70' steering box options

[deronmoped]

Is there anything besides the stock steering box I can go with? I read that the newer steering boxes are made better and do not swap over without modding. Has anyone did a swap to something else? How about power steering?

With so many people swapping out their tires and wheels to something wider, you would think that someone would have a solution for the steering.

Thanks, Deron.

[Blaubus]

the new boxes are better but how much better? i can tell you that 30 years of continuous use will wear out even the newer ones. if you have to buy a new one anyway why not get the one that fits? the time spent doing the mod could be better spent making money.

regarding modification: from what i gather here on this forum, most people who have discussed this idea shy away from modification partly for the reason that it can destroy the value of the car to permanently alter the frame rail. also IMO the engineering and craftmanship of the mod need to be flawless to avoid safety issues.

[deronmoped]

How good are the rebuilt ones? The one in my Bus is probably the original.

What bugs me is I drive other cars with power steering, to go from that back to the Bus, well you know.

Deron.

[Blaubus]

if the steering drags so much you wish it was powered. then:

1) get used to it. i am not trying to be a smartass here. it is a bus. let it be a bus. stop driving the powered stuff long enough that you stop comparing it.

2) dont try to turn the wheel when the bus isnt moving. if you are used to power steering this might need to be said.

3) try new tires. hard to believe this is a factor, but worn out tires, especially if they wore when underinflated will drag the steering in a huge way.

4) ball joints can also play a role. in san diego, the boots on those joints will bust open fast in that dry heat. after that, waxy dried grease or even rust will drag the steering. when you have it dissembled it might not even feel like a lot of drag, but under load of the cars weight and steering resistance, that dried grease will become a significant factor.

5) get a new steering box...you need to know that worn steering boxes most often experience galling of the worm gear cheeks or even binding in the extreme cases, and that is a substantial drag right there.

6) trust my word on this stuff. i started driving VWs in 1977. thats 30 years ago

give the factory design a chance. everything is right with mine and it only drags a bit when i have the bus loaded down heavy. do the rest of your disc brake, ball joint, tire replacement and lubing of the center pin and see how it feels. you will likely see a big enough improvememnt with the new tires that you will drop the power steering idea. just a prediction.

the newly rebuilt steering boxes are good as new.

[deronmoped]

dansvans

1) All my cars do not have power steering (Manx buggy, Chev Vega and 70 Bus), sometimes I end up driving other peoples cars and it's nice to be able to whip a turn.

2) Yeah, I never do that.

3) Yes new tires with more tread wiggle feels almost like adding power steering. I was also wondering about tire compounds, a tire that has sticky rubber must be harder to turn and a tire that has tread made up of rock hard stuff should be easier to turn.

4) All my other steering stuff is pretty new and grease is my friend.

5) My steering box is pretty strange, it will turn what seems like normal till I'm into making a right turn, then it will turn easier then back to normal effort.

6) Experiance will deffinately make a person more knowledgeable.

I though there were some rebuilt steering boxes that were not so good.

Deron.

[Desertbusman]

[Blaubus]