I have a 2006 F250 and recently I had the steering gearbox replaced. The old one had a big play so it was difficult to make corrections on the freeway while towing the trailer. A week after installing the remanufactured gearbox I lost the power steering. Could this be another issue or is it the new(remanufactured) gearbox? Since installing this gearbox there was a strange sound intermittent almost like a spring that is overextended (boing), did not get a chance to drive it long enough to get more information about what causes it. It seemed to happen when I would turn and at low speeds and hit a bump in the road, for example pulling into a parking lot. Checked the power steering fluid and is OK. I just wanted to get other opinions before we replace the gearbox again. As always thank you guys in advance.
When the gearbox was replaced, did you also replace the power steering pump? And hoses? If not, I’d look there first before I’d condemn a new (or rebuilt) steering box. BTW, I’d blame a rebuilt steering box before a new one.
For what it’s worth, we have a lot of Ford Superduty trucks in our fleet, and I can personally attest that particular generation of power steering boxes that OP has . . . they’re atrocious. They don’t last but a few years, before they have massive amounts of slop. The generation of boxes before it was much sturdier
I’ve run into my share of factory rebuilt boxes which were bad right from the start. In some cases, it’s obvious that the core was physically abused, and should have been thrown out, versus being rebuilt. Sometimes these bad rebuilts look like some idiot used a crowbar and sledgehammer to remove them, versus using the correct tools, and I suspect that might be part of the reason why they’re no good
Another thing . . . in my experience, rebuilt boxes don’t last nearly as long as the brand new boxes being installed at the factory. Keep a truck long enough, and you’ll see what I mean
well I took the truck for a drive and surprise the power steering is working again. I am not confident though the problem is resolved as I heard that strange noise as I was going over a bump on the road when I left my driveway. I never heard that noise before and only when I go over a bump, even a small one. I will check again later and tomorrow, I will also inspect the hoses but there is no power steering fluid leaking. After we replaced the gearbox I also added new power steering fluid. Could this be maybe a pocket of air trapped on the line?
I opted for a rebuilt box because new is around $600 and even those have bad reviews, people saying they do not last long. I also had to spend extra money to take the gearbox to a shop and have the pitman arm removed, the tool I can rent from the auto parts store is not wide enough.