Steering Box Issue

[Christian B]

I have a badly leaking steering box on my 69 charger that needs replacement or the seals redoing .My car has Headers and aftermarket exhaust system
The garage said that they may need to pull the engine to get the steering box out
Is there a way it can be done without pulling the engine as im conscious of how much that will cost in labour

 

[RemCharger]

No. Pull the header and torsion bar. May have to remove the one motor mount bolt and jack the DS. ( drivers side, on a LHD car)

 

[R413]

Maybe just lift the engine up some with the exhaust still connected. Box needs to move rearward and then come out the bottom.

If you are paying to have this done it is already to expensive.

 

[68 Sport Satellite]

@Kern Dog has done this a few times. Engine removal is not necessary and hoping he can give some tips.

 

[dadsbee]

You can change both the input and output seals IN the car, don't let anyone tell you that you can't!

 

[kiwigtx]

The garage said that they may need to pull the engine to get the steering box out

Find a new mechanic if you're unable to do this yourself.

Harry & Paul are not the only experts around....sorry I meant Lee & Lance

 

[Kern Dog]

Simply put, a mechanic that thinks he has to pull an engine to swap out a steering box is akin to buying a hat too small then having your head shrunk to fit the hat.
They obviously have no experience with these cars. On slant six cars, you can swap boxes without even getting under the car!
It does help to pull the left torsion bar. The steering column has to uncouple and slide toward the seat. Sometimes you can do this without even disturbing the wiring.
Good luck.

 

[gkent]

Don't be so hard on the mechanic, he's just covering his ***. The last thing he needs to do is misquote the job and have the customer hold him to it! Its not every day someone brings a '70's classic into a shop for repairs and these days there aren't many mechanics around that have ever worked on one !!

 

[ckessel]

When I did the box swap on the 67 wagon, I was able to put the new Lares box in from the top. Car has a 440 with Hedmans. Since I was also putting a new pump in, the old one got removed which helped for the box install, plus the battery tray and braces removed. #1 plug too just for good measure. I pulled the engine mount bolt out and put my tall screw jack under the pan rail to tilt the engine up on the left side. Box popped the rest of the way in place. Was already close but needed to move the engine for the final. I did it that way as it has iron heads and I didn't want to hassle with coolant leaks on the head flange bolts. Getting the old box out was simple since I put a different K-frame in and left the box attached till the frame was far enough down. The car was on my lift with cribbing under the rails about even with the firewall, for support, and using the lift's rolling jack under the K to let it down and my engine hoist holding the engine up.

 

[Geoff 2]

If you are in London, UK, & car is RHD, mechanic could be correct. I doubt though that the engine needs to removed. Engine mounts removed etc, & engine raised enough for access.

 

[Christian B]

It's a LHD 69 Charger 440 and yes I am

 

[F4R/T]

There is plenty of room, worst thing would be to pop a torsion bar out or pull the motor mounts loose and raise the engine.. I’ve never had to raise the engine. A little patience and it’s done.

 

[Christian B]

When I did the box swap on the 67 wagon, I was able to put the new Lares box in from the top. Car has a 440 with Hedmans. Since I was also putting a new pump in, the old one got removed which helped for the box install, plus the battery tray and braces removed. #1 plug too just for good measure. I pulled the engine mount bolt out and put my tall screw jack under the pan rail to tilt the engine up on the left side. Box popped the rest of the way in place. Was already close but needed to move the engine for the final. I did it that way as it has iron heads and I didn't want to hassle with coolant leaks on the head flange bolts. Getting the old box out was simple since I put a different K-frame in and left the box attached till the frame was far enough down. The car was on my lift with cribbing under the rails about even with the firewall, for support, and using the lift's rolling jack under the K to let it down and my engine hoist holding the engine up.

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Did you lift out the engine on this as I can see the hoist

 

[Christian B]

Don't be so hard on the mechanic, he's just covering his ***. The last thing he needs to do is misquote the job and have the customer hold him to it! Its not every day someone brings a '70's classic into a shop for repairs and these days there aren't many mechanics around that have ever worked on one !!

The Garage only deals with American Classic Cars and Mopars

 

[Christian B]

The Garage wanted to know which box had already been fitted by the previous Garage that worked on it as they said said they can order a new steering box in for that year of car but no guarantees it will be correct as they have no clue on what the current one is & if it will marry up to all the other parts that have previously been used in the leaking box

 

[ckessel]

No. I only put some tension on the engine just to hold it up as I was dropping the K out from the bottom. I did try to drop the old box out from the bottom, but that was a no go unless I undid the header. At that time, I didn't even think about going from the topside with the engine tilted some by the screw jack. Since I was changing the K out, just left a couple of bolts in it so it would come out with the frame. Once the frame was down, I took the bolts out, pulled the box out, then pulled the frame out. If you decide to go with a new unit, go either with the Borgeson from BAC[ Peter is one of our sponsors on the forum] or Lares like I did. The Lares is new and a direct replacement for the oe unit. However, plus the tech gal told me this, if you have stock exhaust it will have no fitment issues. If you have headers, you're on your own. I did have to thump #3 and #5 tubes. 3 for the box itself, 5 for the coupler. The Borgeson would most likely fit in better since it's smaller than the oe. I would highly recommend you don't have an oe, rebuilt stocker put in. Depending on the source for the unit, you could either get a good one that doesn't leak, but has a dead spot when straight or a leaking POS. Very few companies do a true rebuild. Most just toss a seal or two at it, paint it black, then kick it out the door. They may warranty the unit, but will not reimburse for the labor. Choose wisely.