Which steering box?

[Ian Mills]

I'm planning to replace my steering box and pitman arm on my Silverado. I know there are two different part numbers for these trucks and they have different numbers of splines on the output shaft but if I'm replacing both does it matter which box I get as long as my pitman arm and box match?

Also, if it doesn't matter, is there one box that's better than the other? I've seen online that the 32 spline box is more expensive usually than the 33 spline box from a given manufacturer. Is that related to a difference in durability or strength?

Edited January 12, 2021 by Ian Mills

[OldGuy96]

It really doesn't matter which steering box you buy as long as you're replacing the pitman arm at the same time.

 

I had to replace the steering box on my Silverado about a year ago, and the bigger issue, generally, is which specific steering gear box the supplier has in stock at the time you go to buy it. Pitman arms are relatively cheap, and they usually stock both types, so ti's just a matter of them matching the arm and the box spline count.