First off I'm going to say that this is my first and last experience with RedHead steering gears. It was fine at first, but right after the warranty period expired it started to leak. After replacing ball joints I started to notice the steering being quite loose, and a few months later the truck is downright scary to drive. We are at roughly 10k miles and this gear is worse than the reman one I replaced it with in '21. I saw another user on here mention his failed at 8k. Another user mentioned a thread where he posted a picture of the company reusing old worn out steering gears. On a Ford forum I frequent, users are also reporting failed RedHead gears. I don't think it would be going out on a limb to never recommend this brand to anyone anywhere, and if they are subjected to the ash heap of "aftermarket" history, I would say it's well deserved.

I just bought a house and now commute 27 miles each way, the steering slop is unacceptable. My father promised to me his '09 Camry when he replaces it with a Porsche 911, but I have to wait until he finds the right one and keep driving my Dodge in the meantime. Since I am in the market for a new steering gear, I'm going to share my findings of OEM+ / aftermarket / upgraded steering gears, and update this post.

Here are the options I've found myself:

Can Craft
https://www.cancraft.com/products/dodge-steering-gears
Another user on here recommended this company. You have to call for info.

Blue Top
15:1 ratio
https://bluetopsteeringgears-com.3dc...-151_p_64.html
18:1 ratio
https://bluetopsteeringgears-com.3dc...181-_p_39.html
Competitor to Red Head but I've heard better things, and they're a lot cheaper for some reason.

PSC
https://www.pscmotorsports.com/parts...ring-gear.html
This appears to be the biggest upgrade but is very expensive. Oversized parts everywhere, 16:1 ratio.

Delphi
https://www.genosgarage.com/product/...2/steering-box
Larger internal piston, larger bearings, 16:1 ratio

 

That was probably my thread, I remember posting a pic or a link of a guy with a line of used gears on the table that he was "refurbishing". It's not on redheads site anymore. Until recently there wasn't any new gears being made but if you have a 2500 4WD you are in business. Have a look on RA I know they are there because I posted them on another thread. I don't know if any others are available.
This one doesn't look to bad, Mine has slop there(of course it has 248K also) It would make sense with big tires/lift.

 

I was probably the other user mentioned. Only go 8kish miles out of mine. After some research it seems that when I got mine is when things went down hill for them, ~2018. Switched to blue top, feel is much better new vs new. I only have 1000 miles on it so far so no comment on longevity. I like that they are ND based and only 30 mins from me. There's a local shop that started using them, so far so good as far as I've heard. IIRC the person who started blue top worked at redhead.

 

Same here. After the 2nd redhead failed, I went blue-top with zero issues since the install back in April 2021. Still tight and no leaks.

 

I've probably asked you this before.... but.... Do you have the T steering, or the inverted Y? If you have the T steering, how did you address the tie rod roll?

 

I believe mine is T-style. I read this blog post https://www.488magnum.com/post/dodge...loppy-steering . I switched my tie rods to AC Delco with the puck mentioned in that post. Way better. There is still a little roll but not nearly as bad, way easier to keep going straight even with the 35s.

 

Awesome. Thank you.

Too bad I just spent a large pile of cash on my front axle. Ah well, when these guys are due for replacement, hopefully I will remember this link.

 

I have the T style and used AC Delco rods too. Pretty happy with mine now. Steers and handles well with 35 Toyo's. Gotta do the back half this spring. Always something.

 

That's an interesting post. I went under my truck and I can easily roll the driver drag link by hand. I did re-do my tie rods recently (and ball joints at the same time) and have been thinking they were magnifying my steering box issues. And yes, they are Moog tie rod ends. I knew going into it that Moog is low quality, but I was thinking "how bad could they really be?" I'll try swapping them out to see what happens, not sure when I'll have time to do it.

Another weird symptom is that if I'm driving or parked down an incline, if I shake my steering wheel back and forth a few times all the slack completely disappears.