Dodge Power Steering Gear Box

[Clipper Joe]

Hello All Dodge Clipper Owners,

This Is A Small Tech Info On Changing A Dodge B-300 PoweR Steering Gearbox.

Most Of This Is For Info Only, & Each Dodge Uses Per Mopar Specs. ( Note: You Have To Know What Gross  Vehicle Wt. You Have. I Think This Info Will Work On 1975-1979  Dodge Clippers. 

If You Are Able To Find A Mopar Nos Gearbox, That Is The Way To Go. Most Parts Shop Use Rebuilt Units. I Was Able To Install A Gearbox From O'Reillys Auto Parts, Master Pro # 27-6542      X72465 I Comes With A Life Time Warranty. I Think You Can Also Get One From Napa Auto Supply.

Power Steering Main Hose Master Pro # 71036 & Gates # 354580
Power Steering Return Hose Is 3/8" X 25 In. Long Also Know As Return Hose. Note: Need @ea. Small 5/8" S.S. Hose Clamps That Fit 3/8" Hose, Use Good Grade Of Rubber Hose.

Tools Needed Is:
2 1/2 Lb Sledge Hammer
Pitman Arm Puller, You Can Buy Or Rent From Parts House.
1 5/16" Inpact Socket For Pitman Arm Nut & 1 5/16" Combo Wrench.
1/2" Socket & Extentions Small 3" & 6" 1/2 " Drive & Ratchet 1/2" Drive.
19 MM Combo Wrench.
1/2" Impact Drive Unit. Elec. Or Air Driven.


To Remove Gearbox Unit:
Disconnect Battery
Remove Battery Tray
Remove Window Washer Res. Note: Disconnect 12Vdc & Ground Wires From Pump & Hose.
Make Sure Steering Wheel Is In Middle Position.
Block Rear Wheels & Jack Up Front Of Clipper, Use Rated Jack Stands & Secure Clipper Of Ground.
Remove Power Steering Line & Drain P/S Pump Fluid Into Bucket.
Then Remove 3/8" Return Line. After Draining All P/S Fluid.
Loosen Pitman Arm Nut, Do Not Remove @ This Time.
Remove Flex Coupling Bolts 2ea. & Remove 1/4" Roll Pin, Note: Some Couplings Use 1/4" Bolt & Nut.
Remove 3ea. Gearbox Mounting Bolts, 2ea.On Left Side Of Gearbox & 1ea. On Right Side Of Gear Box.
Remove Drag-Link From Pitman Arm At This Time, & Leave It Attached At Other End.
After Gearbox Is Loose, Turn It To Be Able To Attach Pitman Arm Puller, Remove Large Nut & Lock Washer @ This Time. Use Large Breaker Bar On Puller To Pull Off Pitman Arm.
Make Sure You Check Frame Area For Cracks @ Mounting Bolts Were. & Clean Mounting Area & Clean Up Old Bolt Threads, Before Re-Install. I Also Used Some Never Seze On Threads, Your Choice, Some Like Blue Lock Tite. 
Now You Should Be Able To Remove Gearbox Unit, It Comes Up & Out Top Of Hood Area. Use Caution, This Is A Heavy Item.
Wipe Gearbox & Set It Next To New Rebuilt Unit, You Will Have To Use Some Parts On New Unit.  Also Check To Make Sure It Is The Right Gearbox Before Proceding.

Note: Install In Reverse Order, Make Sure You Follow New Gearbox Instructions. Also Flush Out Power Steering Pump Fluid & Install Proper Power Steering Fluid, I Got The Clear P/S Fluid From O'Reills. Has Pt. Size Fluid I Bought 5ea.

***  Now I Have Done Alot Of Checking On This Fluid. Mopar & Dodge Has Superceded It Oil From The Past. They Want You To Use ATF 4, & Is Red In Color, That Is All They Sell Now & It Works Great On Newer Cars & Trucks, But In The Past  Dodge Used A Clear Or Slight Brown Light Wt. Hyd. Base Oil.
I Have Read Many Blogs, & Most Old Vans & Jeeps Us The Old Style. That I Got From O'Reillys. & Say That If You Use The ATF-4 It Shortens Life Of Pump & Gearbox.  I'm Not Trying To Make Up Your Mind On What Oil To Use, But I'M Sticking With This Oil Frome The Past For Now, In 10 Years I'll Send You A Update.

Make Sure You Line Up Pitman Arm & Coupling So Steering Wheel Is Still In Middle Position & That All Bolts Are Torqued To Mopar Specs, I Have That Info If Needed, Please  Remember Anytime You Alter Front End, You Have To Have It Re- Aligned  By A  Front End Pro Who Works On 1 Ton Units.

****  Remember This GearBox Tech Info Is For Information Only, & Always Refer
To Your Dodge Manual.****

Please Feel Free To Respone If You Have Any Questions?   (Will Modify When Input Is Needed)

Joe

[Sfine]

Awesome information Joe, thanks for your diligence.
Hopefully I won't need to use this info for awhile yet.!
What were the issues that were happening with your power steering box that lead you to replace it?
Good preventative maintenance is always key to a happy trip.
sF

[Clipper Joe]

Hello All Clipper Owners,

Just Wanted To Update You All With Dodge Power Steering Gearboxes That After 40 Years Of Wear & Tear.
I Have Been Having A Steering Problem Since I Bought My 1977 Clipper.
Now I Have Replaced 4 Ea. In Total.
So I Can Say I Should Have Put A Zipper On The Last Install.

Let Me Explain, The First P.S. Gearbox Was One That Came From Sacramento O'Riells Auto, Installed It After Removing I Think Was Orig. One It Had 130,000 Miles On It.

1.) The One From O'Riells Sacramento, It Had A lot Of Free Play In Steering Wheel, I Removed It After Contacting Tech Support Back East, They Requested To Tighten Up 1/2 Turn On Adjusting Bolt For Sector Shaft. This Did Not Work.
2.) I Returned That Gearbox I Got Another With Same Part # From My Local O'Riells Parts House.
This Gearbox Was Doing The Same Thing, Called Again To Cardone Tech Support & Told Him My Story & Said These Rebuilds A Not Working As They Should Be, So I Did What He Requested. This Was Not Working, So I Called Back And Said To Tighen More On Back Lash Adjusting Bolt. This Time Almost A Full Turn
3.) Now Being Very Unhappy With O'Riells & Cardone The Re-Manufacture, I Reached Out To A Pro Steering Box Company Called Striaght Line Steering In San Jose.
They Stated Most Of These Old Repairable Core Gearboxes, After Time, They Get Egg Shape & Needed To Be Re-Bored & Add A Large Bearing To Make Them True After Years Of Use.

4.) After All This I Called Napa Auto, And Was Able To Get The Right Gearbox, Went Down To Day And Had Front End Re-Alianed.

The End Product, Is Don't Settle For Sloppy Or Drifting Back & Forth, My Clipper Drives Like A New RV.

Feel Free To PM If You Need Any Info On This, I Feel After A lot Of Pain Stakeing Work I
Kind Of A Pro On These Gearboxes.

Hope This Helps, I Know It Is Now More Of A Pleasure To Drive Clipper Wilson Now.
Hope To See You All At Rally In May.

Joe & Denise

[LuluLove]

Joe,
I'm so excited to see this as a topic, it totally makes my month.

I have been on the hunt for this elusive power steering box, and I'm thrilled on our information.

The thing I'm a little confused, is though your Clipper sounds like the same model, my recently purchased shop manual points me to a MB400 vs, a B300. I'm wondering how interchangeable these are, as searching parts for a MB400 has been extremely difficult.

Can you share the part number and contact for the folks in San Jose who have the correct Gear Box? It's a big enough job by itself, and I wouldn't want to do it twice.

Look forward to meeting you and mixing you a cocktail of thanks-
Lars

[Toedtoes]

Use the B300 for your base. The clippers are class C motorhomes and use a standard sportsman B300 cab and chassis. The MB300 designation is for class A motorhomes where it was custom built for the motorhome build.

Also, when selecting the model year, go off the VIN not the registration or documentation for the motorhome. The reason is that often the motorhome did not get built and completed until the following year. So, your cab and chassis may be a 1977 but your motorhome is a 1978. For engine and chassis parts, you want to make sure you use the engine and chassis year (especially for 1976 and 1977 when the model specifics changed).

[Clipper Joe]

Hello Lars,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Napa-39-1035-Power-Steering-Gear/273181682705?epid=4018634295&hash=item3f9ae5ac11:g:ziMAAOSwgcVa4zRb


They Want At My Local Napa Auto In Newark, Ca
$121.24
Found This On EBay A lot Cheaper & Free Shipping.

My Cruise Has Same Problem, & Sometime It Takes More Than A Servo To Fix.
I Would Get A Firm Quote On Fixing Cruise Control On An Old Clipper.
If You Need Cruise, Remember, A Lot Of Weight
You Are Moving.

Hope This Helps,

Clipper Joe

Ps;I Forgot To Add Your Other Question.
Mb-400 Is A Class A Motorhome, With A Bigger Frame/ Chassis & Most Times Have The Heavy Duty 440-3 Instead Of The B-300 Van 440-1    7.2 Liter V-8 Engine.

I Mostly Just Search Up For A 1977 Dodge B-300
440 CI  Engine,
727 Auto Transmission.

Hope This Helps.
Clipper Joe

[Clipper Joe]

Toedtoes,
You Did A Better Job Of Explaining.

But Just A Small Note:
Over The Years, A Lot Of The Parts Houses,
Left The Parts Manuals Under The Desk, And They Reline
On There Computers For Looking Up Part Numbers.
Like Autozone, O?riles, Pep Boys.
That Is Why Napa & Rock Auto Parts Have More
data On Older Cars & RVs.

Joe

[LuluLove]

Thanks Joe!
The cruise servo is more about getting my speedo to work (when I pulled out the speedo cable to check, I can get it work with a spin) so I figured I could just replace the servo to know my speed. That era of cruise control scares me.

Thanks for the clarification on the MB400 side. I think I just need to understand when I need to search for the different part specifically (like when looking at engine parts for a 440-3?)

Being part of this club is a real life saver! Thank you.

[Clipper Joe]

Hi,
You May Only Need A Cable, Have To Check To See If Clipper
Supply Parts Are Still Avaibale,
If Speedo Is Not Working, Maybe Speedo Shop Can Repair,
Cheap Enough.

What State, Do ayou Live In?

Joe

[Clipper Joe]

Hi
I Would Have To See The Start Of Vin
In Cab Door.
I Think You May Have A 440-1

You Can Also Look On Engine Block, Hard To See Some Times,
Will Be There Also.
Your Clipper You Said Is 1977, But May Have A 1976 or A 1978 Frame.
You Number If F3 it?s B300 1 Ton Classic.
F4 Is 1.5 Ton in Some Cases.

Hope This Helps.
Happy Trails,
Clipper Joe

[Toedtoes]

To decode your VIN, use this:  http://oldmopar.com/72-79DodgeTrucks/Info.html

The first letter will be a B usually, sometimes an F, depending on year.  The rest follows the website.  Remember to note the year as it might be different than what your registration says.