I have about 800 miles on my Firm Feel Stg 3 box. There is 2 full inches of steering wheel travel before the pitman arm moves. That is with the stock steering wheel. I have looked at this very closely to find the excess movement. The coupler is tight with no measurable play.

I can look down between a header tube and the steering box and directly watch the input shaft of the box move a lot before the pitman arm begins to move. So I am sure that the loss of motion is in the box itself.

I have a call in to Firm Feel to get their take on this, but I thought that I would get your opinions on it too. I haven't adjusted anything yet. The box is just as it came from FF earlier this year.

Thanks

Sounds like a power box. Did you test it with the engine running? Without pressure in the box it's sloppier than it is in use.

Yep, power box with the engine running. Had to leave a message at FF. Guess it will be next week now.

Did you turn the adjuster in on the box to tighten it up?

Like I said in the original post, I haven't adjusted anything until I talk to Firm Feel. It would be nice if that were all it would take to remove the slop. But then again, that would mean that it left Firm Feel mis-adjusted.

By all means talk to them first, saying that I have bought 2 of their boxes and ended up adjusting both of them after a few hundred miles.

In some cases, adjusting the sector isn't that easy especially with headers in the way. The engine does need to be running though. I expect even a rebuilt 1957 era steering box to have some slop at the center due to the aged design. My Stage 3 has some but I just accepted it as it being nature of the geriatric beast.

2 1/4" Hemi headers are certainly in the way.....of everything.

Dick from FF returned my call yesterday and we decided to make a quick video and send it to him. Modern technology. He wanted to be sure I am not mistaking coupler slop with box slop. I' not.

First we'll try adjusting the box under his direction. I'll probably have to make a tool for that due to the headers. And if that doesn't do it..........

I have always been extremely wary of any steering box that required a bit of tightening to remove this slop. Always seemed that normal turning felt tighter like something was binding. Often thought as a last gasp hopeless attempt to get a few more miles out of a box that was on its final days.

I would be thinking to replace with a new one,,,albeit a real pain with the headers and all. Else I would never feel quite right.

I once had to replace twice a Borgeson on our BB Ebody with 2 inch TTI's. Just barely squeezed it out from the top after removing battery and battery box. Was wondering then if I could have even been able to do same with what I recall was a larger stock box.