Hey, does anyone here know what ratios were available in the steering gear boxes between 1982 and 1988 in the Camaros? My little bro has an '82 with what seems to be a box that goes 2.75 turns lock-to-lock...and it sucks. Way to flimsy, does not feel AT ALL tight on handling. I told him that he and I need to go junkyard browsing, but I don't know what years of Camaros are worth looking at for uprgrades on the gearboxes. It would be ideal to find a box out of a Z28 or an Iroc...but that kind of Camaro just does not tend to make appearances in junkyards around here. It's all V6 cars with a handful of plain-body V8's. So what years should I pay attention to when I go looking for donor cars?

 

i think that the ws6 and the ircos have a faster seering rate .

 

Yes I know but those are not easy to come by in this area; I need to know which years are better than others, base-model-wise.

Believe me, if I could scare up an Iroc box I would!!

 

Jack your car up and have your bro jiggle the wheel back and forth so you can check for play in the steering linkage from below, you might have worn steering parts. Anyway, the ws6 steering box will take 2 @ 1/4 turns, that is the one you want. The cars with the ws6 package had them (I would look for 84 to 92). Look for anything that would have the ws6 package. The easy way to find one is to spot a car that has rear disc brakes, or had the rear end removed. These cars probably had ws6 option to get that rear end. Turn the steering wheel to check if its a 2&1/4, or you can remove the bolt that connects the middle of the steering rod to the box and pry the rod apart in the middle with a screwdriver (this will let you turn the gear box by hand). Then jack the car up so the wheels can turn, or remove the bolt that connects the steering box pitman arm to the centerlink (you will have to pound the bolt out of the pitman arm) Get a box that is as tight as possible (the slightest turn from one end should make the other end turn too) While you are under there see if the cars have bigger front and rear sway bars than yours does. Finding a front wonder bar bolted to the front sway bar would be a nice bonus part! Find the biggest sway bars and grab them too.... I could go on forever, just grab the good stuff.
Good luck and happy hunting!

 

The best steering boxes are from Z28,irocs,trans ams,GTAs any year.You can tell the better boxes from the lesser type from the cover on the top of the steering box.The slower ratios have a round cover that is held in place by a big reatiner ring clip.The better boxes have a SQUARE cover w/4 bolts on e on each corner.Again Z28,iroc,GTa,trans am are the best sources for these.Also look for the WS code stamped on the front of the steering box.Those are the quicker ratios.Try ebay also.