2006 Chevy 2500HD, duramax.  Seems the weight of the diesel kills steering boxes on these trucks.  It's some sort of Saginaw 800 or 808 type box.  Hard parts inside these take a beating and don't last.  A seal kit will not solve the issue.

Redhead box on the truck had well less than 20k when it developed play.  Has 0.050" of lateral movement in the sector shaft, plus whatever play is between the worm and piston nut.  Worm endplay is zero.  Can't tighten sector lash adjustment anymore...return to center is already getting numb near center.  Redhead is willing to discount "my next redhead" by $50.  Gee thanks.  That's not quite what I expected when I dropped $500 on it the first time.

Rest of the system is tight.  Play is absolutely in the box.  New Wolff column bearing.  New Moog HD pitman, idler, and bracket.  New intermediate shaft.  Adjusted the column.  Ball joints and tie rod ends are as they should be.  New steering stabilizer.  Truck is too nice and too useful to wander this much down the road.  Stock size tires and front suspension at factory height.

I have an unadultered (never rebuilt) junkyard box from a gas truck (lighter front end) but it does have some miles on it.  Do I send it to someone like Minhworx?

I really don't want to spend $900 on a PSC SG039 and have a one year warranty to show for it.  I don't do enough miles in a year to challenge the longevity of any box.  All the other new (not rebuilt) boxes are coming out of China.

If you haven't already.....look in your area for a steering shop that rebuilds boxes.


You may be able to have them rebuild the box with better upgraded components.


Another thing you may consider doing.....check out West Texas offroad and see if they offer a rebuilt box......or maybe even a ram assist unit.

In a nutshell.....they add fittings to the box that will move a hydraulic ram connected to your steering link/tie rod/whatever.


Takes stress off the box/pitman arm/frame mounts.

You can an add a cooler on the low pressure return line to help keep fluid temps down.

Rock crawler guys have been doing this for a few decades.....I've been using a ram assist on my crawler for 13 years.


https://www.westtexasoffroad.com/




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