4 hole vs 3 hole power steering box for f-100 4x4

[fordman]

the 4 hole type i have seen mounted inside the frame on the dentsides. i have also seen the three hole type mounted on the outside of the frame. it depends on what setup your linkage has on how to mount your steering box. inside vs outside.

[Tweetie69]

Ok. so what would be the best way to determine which way the pitman arm is going to turn?

[fordman]

turn the splines where the steerign column hooks up and watch the bottom turn.

[averagef250]

4 hole is 78-79 F-250 4x4. Mounts inside the frame. The pitman arm goes forward-aft on these, not side to side like the F-100's did. You can probably tun the pitman arm 90 degrees to make it work, but maybe not.

I'd suggest selling it or trading it on craigslist for a 76-79 F-150 4x4 box. That will work better for you, much easier install, won't interfere with your radiator.

[Tweetie69]

turn the splines where the steerign column hooks up and watch the bottom turn.

Oh, I didn't even know that would work without being hooked up.

4 hole is 78-79 F-250 4x4. Mounts inside the frame. The pitman arm goes forward-aft on these, not side to side like the F-100's did. You can probably tun the pitman arm 90 degrees to make it work, but maybe not.

I'd suggest selling it or trading it on craigslist for a 76-79 F-150 4x4 box. That will work better for you, much easier install, won't interfere with your radiator.

So What's different between a 100 and 250 that causes radiator interference?

[fordman]

when the steering box sits inside the frame it can get too close to the core support fins and then the core support will need to be trimmed or new bolt holes made to mount the steering box. when it sits outside the frame there isnt much fo rit to hit on the core support. heres a link to a recent thread where this happened to someone. http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 22&t=48936

[Tweetie69]

when the steering box sits inside the frame it can get too close to the core support fins and then the core support will need to be trimmed or new bolt holes made to mount the steering box. when it sits outside the frame there isnt much fo rit to hit on the core support. heres a link to a recent thread where this happened to someone. http://www.fordification.com/forum/view ... 22&t=48936

Thank you for that link. I don't know why I didn't find that one already during my searching. That actually looks pretty doable as far as mounting goes. I'm thinking I would need to swap the worm gear to make that work in my F-100 though. Wouldn't the steering be backwards if I turned the pitman 90 to make it work on my setup? Sorry for the questions I know I could answer myself by going out to look. We just got a new house that we're not moved into yet and the parts are in the new garage, so it's a little out of the way.

[fordman]

that is what is being said that if you flip the pitman arm it will steer backwards. i havent checked it out yet. i picked up a box that may end up steerngn backwards on me too.

[Tweetie69]

Judging by the pictures I've seen, on an F-250, the pitman arm "pushes" that little spindle arm or whatever it's called to turn the wheel right, while an F-100 "pushes" the tie rod the other way to turn the wheels right. So I'm pretty sure that's the case as far as that goes. So now I guess the question is: what are the options for swaping the internals to correct this? Is it a "simple" worm gear swap (I don't know how simple that actually is), or would it be easier to try to find an entirely different box? I sort of like the idea of using the 4 hole. It would give me an excuse to do some weldin.

[Tweetie69]

Ok. So disregard that last post. I looked a little closer to get a better understanding, and it turns out I was mixed up on the mounting locations. I though if the 4 hole box was mounted on the inside of the frame in front of the crossmember it wouldn't leave room to mount the pitman arm to the rear, therefore I thought it would turn the wrong way. However, I now see that it can in fact be mounted to turn the sameway a 250 would, and should work if the arm is turned 90 degrees.