Anyone every bought one of these rebuilt steering boxes?

[Crash513]

I'm doing the suspension on my '73 tii, and I'm thinking this would be a good time to replace the major steering components while I'm at it.  I came across this listing for remanufactured steering boxes on eBay.  Anyone have any experience with this vendor and product?   My current box is pretty sloppy and I'm thinking a swap would be the easiest way to correct that.  

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Reman-Manual-Steering-Gear-Box-Fits-BMW-1600-1800-2002-E10/152869512970?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m1438.l2649

 

Any thoughts are appreciated as always.

 

 

[williamggruff]

I bought one recently just out of curiosity. I haven’t installed it yet, so I can’t opine as to how well it works, but the finish on it seems quite good. I planned to pull my steering box to replace the seal, and thought I might as well replace the whole thing for the low eBay price. 

 

Note that you must pay a $200 refundable core charge, and ship the manufacturer an old steering box. 

[Einspritz]

I can confidently say that you cannot buy the needed parts, bushings, bearings, and seals at wholesale for that price.

 

I have found a source for the NLA OE bushings and my wholesale cost is $60. I have also engineered larger bronze bushings with oil channels and will say they are "more" than that; and then they must be align honed to specification, my cost $125.

 

Other than painting the case and seals, I wounder what they did.

 

Let us know!

[PaulTWinterton]

Isn't the big question the worm gears? Do they replace or repair?

 

It's been a long time since I was inside but I remember wear/pitting.

[halboyles]

10 minutes ago, PaulTWinterton said:

Isn't the big question the worm gears

Definitely.  If you send yours in for exchange you don't know what you will get in return since they just rebuild whatever they get as cores.  I've gotten good ones and bad ones.  If the worm gears are bad no amount of adjustment will get rid of the slop or bumpiness.  If you find one that is in good condition, take it to your local parts store that will send them in to A1 Cardone for rebuild..  At least around here you will get the exact unit back that you sent in.

[Guest_anonymous]

The worm gear was $180 when it was last available. 

[Einspritz]

20 minutes ago, Guest_anonymous said:

The worm gear was $180 when it was last available. 

 

Through BMW?

 

It is not just the worm gear, it is the roller that also spalls due to lack of lubrication. The roller rides on needle bearings and the shaft is swaged, so it is not easily serviced.

 

In addition, there are 3 separate places to shim into specification, as well as the shaft bushings and top for axial wear.

 

Can anyone say what A1 Cardone does to rebuild the boxes sent to them?

 

After going through the box shaft bushings to a high level of tolerance, I find the bushings for the idler arm not within specification even with new parts. So, have to re engineer that too to make it right.

2 hours ago, williamggruff said:

I can’t opine as to how well it works

 

You can take the top off and look at the worm and roller (without hurting the box) to at least see if the worm and roller are spalled. Though you will have to adjust the vertical setting of the roller.

[SteveJ]

Oh joy!

Something else to consider...while the motor is out of the car. 

 

For the price I'd be happy to send in my OK/dirty box to get a decent/clean one to install. I've been around these cars for almost 35 years. I don't know if I have ever felt perfect steering.

[Einspritz]

Steve-

 

Perfect steering is definitely worth it, particularly if you run bigger rims and tires. If you have the OE bus wheel steering wheel, you may notice a lot of latency (slop). Its not a big deal if you just cruise around town, but for me, I can't and won't live with that particularly in spirited driving on mountain roads.

 

The 15.5:1 ratio or 3.5 turns lock to lock is close to your 88 M3, although the ratio on the M3 is 20.5:1. Of course, you don't have uh, power steering. I think there is better road feel than the M3.

[Dudeland]

I have one of these on my "watch" list.   Having read a tonne of stuff, it seems like the people likely to get it close is the rebuilders. The parts are NLA.

 

My box has about 1/2" of play if I turn it to lock. How is yours feeling?  does anybody else have this issue?

 

I was honestly going to get a close ratio box and a regular one, to copy the gears and sell them. 

 

I know that there is a huge amount of metallurgy and tempering that goes into these parts... but at the end of the day, it is still a chunk of metal 

 

[Crash513]

Thanks all.  I have an email into Car Steering Wholesale, the rebuilder, asking if they can confirm that they are replacing worn parts when they rebuild.  I'll let you know their reply.  

[PaulTWinterton]

On 5/11/2018 at 9:31 PM, Dudeland said:

My box has about 1/2" of play if I turn it to lock. How is yours feeling?  does anybody else have this issue?

 

I think everyone has this issue.  The box only feels tight while the wheels are straight.  The more you turn, the looser it gets.  I believe that they are engineered to be looser in the turns at speed.  It will take someone smarter than me to explain why.

[Brandon]

I’ve been looking at these rebuilt boxes too, the same place also offers rebuilt boxes for Mercedes, which I also need.  I would think for the money, these rebuilt boxes would be better than the worn out 50 year boxes that are still in most 02s, I’d take a chance.

[Simeon]

3 hours ago, Brandon said:

I’ve been looking at these rebuilt boxes too, the same place also offers rebuilt boxes for Mercedes, which I also need.  I would think for the money, these rebuilt boxes would be better than the worn out 50 year boxes that are still in most 02s, I’d take a chance.

 

It could be a worn out 50 year old box with new seals and a clean up. 

[g_force]

2 minutes ago, Simeon said:

 

It could be a worn out 50 year old box with new seals and a clean up. 

 

THIS - I stopped buying house brand rebuilts a long time ago, because you don't know what the rebuild entails.