F-250 4x4 steering box rebuild

[averagef250]

Well I made the mistake of taking something apart that worked perfectly fine just to make it look pretty. I'm putting every bit of the power assist steering setup from a 77 f-250 4x4 on my 70 f-250 4x4 and cleaning and repairing everything as I go. I pulled the Ross box apart because it was a greasy rust ball and hot tanked and blasted the housing. The darn little seals have no numbers on them and are definitely a special designed piece. The local parts stores have absolutely no listing for an F-250 4x4 steering box until 77.5. Funny how they list the 77.5 to 79 box that was used for 2 years but don't list the 77 and earlier box that they made 10 billion of. Anyway, I need to find the 2 seals and maybe the cover gasket as well for this box if anyone has any advice please let me know. Thanks.

Also what oil do I run in this box? I've got a library of ford truck shop manuals and maintenance books and can't find the oil listed anywhere. The big truck ross boxes it recommends 90w, but sure seamed like what came out of this box was thicker. Could just be cause it was 30 years old I guess.

[heep70]

Well, I know nothing about the power assist stuff besides they leak worse then a cheby rusts.

Why not put a Saginaw PS gear in instead?

[averagef250]

I love the power assist stuff. I've owned a bunch of trucks with it and never had a problem with it. The power assist cylinders are easy to rebuild with the right tools and the stuff lasts forever if you take care of it. The ford PS pumps are worthless junk, I am switching to a saginaw pump.

The power assist steering will turn the tires no matter what. If the parts are maintained there isn't any slop in the steering.

I had crossover steering with a 78-79 4x4 power box on my 70 F-250 and hated it. That steering was gutless offroad. I know the saginaw boxes are better than the ford boxes, but you can't beat a hydraulic cylinder pushing on the tie rod to turn the tires.