Anybody who knows me personally knows I am not the most graceful offroader on the trails. I am no stranger to ricocheting of of trees or slamming down on top of boulders. Hell, I walk into, and apologize to furniture on the daily. It was no surprise to discover that my factory steering gear box crapped out pretty fast. RIP my dude. This, along with worn ball joints and wheels/tires in desperate need of being balanced, made every day commutes a challenge. Any bump I hit turned into a "Jesus, take the wheel" moment and on the trails was no better. I was constantly getting frustrated when spotters would yell "driver!" or "passenger!" and my steering just wasn't having it. Trying to take a simple turn around a tree or rock suddenly turned into "let's see if Gill is going to turn this into a 12 point turn...". Not fun, guys. Once wheeling season ended, Eric and I sat down and went over options for fixing my steering once and for all. When we heard that PSC Motorsports was coming out with a heavy duty upgrade, our eyes lit up! Finally Frankie Van Halen would have a little more oomph and steering power. We reached out to PSC mid-January to get some more information on the new setup and by the beginning of March, I was the proud new owner of their Big Bore XD Steering Gear Box!

This is also available with ports for hydro assist (cylinder assist).
https://www.offroadelements.com/psc-motorsports-bi...
https://www.offroadelements.com/psc-motorsports-bi...

This new gear box is a beefy 80mm piston, which replaces the factory 70 mm piston and allows for more turning torque for up to 37" tires, without cylinder assist. I chose to go with this setup for a number of reasons. One, Eric already runs the ram assist on his Jeep, Shanaynay, and I am not one for redundancy. Secondly, we pride ourselves in being able to provide customers with personal experience of as many aftermarket parts as possible. This steering box was our chance to offer customers a similar setup (to cylinder assists) with comparable characteristics at a fraction of the price. 

Before beginning the install, we dropped the front tires pressures down to 0 PSI, pulled the valve cores and turned the steering wheel back and forth. It was difficult to even get the tires to move and poor #FVH was struggling. Installation was a 2 man job and took roughly 2 hours to complete. The steering gear box came with a replacement pitman arm and hardware to match the larger sector shaft. We started by puling the fluid lines (feed & return) off the top, disconnecting the steering shaft and removing the 4 bolts on the frame side to remove the factory box. Installation of the new box was just as easy, simply reversing the steps. After the box, lines and components were reinstalled, it was time to properly bleed the system, which only took about 10 minutes. Once installation and bleeding was complete, we tested out the turning radius and power again at 0 PSI, valve cores pulled and the result was a HUGE difference. Turning the steering wheel was much easier and stronger than before and you can actually see my entire Jeep move along with the tires in the video.

Since the installation, I have only had onroad experience, since the trails in New England are still closed for another month or so. It is no longer a white-knuckle drive and I can go over bumps and frost heaves at a normal speed without fear of flying into oncoming traffic. The only issue I was having was that it seemed to be taking some time (up to 30 seconds) for the fluid to travel throughout the system. This made the steering extremely firm and difficult to turn the wheel and needless to say, the first time I left my driveway, I just coasted right across the street no matter how hard I turned the wheel. Now I give the steering wheel a few turns back and forth to get the fluid moving and after that, the steering is fine. I gave a quick call over to PSC to find out if this was an issue with the fluid or if it could be a result of the super awesome, super cold weather we've been having lately (blizzards and below freezing temps). They recommended upgrading to the GM AC Delco Winter Fluid, which can be used year round and helps out considerably in the colder weather. 

I'd like to give a huge shoutout to my fiance, Eric, and resident-pain-in-the-ass/tech, Scottie, for getting this installed for me while I snickered in the background and took pictures and videos. You guys are the best and I can't wait to get back on the trails and test this badboy out with you!

Stay tuned for our second review of the PSC Motorsports Big Bore XD Steering Gear Box once trail season is upon us!