Reversed my mustang steering box today.

[kelseydum]

Well, I didn't want to start a new thread on this, but maybe people can find it easier in the search section. I reversed my 64 Mustang steering box today. I went by an article in Ol' Skool Rodz magazine about reversing a Corvair box. The principal is basically the same. It was pretty simple and the hardest part (for me) was getting the shaft nut loose. There was not much lip on the nut to grab onto so I set some vice grips on top of the wrench so it would pull off and I finally got it loose. Once I got that loose I spent maybe an hour on it (mostly because I was taking notes and inspecting parts). If I had to do it again it would probably take half an hour to 45 minutes. Here's what it looks like now... and should work near perfect. If anyone has questions just ask and I can explain more.

I was going place a freeze plug from the inside but that was going to conflict with the bearing. So I'm going to find a smaller one to plug the end (of the old shaft hole). I'm going to find a rubber bushing to place on the new shaft end to help center the column.

 

[RPM]

I am just wondering why you had to do that. I have used several Stang boxes but never had to reverse one. How will that be mounted in the frame?

 

[old bone]

saw you got razzed yeaterday

holy cow man I saw your post on the Mr. Tall britches site yesterday..man the first couple of guys tore you up...should have never used the rat word there....anyway...my question is did you just spin your pitman arm 180 degres ?...so now on your rod the pitman arm now faces down right?....will it still turn right when your wheel turns right?..i will soon be facing similar problems

 

[Gastrick]

Good job by you reversing the box KD. Please report the results after you try it in the truck.

 

[Sam_Fear]

holy cow man I saw your post on the Mr. Tall britches site yesterday..man the first couple of guys tore you up...should have never used the rat word there....anyway...my question is did you just spin your pitman arm 180 degres ?...so now on your rod the pitman arm now faces down right?....will it still turn right when your wheel turns right?..i will soon be facing similar problems

He moved the steering shaft to the opposite end and flipped the box. If you just flip the arm it will boat steer.

Here is a before pic:

 

[kelseydum]

Now it's all complete. Here are some pics of what I came up with.

Chopped a bushing in half and sanded it out to fit shaft correctly while still letting it turn smoothly. Now the base will stay centered.

Ground down the four large splines so I can position the pitman arm any way I want (except point up now). Got the new mount made and mocked it up. I think it's gonna work great. I could probably use a little longer pitman arm, but this will work good. Main reason I did all this was my ride is low so couldn't mount it under frame... on top of frame it was too high... I also had to consider header clearance and to make sure the pitman arm wasn't going to hit my cab.

 

[kelseydum]

Stuck a freeze plug in the old shaft end.

One extra pic of the gorgeous sunny weather we've had on my truck... and how I'm running the headers.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

Nice job. The only problem I am seeing on the reversal of that particular box is the gear lube will now want to run away from the gears instead of resting in it. You may want to fill the box with regular grease instead of gear oil. It will coat the gears better and this is also a common way to "tighten up" a slightly worn older steering box anyways. A lot of guys will even drill & tap a hole for a grease fitting right into the box so you can give it a squirt or two while doing regular chassis lubes. Just something to think about...

 

[moronthethrottle]

Nice work KD, you did a lot of thinking, planning and great documentation. Thanks.

Good advice BEDevil. We often have gearboxes mounted at crazy angles in our industry and have to advise that they be overfilled, but in this application a completely different approach like grease seems to be in order.

 

[kelseydum]

Already ahead of ya, Blue Eyed Devil. Packed with grease and it already has a plug you can unscrew to add grease.