gearheads 605 saginaw power steer box

[kiwi ragtop]

Hi everyone I am new to this site. I live in New Zealand and have a 57 sunliner, which i have owned for about  12 years  Here is my question, I purchased a gearheads 605 saginaw power steer set up about 5years ago. It is now time to look at installing it, but looking at some of the negitive reviews from other people I am unsure if it is worth the effort. Can someone tell me what the real problem is with this box, is it the modification gearheads do to it, or is it just a bad box to use. Any help would be appreciated as I dont like to do things more than once.   

[Lgcustom]

I am very interested in this subject as well. I am considering the box offered by ABS. Any comments are appreciated.

[KidKourier]

  Check a couple of posts on here,there was a member who purchased a 567 steering box from ABS and stated it was a direct bolt on using existing steering box holes and I believe he used the stock Pitman arm and modified his stock column or used Flaming River or Ididit column.After install he drove it and said it handled very well and was happy with it.You could contact him for more info on installation and tips and how he feels about it now with more time behind wheel. KID

[bagboy]

I am  victim of Gearheads. I can send a picture of the sector shaft [ looks like a child worked on it]. Checkout Hotrodders bul. board for the LONG afair.Ripoff dare I say.

[ranchero57]

you guys need to read my post then call sal(senior)he really knows his stuff about steering boxes plus he has barrels of all kinds of vintage steering stuff.he took one look at the rack and pinion set up from wurthit and identified the components,he even has several of the racks in stock.if you have a 605 box that is not working properly he can fix it or tell yuu how to mahe it work.campy

[bagboy]

Do you think He[sal] can make P.O.S Gearheads box something one could sell.

[ranchero57]

yes,he said the box is a good one,but the people that adapt it to a ford cut the sector shaft in two and weld a cut off 57 shaft to it.they dont always weld it on straight or index it correctly.that is why some guys say it works properly for them(theirs was accidentally done right).on the ones that are wrong the box is in a turn mode when going straight and causes wandering.he told me that the fix is to put a 58 and later shaft in the box with a minor modification. campy

[kiwi ragtop]

Hi guys I have been checking the forum regularly and its good to get input from as many people as possible before you start any project. I have over 1500usd invested in the gearheads 605 conversion, so I am going to install it, although there will be some changes to the instructions they sent me. I have already done the chassis modification and bolted the box in place. I decided not to use the rag joint supplied in the kit instead making a double splined intermediate shaft; in doing this I don't need to modify the shifter arm and can leave the auto neutral switch in the factory position. The bracketing gearheads supplied to mount the power steer pump to the motor is rubbish nothing fits or lines up correctly so there is some work to do in this department. If the box turns out to be a piece of crap, I now have the option of sending it to campy's friend sal to get it fixed. Thanks again