Power steering box

zombie hunter · Jan 13, 2017

Is it possible to fix or overhaul a power steering box for a 2013 wrangler?? Is there any aftermarket 1s or can you only get from the dealership?? Got a quote for 16500 South African Rands for a new 1

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JK_Dave · Jan 13, 2017

I don't think so, but I suppose it depends on what you did to it. One common break seen is exerting too much force on the SB when trying to turn big tires without hydraulic assist. When that happens, you can see a couple of breaks. One is to shear off the piece that the pitman arm attaches to. Another is where the SB actually rips off of the frame rail. You might be able to fix the latter assuming the box is relatively unscathed, but the former would require a whole new box.

Can you post up a picture of what you're working with?

zombie hunter · Jan 13, 2017

JK_Dave said:
I don't think so, but I suppose it depends on what you did to it. One common break seen is exerting too much force on the SB when trying to turn big tires without hydraulic assist. When that happens, you can see a couple of breaks. One is to shear off the piece that the pitman arm attaches to. Another is where the SB actually rips off of the frame rail. You might be able to fix the latter assuming the box is relatively unscathed, but the former would require a whole new box.

Can you post up a picture of what you're working with?

The dealership is telling me that my damper is to stiff and my wheels are to big thats why my steering feels stiff and ruturns slowly but im only running 35s. I had my pump replaced so the only thing i can think of is the box because we checked everything else. Dnt have a pic at the moment sorry. Steering just feels all over the show and kicks out sometimes

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jeeeep · Jan 13, 2017

zombie hunter said:
The dealership is telling me that my damper is to stiff and my wheels are to big thats why my steering feels stiff and ruturns slowly but im only running 35s. I had my pump replaced so the only thing i can think of is the box because we checked everything else. Dnt have a pic at the moment sorry. Steering just feels all over the show and kicks out sometimesSent from my SM-G920F using WAYALIFE mobile app

how much lift do you have, do you have adjustable control arms?

explain a little more about:

Steering just feels all over the show and kicks out sometimes

JK_Dave · Jan 13, 2017

zombie hunter said:
The dealership is telling me that my damper is to stiff

Are you running the factory or an aftermarket damper?

zombie hunter said:
and my wheels are to big thats why my steering feels stiff

No, that's definitely not the problem. I'm running 37's and they're fine on the road. It might be a little stiff offroad if I'm trying to turn and my wheel is against something or my front is locked and I try to turn.

zombie hunter said:
and ruturns slowly but im only running 35s.

You mean returns slowly back to straight? That could be your caster angle. What angle is your pinion at? Have you used lower front control arms on your Jeep to correct for any lift? This could definitely cause wandering or weird sensations.

zombie hunter said:
I had my pump replaced so the only thing i can think of is the box because we checked everything else. Dnt have a pic at the moment sorry. Steering just feels all over the show and kicks out sometimes

Unless you're leaking power steering fluid or something looks broken, I doubt it's your steering box. Before you drop all that money, check your ball joints for looseness and all your steering connections - track bar links, drag bar link, etc. This could be giving you mild death wobble and you need to address this first. Definitely check your caster angle as well. If that's off, it will affect your ride.

Setting your Caster Angle

zombie hunter · Jan 13, 2017

jeeeep said:
how much lift do you have, do you have adjustable control arms?

explain a little more about:

Steering just feels all over the show and kicks out sometimes

I have a 3" bds lift with fox shocks and bilstein damper coz the fox fkd out. Jks adjustable track bar in the front.

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zombie hunter · Jan 13, 2017

After market damper. 1 wk old and never been offroad .
Ya it returns slowly and it feels abit tighter to the left. Still standard control arms. Not sure what caster angle is but alignment is perfect, we checked drag link, u joints, tie rod, ball hk joints,pitman arm nd track bar. Everything is fine, only a little play in tie rod ends nd drag link

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zombie hunter · Jan 13, 2017

My steering always smooth but once the pump fkd out and i had it replaced the drive has changed completely. If i turn left it sometimes stays left or returns back but not in a constant smooth rotation. Same with the right hand side. When i come to a stop it starts turning sometimes nd over bumps no matter what speed but its not constant, comes nd goes

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zombie hunter · Jan 13, 2017

JK_Dave said:
Are you running the factory or an aftermarket damper?

No, that's definitely not the problem. I'm running 37's and they're fine on the road. It might be a little stiff offroad if I'm trying to turn and my wheel is against something or my front is locked and I try to turn.

You mean returns slowly back to straight? That could be your caster angle. What angle is your pinion at? Have you used lower front control arms on your Jeep to correct for any lift? This could definitely cause wandering or weird sensations.

Unless you're leaking power steering fluid or something looks broken, I doubt it's your steering box. Before you drop all that money, check your ball joints for looseness and all your steering connections - track bar links, drag bar link, etc. This could be giving you mild death wobble and you need to address this first. Definitely check your caster angle as well. If that's off, it will affect your ride.

Setting your Caster Angle

I doubt its death wobble though

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JK_Dave · Jan 13, 2017

zombie hunter said:
After market damper. 1 wk old and never been offroad .
Ya it returns slowly and it feels abit tighter to the left. Still standard control arms. Not sure what caster angle is but alignment is perfect, we checked drag link, u joints, tie rod, ball hk joints,pitman arm nd track bar. Everything is fine, only a little play in tie rod ends nd drag link

zombie hunter said:
My steering always smooth but once the pump fkd out and i had it replaced the drive has changed completely. If i turn left it sometimes stays left or returns back but not in a constant smooth rotation. Same with the right hand side. When i come to a stop it starts turning sometimes nd over bumps no matter what speed but its not constant, comes nd goes

To me, this still sounds like you should check your caster first. The fact that you've lifted your Jeep 3" and are still running the stock control arms tells me your caster angle is out of whack. You need to look into adjustable lower control arms for your front axle so you can lengthen the distance of the arm, thus rotating your axle a bit. Look at that article link I posted above and it should make more sense.

The only other thing you can do is to replace your aftermarket suspension with your stock components and retest the steering then. If it's still off, then it's more likely to be your steering box. However, if I were you, I'd spend the $5 to buy an angle finder and test my caster first.

jeeeep · Jan 13, 2017

as mentioned, check your caster and invest in lower adjustable control arms if it's not where it should be.

Also, the bilstein damper tends to push and be stiffer than others so it will not always return to center.

I'd remove the bilstein damper and check your steering without it, you shouldn't need a damper if your suspension geometry is correct but the stock damper works much better than aftermarket.

zombie hunter · Jan 13, 2017

JK_Dave said:
To me, this still sounds like you should check your caster first. The fact that you've lifted your Jeep 3" and are still running the stock control arms tells me your caster angle is out of whack. You need to look into adjustable lower control arms for your front axle so you can lengthen the distance of the arm, thus rotating your axle a bit. Look at that article link I posted above and it should make more sense.

The only other thing you can do is to replace your aftermarket suspension with your stock components and retest the steering then. If it's still off, then it's more likely to be your steering box. However, if I were you, I'd spend the $5 to buy an angle finder and test my caster first.

Ive had this setup for about 30000 kilometers, why would this problem only start now?? Its kind of difficult to get control arms in South Africa, will have to get from the states. Who would you recommend?

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zombie hunter · Jan 13, 2017

jeeeep said:
as mentioned, check your caster and invest in lower adjustable control arms if it's not where it should be.

Also, the bilstein damper tends to push and be stiffer than others so it will not always return to center.

I'd remove the bilstein damper and check your steering without it, you shouldn't need a damper if your suspension geometry is correct but the stock damper works much better than aftermarket.

I herd that the fox was stiffer and they recommended bilstein. I personally dnt like the bilstein coz like you said it pulls to the left. Maybe i should use that money to get ram assist?? Hate wasting money on fixing the jeep when i can use the cash to buy more mods lol

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JK_Dave · Jan 13, 2017

zombie hunter said:
Ive had this setup for about 30000 kilometers, why would this problem only start now?? Its kind of difficult to get control arms in South Africa, will have to get from the states. Who would you recommend?

Go check your angle before you drop the coin, but I'd check out Offroad Evolution or Clayton.

zombie hunter said:
I herd that the fox was stiffer and they recommended bilstein. I personally dnt like the bilstein coz like you said it pulls to the left. Maybe i should use that money to get ram assist?? Hate wasting money on fixing the jeep when i can use the cash to buy more mods lol

A ram assist, like PSC, won't help any steering issues. They'll only exaggerate it if you have problems now. In fact, they state as much on their website -

Also a note of caution, if you vehicle has poor handling characteristics before installing light valved cylinder assist system, the handling will be even more adversely effected. For that reason light valved steering kits are recommended for vehicles that are built for the offroad and rarely driven on public roads. Cylinder assist systems will not correct poor on road steering characteristics.

http://www.pscmotorsports.com/motorsport-specific-products/offroad/cylinder-assist-gears-kits-components/sk271-2012-2014-jeep-jk-4-door-stage-4-firm-feel-cylinder-assist-kit.html

atrollip · Jan 13, 2017

Hi Zombie Hunter. Also from ZA. I would give the advice above a bash. All the advice I've been given on Wayalife has always resolved my issues. Also I've been steadily importing parts for my JK from the USA over the last year, it's not that difficult just pricey. So if u need help there on how to, give me a pm.

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zombie hunter · Jan 15, 2017

atrollip said:
Hi Zombie Hunter. Also from ZA. I would give the advice above a bash. All the advice I've been given on Wayalife has always resolved my issues. Also I've been steadily importing parts for my JK from the USA over the last year, it's not that difficult just pricey. So if u need help there on how to, give me a pm.

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Shot bud

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JK_Dave · Jan 18, 2017

Zombie Hunter, did you make any progress here?

zombie hunter · Jan 20, 2017

JK_Dave said:
Zombie Hunter, did you make any progress here?

Well everyone keeps on giving me different stories but every1 is leaning 2wards the power steering box. So im getting it fixed, putting stronger seals, better oil nd adding more pressure. Although the 1 guy said my ball joints nd drag link could also be adding to the problem so might change that 2 at a later stage

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JK_Dave · Jan 20, 2017

zombie hunter said:
Well everyone keeps on giving me different stories but every1 is leaning 2wards the power steering box. So im getting it fixed, putting stronger seals, better oil nd adding more pressure. Although the 1 guy said my ball joints nd drag link could also be adding to the problem so might change that 2 at a later stage

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LOL, glad my advice came in so handy. [emoji849]

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wayoflife · Jan 20, 2017

zombie hunter said:
Well everyone keeps on giving me different stories but every1 is leaning 2wards the power steering box. So im getting it fixed, putting stronger seals, better oil nd adding more pressure. Although the 1 guy said my ball joints nd drag link could also be adding to the problem so might change that 2 at a later stage

Don't know who "everyone" is but it would appear that you tend to take the advice of people who aren't on this forum.

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