I may end up just doing that. I got the pump in last night but it's started getting dark and pretty chilly up here in the Rockies of Colorado, so I called it a night and went in to watch movies. Ha. This morning I'm going to try to attempt to find center in the box, and center in the steering wheel. I never disconnected the inner tie rod so this shouldn't be too bad I hope. If I get it back together and don't like the results, I'll run the box to Napa and swap it out along with the cash. The rebuild kit only took me 2 hours and cost $18. I figured if anything, chalk it up to education on rebuilding boxes.

 

Well, just thought I'd update everyone. I must have botched the rebuild on the steering box as I adjusted the preload @ the stub shaft 3 times and still got this very distinct bearing snap sound when turning the wheel to the right with the axle off the ground while I was trying to purge air. Finally just said screw it and went back to Napa and bought the $160 reman box and the guy remembered me from yesterday and asked if I had an account. I told him no, but I'd take a COD account if he can set me up with one if it would save me cash, since I do all my own work on my vehicles and families as well. He said he'd put me under the "Automotive Trade Professional" account #2222 and it knocked the steering box down to $140.00. That was kind of him. Anyhow, got it all put back together and it feels WAY better! On a side note though, I think I'm having difficulty getting all the air out as the lifting the axle and having the wife turn the wheel over and over 100 times or more, I'm still getting bubbles. When she turns it left, it draws fluid, when she turns it right, it returns fluid to the reservoir along with countless bubbles. Finally I decided to take it for a short drive and the return to center has returned...YAY. After returning to the house though and peeking in the reservoir, there is a lot of microbubbles or "air in suspension" in there. I've also noticed the wheel is hella difficult to turn if I'm parked, turning, or hitting the brakes. I've gotta find a better way to get this air out as its acting almost air locked. I tried bleeding into a large coffee can with the return line, but I can't keep up with the pumps draw of fluid dumping more fluid in. I'm going to let it sit overnight and see if i can't find a better method of getting the air out of this system, as I'm positive my symptoms have been solved, but it's definitely acting like a hydraulic system that's air locked somewhere. Thanks for all your advice fellas. I'll post up once its fixed and I'm happy. Next I'm going to tackle ball joints, tie rod ends, track bar...etc. They aren't wasted, but I want it to drive and feel like a new truck again. It deserves better than what I saw under there. :-)

 

Yeah, purging the air can be fun. I usually just jack it up, start the motor, cycle the steering 10 or 20 times, shut it down, then, let it sit for 30 minutes, and do it again. Eventually, it gets all the air out.