Might check to see if any seals or o-rings are available at the dealer to make the fix. I know the bottom has a seal kit for something like $25.

 

I just checked rockauto. I got a Delco reman from there some years back - my sector shaft seal was leaking. Anyway, they don't seem to have the Delcos anymore but they do have other brands, including some brand new units.

 

So far, for almost 20 years, I have done all maintenance and repairs on my truck (except tires, of course). A few years ago, my steering box was leaking (along with the hoses and hydroboost). I don't believe you can buy a new steering box and rebuilt/remanufactured was the only choice (other than replacing seals yourself). Like you, the reviews of ALL the available boxes scared me. It's bad enough replacing a steering box once, and I didn't want to do it multiple times. And I didn't want to mess with shipping. So, for the FIRST (and so far, only) time, I took it to a repair shop. I'm sure it cost me an extra $300-$400 for the job instead of DIY, but that was the insurance I was willing to pay.

Of course, I got a good box and it doesn't leak. Being particular, I checked and slightly re-routed the lines so they didn't rub against anything. I did the hydroboost and hoses myself.

 

My truck has a redhead.

Redhead builds a better reman box and the parts store cheap units, but they're still rebuilding using worn parts. My redhead has about 25k miles on it and is getting replaced due to movement in the sector shaft. The steering is sloppy and tends to leak out the bottom due to the shaft movement.

Perhaps a better option is the six bolt PSC upgrade, or some other "dodge box" solution. Cardone makes a converted "big bore" dodge box (like the PSC) for our trucks that can be had from $330 on amazon to $740 at NAPA. The idea is that the internals will hold up to the weight of our trucks better.

I think the negative reviews come from three places. One, they are a part of diesel power products, so their sales and tech support have the same bro-diesel boutique high markup attitude as FASS, etc. If you call them to talk to someone they are generally helpful but condescending. Their product is perfect, it must be an end user problem.

Second, lots of guys swapping boxes are at the limits of their mechanical ability. They don’t realize that the box isn’t going to fix all the other reasons their steering is sloppy on their 20 year old lifted truck with 12-wides: tie rod ends, pitman arm, idler arm, bad (leveled) geometry, intermediate shafts, column bearing, and the upper tilt joint in the column all need to be addressed on nearly 100% of these trucks.

Third is, the guys at blue top leaving bad reviews on the redhead and vice versa. Same bro-diesel competition-marketing-bash-nonsense as FASS vs air dog and Kryptonite vs Cognito on what are otherwise simple and hugely overpriced/overhyped products.

Do yourself a favor: rent/borrow/buy the pitman puller and pickle fork from the local parts store, put a big impact on it, but buy a 1-5/16” box end wrench and make sure you get that pitman on to correct torque. Then, check it periodically and resnug after the install. Oh, and put a set of moog HD idler, pitman, and idler bracket in at the same time.

Supposedly adding a power steering cooler helps the box seals, hoses, and hydroboost all last longer.

 

My truck has a redhead.

Redhead builds a better reman box and the parts store cheap units, but they're still rebuilding using worn parts. My redhead has about 25k miles on it and is getting replaced due to movement in the sector shaft. The steering is sloppy and tends to leak out the bottom due to the shaft movement.

Perhaps a better option is the six bolt PSC upgrade, or some other "dodge box" solution. Cardone makes a converted "big bore" dodge box (like the PSC) for our trucks that can be had from $330 on amazon to $740 at NAPA. The idea is that the internals will hold up to the weight of our trucks better.

I think the negative reviews come from three places. One, they are a part of diesel power products, so their sales and tech support have the same bro-diesel boutique high markup attitude as FASS, etc. If you call them to talk to someone they are generally helpful but condescending. Their product is perfect, it must be an end user problem.

Second, lots of guys swapping boxes are at the limits of their mechanical ability. They don’t realize that the box isn’t going to fix all the other reasons their steering is sloppy on their 20 year old lifted truck with 12-wides: tie rod ends, pitman arm, idler arm, bad (leveled) geometry, intermediate shafts, column bearing, and the upper tilt joint in the column all need to be addressed on nearly 100% of these trucks.

Third is, the guys at blue top leaving bad reviews on the redhead and vice versa. Same bro-diesel competition-marketing-bash-nonsense as FASS vs air dog and Kryptonite vs Cognito on what are otherwise simple and hugely overpriced/overhyped products.

Do yourself a favor: rent/borrow/buy the pitman puller and pickle fork from the local parts store, put a big impact on it, but buy a 1-5/16” box end wrench and make sure you get that pitman on to correct torque. Then, check it periodically and resnug after the install. Oh, and put a set of moog HD idler, pitman, and idler bracket in at the same time.

Supposedly adding a power steering cooler helps the box seals, hoses, and hydroboost all last longer.

Do you have the part number for the "big bore dodge box" on amazon?

 

I have a shop about an hour from me that will rebuild my factory box for $175. That’s the direction I will go, if needed. Mine doesn’t leak but has the typical sector shaft side movement which a rebuild doesn’t fix. I would be all in on a legit beefy gear box for my truck if it actually did what they say it will do. Most are just rebuilt factory boxes with an outrageous price tag.

 

The blue top I had put in about 4 years ago is working great, many very rough dirt roads. I read they remachine the body for larger bearings but who knows, when I was looking they had it in stock and shipped very quickly.

 

Mine was loose and leaking a couple of years ago (2006 GMC Sierra 3500), and I decided to bite the bullet and install one of the PSC upgraded "big bore" steering gearboxes. It was brutally expensive then, and even more expensive now. It was the only new manufacture part available at the time, and even the best remans seemed hit or miss. I installed it along with a power steeling/hydro boost fluid cooler. Other than the $$, I would recommend it.

I would agree with the post above that the failing gearbox is a symptom of a worn out front end, not the cause. When I was researching this stuff a few years ago, it appeared to me that the 2000's era GM Duramax trucks (and the Dodge Rams of that vintage) were built with a Saginaw steering gearbox that hadn't change much since the 1950's. These gearboxes were never known for their longevity, and they were never designed for the stress of a 7500# truck with a heavy diesel engine.

Combine that a lift kit, giant oversized tires, and messed up steering geometry wearing out front end components and transferring all the stress to the output shaft of the gearbox, and you have a recipe for the part failing and leaking over and over again.

 

Get the PSC XD gearbox. It’s pricy but so far i have been more than happy with it and the better performance from it.

 

My 04 I did a seal on the top while in the truck and fixed my shaft leak, truck had 265k on it but, no idea if was stock box. If you have extreme movement though with miles on it it wont last long. My 2010 i just pulled out and did a seal kit on it and adjusted and so far ~10k miles on it no leaks. I think i got the gates kit from Rockauto for ~$25. Was leaking top and bottom at 220k or so.

 

I just put the Blue Top on my 07 Classic. The old one had side to side movement of the sector shaft and leaked. And lots of play in steering. The new Blue Top is very tight and no slop. But....it's too tight. I don't seem to have that 'center' position where I can rest my hand on top of the steering wheel and cruise. Pretty much have to hold the steering wheel.
It's been about 350 miles and not any better. Maybe it will break in.
Stock suspension. 230K miles. P265's. Other components are tight like new.

07 Classic. 2WD

 

I bought a red top, identical problem, If I make a long trip, I arrive feeling exhausted, it's a bunch of work to constantly steer. I'm going through the posts here to figure out what to do next. Redtop says you need to drive it for 750 miles so it'll loosen up, they hope you'll go past the warranty?

 

Not sure if this applies in your case because I don't understand how the caster would change by swapping out a steering box but.... a steering wheel that doesn't "center" is usually a sign of too much positive caster in your alignment. Did you have an alignment done after you put the new box in and if so, is it possible that it was done wrong? Just a thought.

 

See my post below.

 

While the old box was loose before replacing, it was able to center sometimes like when new. The new box is tight so that it can't seem to fall to that center position a new truck has. It takes effort to correct to a center tracking. A gentle tug to one direction requires gentle tug the other direction most of the time. It's like the adjustment nut is too tight but I tried a
5 degree loosening of the nut to be sure and there was no change other than a bit of slop
so I put it back. I should have an alignment but I have not found a shop I trust yet to do it right. When I say 'gentle tug' I mean very subtle but annoying and not how we are used to.
Steering effort increased compared to when the truck was new.

07 LBZ 2WD 230K P265's no mods

 

Strange that you posted today. So I called the Blue people and the first thing he asked was 'does it return to center or stop at around the 10:00 position' when coming out of a turn. I told him it stops at about 10. He said there is a valve that can stick and it should loosen up. That was a month ago and I didn't give it much credence. Well, while driving back from a 3 hour trip something happened that made it 'seek' center like it should. And the steering effort was decreased. This happened a week ago. I would estimate I drove 1500 miles for this to take place. So maybe the Red people are correct in your case. Good luck. I now want to keep the truck for another 200k miles. Considering the price of a new one I have no problem doing a lot of preventive maintenance.

 

I think you might have saved me a chunk of money and time! I'll continue to drive it and report back, thanks!

 

See my post below.

Strange that you posted today. So I called the Blue people and the first thing he asked was 'does it return to center or stop at around the 10:00 position' when coming out of a turn. I told him it stops at about 10. He said there is a valve that can stick and it should loosen up. That was a month ago and I didn't give it much credence. Well, while driving back from a 3 hour trip something happened that made it 'seek' center like it should. And the steering effort was decreased. This happened a week ago. I would estimate I drove 1500 miles for this to take place. So maybe the Red people are correct in your case. Good luck. I now want to keep the truck for another 200k miles. Considering the price of a new one I have no problem doing a lot of preventive maintenance.

Since reading this, I took it back out for a test drive and found just what the Blue person said! Turn a corner, let go of the wheel, and it stops short of center, it's right at 10 O'clock! This happens when turning left or right, so I better say ten or two.

This afternoon I bought some full synthetic steering pump fluid, sucked out as much of the regular stuff as possible, and filled it back up. Who knows, it might help free that valve? I'll put some more miles on it.

 

Any update on this?

 

 

My advice is don't let go of a good box, order a rebuild kit, watch the youtube videos for primers.

 

The reds and blues are all OE design which I found to be inadequate. The OE design is simply not strong or robust enough for diesel kind of weight. I am running the PSC box after 4 OE's did not work. With their pump, cooler and box this truck has been solid, reliable and easily controllable. I would not do anything in these trucks but a PSC.