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Old 05-24-2020, 04:42 PM
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Thumbs up Grand Cherokee steering box swap

My 64 Lemans was born with a 6cyl and manual steering. It now has a 455 and is really tough to to drive around town at low speeds. After reading a bunch of threads on p/s conversions I decided to go with the Jeep box. It's like I have a new car! The car went from 6.5 turns lock to lock to 3. The jeep box has a great feel to me, not too easy like most 60's cars. Absolutely the best bang for the buck I've done! I just wanted to share a success for a change instead of bitching about what didn't work.

Colt.
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Old 05-24-2020, 05:08 PM
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Great, thanks for the great info on the Grand Cherokee steering box.

Tom V.

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Old 05-24-2020, 05:32 PM
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Changed mine 2 years ago with a GC box .It was like a different car afterwards.
Mine also had a manual box originally. Put a power box on 8-9 years ago.Guy says it was from a 70 GTO. Still had a slow ratio and a terrible turning radius.

Neded to see saw back and forth to park at a car show.
Put on the jeep box , parks good now. Downroad feel is better.

I also put in tubular upper control arms with about 4 degrees offset built in for better caster , and I put in howe extended ball joints for some camber correction as well. Drives pretty dam good now

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Old 05-24-2020, 06:53 PM
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Same rag joint?? I have heard of other doing this. Bolt-in swap??

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Old 05-24-2020, 08:19 PM
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Hey Steve, If your car already has power steering it's a bolt in except for the rag joint and adapters for the box. Mine was a manual to power swap so I had to get pump, pulleys and brackets as well as a P/S pitman arm.
Rag joint; Lares, part# 200
Adapters for box; Lee Power Steering, part# SK-SAG

Just got back from a 30 mile cruise on the back roads, freaking awesome! like a different car!

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Old 05-25-2020, 09:07 AM
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Moneypit, that’s awesome on the JGC box. I did it too and am just as happy. Just curious about which upper tubular a-arms you used? I plan on going that route and am up in the air over which ones to buy.

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Old 05-25-2020, 10:58 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tempest1964 View Post
Moneypit, that’s awesome on the JGC box. I did it too and am just as happy. Just curious about which upper tubular a-arms you used? I plan on going that route and am up in the air over which ones to buy.
Thanks! I'm still running stock control arms. When I got the car a couple years ago the suspension was all new. It had new V8/AC front springs so it sat a little high for my tastes. I installed 2" drop spindles front and 2" lowering springs in the rear to get it where I wanted. At some point I will upgrade the control arms and when I do I will probably go with ridetech. I used their 4 link set-up on my 37 and was very pleased with the quality. They are a little pricey but made in the USA.

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Old 05-25-2020, 12:35 PM
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Thanks. I re-read the thread and realized i should have directed the a-arm question to latech!

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Old 05-25-2020, 07:38 PM
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I got the global west knock offs on E bay.
Neighbors complaint used them on his car too.
Now the ball joints looked cheezie but like I said , I rplaced them with extended ones for better camber sweep .

IIRC they were like 200 bucks.??
Remember the lower control arms bear the weight of the car, and absorb almost all of the suspension shock so nothing much to worry about as far as strength of the Knock offs. They looked good, are tig welded,powder coated and come with urethane bushings.They have some weigh as well, so the tubing must be pretty heavy.

Whichever ones you but, be sure they say they are modded for More CASTER. Like 4 degrees.

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Old 05-25-2020, 08:57 PM
66sprint6 66sprint6 is offline
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Where did you get the Jeep GC box? New, rebuilt or used.?
Thanks for the thread. This swap looks easier every day.

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Old 05-25-2020, 09:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 66sprint6 View Post
Where did you get the Jeep GC box? New, rebuilt or used.?
Thanks for the thread. This swap looks easier every day.
A friend bought some land and there was a dead Grand Cherokee on it. It had been there for years, no drive train. The box looked good and dry, still had the lines on it. I just cleaned it up and rolled the dice. So I guess it would be used.

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77 Grand Prix base model, 350 pontiac
97 F250 7.3 turbo diesel
85 CJ7 Laredo
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Old 05-25-2020, 11:08 PM
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Default GC box

So what year was the grand cherokee that you pulled the steering box out of,..and what years of jeep boxes are good for this swap...

Is their a part number for the hoses...

I would like to do this for my 64 GTO...

Thanks..

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Old 05-25-2020, 11:50 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jspeed View Post
So what year was the grand cherokee that you pulled the steering box out of,..and what years of jeep boxes are good for this swap...

Is their a part number for the hoses...

I would like to do this for my 64 GTO...

Thanks..
If your car already has p/s all you need is the box , rag joint, and adapters for the box. You can use your stock lines. If you check out the Chevelle.com forum there is a list of part numbers and sources.
Good luck, I can't overstate the difference it made in my car!

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37 Pontiac Sedan 455 700r4
94 Firehawk Supercharged 5.7 LT1 6spd.
77 Grand Prix base model, 350 pontiac
97 F250 7.3 turbo diesel
85 CJ7 Laredo
65 Impala SS 396, 4 spd, A/C.
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Old 05-26-2020, 05:39 PM
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Glad to hear this. I have installed a Jeep GC box on my '66 currently under restoration. Got a long ways to go yet, but I'm very curious to feel the difference between the old worn out box and suspension and the new quick-ratio JGC box and fresh and modern tubular suspension. The car was downright scary to drive before.

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Old 05-26-2020, 07:19 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 66sprint6 View Post
Where did you get the Jeep GC box? New, rebuilt or used.?
Thanks for the thread. This swap looks easier every day.
I got one at a local salvage yard

IIRC 94-98 gran cherokee box fits.

like was said in a previous post, get the little adapters to use you OE lines

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Borgeson-92...IAAOSwqKxev5yg

The OE GTO lines are a close enough thread/fit to screw into the box without problems. I used mine.No leaks.

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Old 05-27-2020, 07:41 AM
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Default JGC box

Thanks for the info fella’s..

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Old 05-27-2020, 08:05 AM
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Cardone 27-6509 - a hair below 3 turns. Turn radius not reduced. No adapter needed for the lines. Combined with a 1.25" sway bar, it is a tremendous improvement over stock

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Old 05-27-2020, 02:22 PM
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I have had very poor luck with Cardone stuff.
I put a steering box on a 70 Catalina a few years ago,it leaked as soon as the engine was started.

Not a fan of cardone. Sometimes that is all you can get.
They did replace the box no questions asked, so it was just the added labor and some fluid.

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Old 05-27-2020, 02:25 PM
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The Jeep box has an 87 degree sweep at the pittman shaft.

The original box I started with had 78 degrees of sweep. Now you wouldnt think that matters, but wait untill you have to park it tight at a car show.

That additional 9 degrees is like everything when it comes to good maneuverability

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