1979 F41 suspension question

[Tony_SS]

I was poking around last night and I noticed my steering box has the 4 bolt lid... and thought, hey, that's a quick ratio maybe? Went and checked the Malibu and it has the standard box.

So that got me thinking, did they put the quick ratio's in them as far back as 79? My Monte came with the F41 suspension option as listed on the build sheet. But I didn't think this included the quick ratio steering box? It appears it did though!

 

[SBCregal]

pretty sure the f41 package does include the quick ratio box
my regal has the package and the quick ratio box.

 

[clean8485]

Maybe I can help. Years ago, I had a '79 Malibu that had the factory F41 suspension in it, and the original steering box had the 4 bolt cover on it (as opposed to the base model steering box which had the round cover with the circular retaining ring). Before I got rid of the Malibu, I got my '84 Monte SS. I compared the number of steering wheel turns from lock to lock on the 2 cars. If I remember correctly, the Malibu had 3 turns from lock to lock, and the Monte Carlo SS had 2 1/2 turns from lock to lock. So while the '79 factory F41 box definitely had a quicker ratio than the standard '79 box, the ratio of the factory steering box in the '84 Monte SS (which according to the service parts ID label on the bottom of the trunk lid also has the factory F41 suspension) is quicker than the '79 F41 box. So the steering box in cars like the Monte SS, Hurst Olds/442 & Buick GN/GNX is more desireable. Another thing to keep in mind-GM changed the style of the power steering hydraulic fittings in either 1980 or '81. The older steering boxes have a conventional doublr flare line fitting, and the newer boxes have the later style O-ring type fittings. This means that while the mounting points on the frame are the same, the line fittings have changed over the years. Sorry for the long post. Hope this helps.

 

[Tony_SS]

Thanks clean, that helps alot.

If I were to swap a new Monte SS box in there, You think I'd have to change out all the lines as well? To the o-ring style ones?

Not sure its worth the trouble though.

 

[clean8485]

I did install a later Monte SS steering box on my '79 Malibu. I had a new pressure hose made up to go from the steering pump to the box, which had the double flare end on the pump side, and the O-ring end on the box side. Then I just bought the O-ring style return pipe that comes out of the steering box, and clamped the return hose back to the pump to that (same as original). You could check with your local auto supply to see about getting a custom hose made up for the high pressure line, or if you're getting your Monte SS steering box from a donor car, see if you can snag the steering pump and lines as well. The steering pump SHOULD bolt to the Malibu mounting brackets, and use the same drive belt. See which will work best for you. Good luck.

 

[clean8485]

Oh yeah, one more thing-you may have to get the toe-in on your car adjusted after you do the steering box swap, in order to center the steering wheel. Swapping the box will not alter your current wheel alignment, but the internal adjustments of different steering boxes are not always exactly the same, so swapping the box may cause your steering wheel to be not exactly centered. I noticed this condition after I swapped the SS box into the Malibu. The car drove straight, but the steering wheel was off center. Just trying to cover all the bases here.

 

[Tony_SS]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to stay with my current old school fast ratio box. I don't think a swap is worth the effort especially since I have a Camaro powersteering pump to fit an Alan Grove bracket so I think I'll leave well enough alone and put the money into rebuilding the front end/brakes.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

The 4 bolt box is used in virtually everything that got a Saginaw box--even AMC ran them in cars and Jeeps. The snap ring boxes are a poor quality box that GM tried for a few years as a cost cutting measure on some cars. So, the 4 bolt box can have any ratio GM so desired, but the snap ring boxes were only low performance.

 

[Tony_SS]

So Jeep/AMC and GM parts are the same? Apples to apples here, lets not include the whole world of automotive production.

This tread is about 78-88 F41 optioned G-bodys.

The fact is that the 78-79 F41 option included a fast ratio box, what ratio I don't know but it's better than the standard box. Is it the same ratio as a Monte SS box? I'll find out - but I'm just happy its there vs the low grade one.

 

[85 Cutlass Brougham]

My point was that the Saginaw model 800 steering box is a pretty universal part and that you can't tell what you have just by looking at it unless you have the model code stamped on the end cap and know what it means. Most are worn off over time. It is a very universal part and they all look the same. Chrysler was the only domestic manufacturer not to have used it. There is even a larger, more heavy duty model used in some applications that looks like an 800 to the untrained eye. Just like a Small Block Chevy, it is impossible to tell what box you have without doing some investigation.

I think the low performance one had 3.5 turns lock to lock and the high perf version is 2.5 or 2.25 turns lock to lock.