are there any good manual steering gearboxes that you guys know of that will bolt into a third gen? namely a 92 firebird that originally came with a 3.1 if it matters... i thought i heard something about an old nova gearbox but i dont know for sure

 

Gear box is a transmission.

A manual steering box from a 84+ S10 is a direct bolt in. The pitman arm should be replaced with the one from the third gen to keep the same steering geometry although some people use the S10 pitman arm. They're slightly different lengths.

Only S10/S15's that came with a 4 cylinder engine will have manual steering boxes but not all 4 cylinder S10's have manual steering.

You want the late model box with the 4 bolt top cover. The older boxes including the ones from Nova's etc, have a 3 bolt top cover. Although they'll bolt on, they take a bit more work to adapt them because of the small size input shaft and pitman arm shaft.

There's usually always an S10 manual steering box available on Ebay. They typically sell for $20-$100+ depending on the demand.

 

appreciate the help man.

 

what can be done to adapt the 3 bolt top cover steering boxes? It is all bolted in and the steering shaft is on however my stock thirdgen pitman arm is too big to fit on the gearbox.... what arm do i need to buy to make it work?

 

Were you able to connect the steering shaft? I thought the input shaft was a different size also. Early style I think was 5/8" and the later ones are 3/4". Using a proper rag joint coupler makes connecting it easier.

As for the pitman arm, my best suggestion is to find a 70's pitman arm. I'm guessing a second gen may work. I'm not sure when the changeover was from the small sector shaft to the larger sector shaft even on the power steering boxes.

A few things you need to check. Size of the sector shaft hole in the pitman arm. Length of pitman arm from center to center. S10 arms are a slightly different length than third gens which will change the steering geometry. Amount of drop. Steering linkage needs a hole in the pitman arm. First gen pitman arms had a ball socket on the pitman arm.

Might be easier to just buy a 4 bolt top cover version as a direct bolt in.

 

yeah the steering shaft slid right on, fits just like my old one did. The only problem is the pitman arm being too big for the shaft on the box. The arm that came on the steering box is way to short and has little to no drop to it. I guess ill go to napa and see what i can find, if i get something close il try it, if not i guess i will just have to buy a new box... thanks for the help though

 

I doubt you'll find a pitman arm at Napa. These ones are not a wearable item. They could probably order one in if one is available.