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Poll: Steering Box Brace

Steering Box brace

  • Yes, i do run one.

    Votes: 188 65.5%

  • No i don't have one.

    Votes: 99 34.5%
  • Total voters
    287
stockk5

stockk5

1/2 ton status
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Apr 13, 2004
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Hey, i want to know how many of you run the bolt on frame brace for your steering box. This is one of my biggest fears for my truck is to have the frame crack and break and go through the hassle of fixing it and not being able to drive it for a while. So who runs it and who doesnt? Is the bolt on option a pretty set guarantee it will not break there? What actions usually help break it? deep ruts that turn? violent turns in bumpy terrain? I am saving up money now for one, so hopefully soon ill have it.
 
Not sure what happened to the other post but yea I weled up my cracks and made my own bolt on brace. with the cracks welded and the brace you are unlikely to have cracka again.
 
I run the bolt on, one of the first mods I did. I feel more confident with it up front, strength wise. If you plan to run big tires (37 and up) both the weld on and the bolt on would be the ideal setup.
 
A few years ago i was out wheeling with The General, a old member that has got out of the sport for awhile but his truck was awesome, had the full gambit of crap , 1 ton, doubler, x-over, good engine, just a real well built truck, anyway he was doing a full throttle assault of a mudhole with 39.5/18 boggers with the bolt in brace and still managed to rip the steering box off, i guess the lesson was anything can break if you hit it hard enough, he then went to the weld in kit and hydro assist to solve the problem. The brace does work real good, I'v had mine for years running 40" tires but i drive alot different
 
My frame was cracked , don't know if it was pre-brace or post-brace . I found it after cleaning my leaky steering off to look for the leak .

I have no idea how long it was cracked before I saw it , but I drove on it cracked for 2 weeks prior to welding and the steering felt fine and the crack NEVER grew .

Thats enough for me to believe the steering brace works .

I imagine the crack getting worse and spreading to catastrophe if the brace wasn't there :D
 
Is the bolt on option a pretty set guarantee it will not break there?
Click to expand...
There are not guarantees in this business but it will definately help the frame problems. If you run crossover I would say it is a must due to the way it forces the frame worse than stock.
 
Cracked - welding and bracing

My frame has (1) 2" crack. I'm adding the weld in patch and the brace from ORD within the next two weeks.:(
 
A steering box brace is one of the first things I install on any of my trucks too.
 
They are a good safty item too add. Next K5 I buy will get both the bolt on and weld on braces no matter if the frame is cracked or not.
 
It was the first mod I did, on the advice of the gurus here at CK5. Steering was noticeably better after installation...
 
I put one in, and the weld in patch.

Then a week later installed a ram assist, which relieves the box of much stress.

You might not need it with a ram assist, but it is good insurance.
 
It's cheap insurance - I really don't feel like havnig to pull my rig out of the mountians with the steering box and the front part of the frame dangling from the hoses.

I was given a "Don't ask me how I know" story on that one and it's what sold me on it.
 
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I have parted out 5 70's chevy's over the past 3 years and all but one had cracks around the steering box area. They were all stock half ton 4wd trucks...
 
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