shaft, the smooth section is the torsion bar and they are connected together with the pin. As you turn the wheel the torsion bar deflects a bit in the internal valve, porting oil in the valve assembly to give you assist in whichever direction you are turning. The smaller the torsion bar is the easier it is to get it to twist. The early pickups and cars in GM vehicles came with small torsion bars (.180" ish). Later performance applications came with larger ones, like the fancy "F" body cars (Firebird, Camaro). The largest torsion bars available in any GM production cars were in the V8 F-Bodies like the Z28 package. They can be identified by "XH" on the piston cap in ink (*be careful cleaning to see if it has the marking, you can remove it on accident. Those applications were .210". There is no way to measure the diameter without taking the input assembly apart, and this should be avoided.
To have better feel just swap the input assembly with one that has a larger torsion bar. Magically you have more steering feedback and a more modern feel. You can do it yourself or send it off to a legit steering shop. There are aftermarket torsion bars that are even larger, but you need special gear to install them that only a steering specialty shop would have.
Here is a link to a chart showing what the specs were in different boxes. This can be helpful while searching the local self service wrecking yard.
http://www.chevelles.com/techref/ftecref29.html
It is pretty simple, you just knock off the lock ring with a large punch, then unscrew the nut with a spanner wrench. Take out the entire assembly from the donor box, put it in, torque the nut to 20 ftlb. Back off the nut 1/2" then tighten the lockring. See the link at the below...
https://www.midweststeering.com/wp-content/uploads/Sag800-Service.pdf
Other info...
The above holds true to any Saginaw 800 box. Large piston steering boxes for pickups / blazer/ suburban/ and the small piston ones for Jeep SUVs and many GM cars. While you can’t swap castings / pistons / ballscrews between the two different sizes there are a couple things that swap with no issues. One is the input assembly, the other is the sector shaft. So a Camero box can be a good donor for better feedback by harvesting the input assembly, and a nice 2wd sector shaft if you are going crossover. Only thing is the Camero “XH” car boxes are fixed ratio and the sector shaft will only work in a fixed ratio pickup box.
Last edited:
Hal O'Peridol
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Thanks guys. I'll go check with a local 4wd shopto see what will be the bes course to take. I just want a little more feedback when steering. Not a fan of the old 1 finger power steering
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My stock steering has worked fine for nearly 8 years now and I've run Old Warhorse through some long hard offroading that mom's Jeep Cherokee would cry in agony and quit early. But the thing that worries me is the steering box/mount frame cracking problem common on Chevy 4x4's. Common enough I've read and there are several fixes to beefup the frame area, supposedly the best option involves welding--- curious, anyone here done that fix on their CUCV? My welding experience is practically nil. Signed; worried.
joshuak
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Link bellow to a bolt on reinforcement, ORD also sells a weld on option if your frame is already cracked.
http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringkit.htm
http://www.offroaddesign.com/catalog/steeringkit.htm