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Broken steering box?

2K views 19 replies 7 participants last post by  bigwheel 
#1 ·
So I have broken the sector shaft right off of the stock steering box about 2 years ago, and now have almost broken the second box. So my question is this common and what can be done to prevent it from happening again? The truck has a 4" pro comp lift and some 35's. The pitman is the drop one that comes in the kit.

What do you guys do that are running bigger tires?
Should I do hydro assist? What kit or where to buy from?
Is there something else I should look at?

Thanks
 
#9 ·
The important thing is to have the tracbar and draglink be parallel. If you use a drop pitman arm, then you need a drop tracbar bracket. If they are not parallel then the lateral loads during suspension travel can be transfered to the steering box, and ultimately break the sector shaft.
 
#11 ·
Both the tracbar and draglink seem to be parallel to each other. That is one of the things I checked after the first box broke. Do you think if I went to a narrower wheel and tire that would help a little? Right now I am running 16x10 wheels and 35/12.50/16 tires.
 
#12 ·
Measure the length of both the tracbar and the draglink. They should be very close to the same length to allow for equal movement. Check to see if you have a drop tracbar bracket. The parallel line of the draglink is the line between the two mounting points, not the main bar, as there is a kink to consider.
 
#17 ·
Tape measure, piece of string, sharks with freakin' laser beams.... whatever you have.

Steering stabilizers will help reduce forces applied to the steering.
Making sure the geometry is all in order will help.
 
#19 ·
Yeah, those numbers are somewhat what I have. Dual steering stabilizers will help.If you have a drop pitman to go along with the drop tracbar bracket, then that's about as much as you can do. The shaft might just have had enough. If you have multiple failures, then you will need to investigate deeper. Ram assist will take strain off the steering shaft, but shouldn't be required with the size tire you have.
 
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