Looking for info on direct swap steering box innfo for my 70

[batman09]

Looking for info on direct swap steering box for my 1970 c10.
Right now I have an agr 12.1 power steering box that I am not happy with at all!
Truck is very twitchy at fwy speed...almost scary..a ton of bump steer and wandering too....I just got it aligned and all alignment specter are great...3.6 positive caster...a little toe in...all is good.guy who did the alignment said they know all to well about the problems with agr boxes.....anyways what can I replace it with? Truck has an ls2 that puts out 1100 psi at the pump(was told by agr their box can handle 1600 psi or more) I've not heard good things about cpp power boxes either....what else is out the?
Thanks for your help!!

[68c10airstream]

If you don't mind changing the rag joint with the box my favorite box is an early 80's c-10 (outside frame mount) 3.5 turn lock to lock and VARIABLE RATIO. I went to auto schooling in the late 70's (god i'm getting old, but my memory is still pretty good) and the variable ratio came about from a very quick box in corvettes. At high speed they would be hard to control and keep straight from being twitchy. So saginaw steering gear came up with variable ratio to give you the best of both worlds.

Here is the brief tech on it; The variable ratio is slower reacting at the center position, about 17/1. After turning the wheel about 1/4 turn right or left from center it quickens up to 13/1 for the rest of the turns. I have driven my 68 c10 with my 5.3 ls with my hydro boost conversion at 100 mph for 1/2 hour with no complaints.

My steering box was a n.o.s. 85 c-10 box, and i sourced a 95 v8 grand cherokee used ebay box and robbed the spool valve from it and installed it into the nos box for a firmer feel. I'm running 18's with about 9" tire foot print. 14" steering wheel (comfort grip gm wheel) and after my spring time front end alignment, after my hydro boost conversion the alignment guy said " god that truck drives great", like a late model, What did you do??.

Drop in for your 70?? Only issues will be lines and the fitting, and the fitting in the back of the pump that the line threads into. If you junkyard scrounge parts just get it all from the same truck, good to go. In about 74 gm changed from inverted flair to o'ring. If you step up to hydro boost the fitting at the rear of the pump is unique to hydro boost in the fact it has a bigger outlet hole.

And welcome aboard, this is a great forum!!

[68Stepbed]

73-78 truck boxes have the same 3/4" spline shaft, and Inverted Flare fittings. 79-81(or 82) have the larger 7/8" spline, but still have the IF fittings. 83-87 have the metric O-ring fittings and the 7/8" spline shaft. Some of these number may or may not be accurate, but enough to give you an idea on what to look for.

All the 73-87 boxes are variable ratio. The 69-72 boxes are direct ratio.

[Bigdav160]

Thread is getting a little old but your symptoms match a inverted drag link not a steering box issue.

[batman09]

Originally Posted by Bigdav160

Thread is getting a little old but your symptoms match a inverted drag link not a steering box issue.

How do I determine this?im new to c10s... I’m a nova guy
Posted via Mobile Device

[batman09]

Originally Posted by Bigdav160

Thread is getting a little old but your symptoms match a inverted drag link not a steering box issue.

Looks right to me...what you think

[Rickysnickers]

I don't know, but that coil spring looks pretty maxed out, doesn't it?

[batman09]

Originally Posted by Rickysnickers

I don't know, but that coil spring looks pretty maxed out, doesn't it?

Yes..new ones are in the garage

[bs46488]

I subscribed to the other thread you started because I have the same issue.

For what its worth...I swapped out my steering box for the factory 1972 box. My issue was slightly different, I would turn the steering wheel left and it had a lot of play. Then all of the sudden, wham, it would dart across the street. The new box fixed that issue.

The other items: Bumpsteer and wondering. (I have the same issues) My guess is its the way the truck was lowered. Your front spring is maxed out because that's how the PO dropped the truck to get it lower. I think that is causing the bumpsteer problems.

For my truck, I'm going to swap over to a drop spring and see if I can get the angles of the suspension to work better.

Here are some pics that helped me. My guess is that your truck (and my truck) have angles that look like the bad sides of an isosceles trapezoid

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ight=bumpsteer