hello guys,

i'm from austria/europe and own a 1989 Trans Am 5.0 TBI.
It's an export vehicle and was first imported into switzerland. Then the car came to austria and found me as his new owner. I restored it and i drive it about ten years now without any problems.

Now my steering box is leaking and i think about to change it. if i rotate the steeringwheel from stop to stop it makes 2.5 turns. the car has WS6.

I found a Borgeson Universal 800130 at summit:
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/b...bird/year/1989
it has 12.7:1 ratio. is that the right one i can use? or has it 3.5 Turns stop to stop?
Is Borgeson worth the extra money?

i found some boxes at rockauto also:
a Lares 11282 with 10:1 ratio. 2.5 turns stop to stop? but i'm confused about "Soft Ride" Optioncode FE1. what is that and i don't know if my car has this option.
What do you think about the quality of Lares Parts?

at classic industries i found a cardone quick ratio box:
https://www.classicindustries.com/pr...ts/p18511.html

I hope anyone can help me which ratio i need, and if i need this "Soft Ride" version or not?

i'm open for your expertise and recommendations which box is the best i can use. Which parts should i change also (rubber coupler)?

an alternative is to disassemble my box and reseal it. but which seal set do i need?

Thanks for your help!

greetings, Andreas

 

If you have the right box in the car now I'd say rebuild it/install new seals. All the Lars, Cardone and other rebuilds that I've looked at (I've ordered in multiple ones and tested them, it became a thing with the local shops, I think in the end I've looked at over 20 of them) are just slap together rebuilds that are whatever was returned in the box. I have never found a box that was an f-body part number that actually had f-body stops in it and I've never found a close-ratio part number that came out as a close-ratio box and I've found all sorts of weird combinations. I know that I traced down one that was a close-ratio f-body part number that what was actually in the box was an AMC box, I've even found them with the wrong input shafts...

If you search my posts here you'll find a bunch about it, and you'll likely even find links to 2 fairly boring videos that I've posted on youtube testing them that have been linked all over the place.

 

Thank you for your honest feedback and your experiences!
Installing new seals should not be rocket science and feasible for me.

There are 2 different seal sets from Gates incl. Bearings on Rockauto which i find interesting:
GATES350430 with Softride
GATES349700 without Softride
I dont know what this "Softride" is...

Which seals do you recommend?

Thanks, Andreas

 

Generic explanation but typical across GM range of cars

https://www.gmforum.com/performance-...estion-206461/

Each model /year typically had a "perf handling " option like your WS6 package

 

Thank you! That helps!

Andreas

 

Dont waste youre time rebuilding one or buying a rebuilt one the worm gear is what goes in them.buy a new one not reman i put a reman in an it was a waste of time so i bought the Borgeson one in my car well worth the lil extra money for sure.

 

Hi,
do you have a good scource to buy a borgeson with 2,5 turns?
Andreas