Technical Vega steering box.

Hi everyone.
In my truck their is a vega steering box , the guy that I purchased it from said that’s in no good / worn out . Can you rebuild them ? Or is it just easier to buy a new one ?

Cheers Benedict

 

I do not believe they can be rebuilt, try Borgeson Universal Company for a steering box or more information, they bought out Mullins steering gear a few years ago .

 

Go with the Unisteer rack, its way superior to the vegas cross steer. the kit
bolts in where the vegas box was mounted. No more steering problems.

 

Great , thanks for both replies , I will look up the unisteer rack

 

I am no fan of the Unisteer racks. Ugly as hell, and not traditional in any fashion.

 

Yeah I was just looking at them :/ And I see what you mean , I like the look and as you say the tradion of the vega box, I will stick with what I have and what I’m know.

 

I'm not saying a Vega box is traditional, but at least they look like a steering box, not the arms off a robot.

 

F 1 may be traditional....

 

Mine is F1

 

Follow MrMike's lead on this one. Borgeson.

 

I don't believe you can beat a F 1 box for it's simplicity and size. I have a complete one from box to steering wheel and it turns smooth as butter.

 

I'm with alchemy on the Unisteer plus it's been said you lose turning radius. If you stay with the Vega style box you won't have to redo a bunch of other crap. I have a Chinatown Vega box on my coupe and have not had any problems for two years. Maybe I just got lucky. When it does come time to replace it I will use a Borgeson.

 

Thanks for all the opinions, I have been reading through the technical info on Borgesons website and it’s helped me out and I have started to learn a lot more.

 

Very difficult to eliminate excessive bump steer using any rack & pinion with a solid front axle. Greg

 

This is what I have in my truck , and that is what I will stay with.... traditional and nothing more

 

That's not a Vega Box

 

Guy who sold me it told me it was , just went through my pics he sent me and found it. Does anyone know what it is then please ?

 

That's a GM power steering box. Don't no what year though.

 

And I have learnt something new , I was just going by what I was told. Cheers for that...

 

Since you have a GM power box replace with 525 manual box. Pitman may need changing depending year of 525 box purchased.

 

Well as soon as it’s here I will have a proper look to know and learn what everything is and go from their, I know how I want it and what I want , so I will stick to that plan. And if it’s no good to me I will sell it on for what I want.

 

525 looks like this. Many mistake it for a Vega.

 

That power box looks to have the lines plugged? That would be a muther to turn, worse than a bad manual box.

 

Given the size and weight of your panel truck I wouldn't even consider using a Vega sized box as it's suited to smaller and lighter cars less than 2,500lbs. A 525 is better suited given it's more robust and heavy, that looks to be a heavier Delphi 600 PS box

 

That is a 800 series Saginaw power box. Nothing wrong with them. I have had one in my forty for over 30 years. Get a gm teardrop pump and hook it up. The larger of the two fittings id the pressure side.

 

Could be from a Vega with power steering. They used the larger power box like that.

 

GM used that same power box on many vehicles for a lot of years. It looks like the same one that was on a '70 Pontiac Lemans that my father used to have. That 525 non-power box was likewise used on many applications for years. It looks like the one on my truck that came from a '64 Chevelle.

 

I have used a Unisteer and loved it. I found no problems with bump steer or reduced turning radius.

 

the reduced turning radius is usually caused by the ram hitting the hairpins on the driver's side.
you have to make sure that there is clearance. It us usually only on a right hand turn.

 

I have used manual Vega (Flaming River USA 1/3 stronger) and mid 1960's manual 525 Saginaw. When I installed block headers on my 351W - went with Flaming River Vega for needed clearance. 3 years - no problems works great. The 525 did great for 25 years - needed the room for headers. In a Chevy engine - the 525 should fit. Had pro builders tell me to avoid the 1/2 rack product. If you try it - watch out for split wish bones - per rack maker tech line - need unsplit wish bones. Mine were split for the C-4. For a passenger car - and the beefed up USA made Vega box - will be fine - but cheap China copy Vega / buyer be ware.....