[wirelessjunkie]

My steering box broke and am in dire need to fix it up. I manage to find an used item but am not sure if it is from a Berlina or a GTV. From end to end, it measures 32". I must apologise that I haven't the time to dismantle the broken unit to measure it hence have to depend on the goodwill of the forum. If you do have a spare unit in Malaysia or Singapore, do drop me aPM as well. Many thanks.

 

[gattia86]

I just measured the Spider box I have in the garage. It's 33" end-to-end.
I'm hoping to fit it in my '74 GTV, and think it'll be close enough to work, give or take 1/2". I compared it to my broken '74 u-joint box and column, and it looks like the same length.

The Berlina column might be a bit too short.

George

 

[wirelessjunkie]

Fantastic. I really hope it is the right item. Many thanks.

 

[ossodiseppia]

Fantastic. I really hope it is the right item. Many thanks.

Are they the same brand? If it's just the case that broke, you can use the case from the "new" unit to fix your broken one. If they are the same brand of box, then the only differences will be in the shaft.

 

[braino]

are there any mounting reinforcements available?

Seems like GTVs have the same problem that Volvo P1800s have - the sheet metal that the box is mounted to gets tired after a while and starts to flex when stressed. There is a metal backing plate that you can buy to reinforce the inner fender well on a p1800s - is there something similar available for GTVs? I'm wondering how this problem can be corrected...

 

[gprocket]

I don't think it's an issue of the firewall flexing. It could be that the boxes don't have enough of a safety factor built into the design and after 30 or so years they let go. Also, they tend to get neglected as they are sort of tucked away. Interestingly, I have three broken steering boxes and they all have failed in different areas...

 

[braino]

sorry - I was actually asking about a different problem - hijacking the thread...

Steering box in my car isn't attached to the firewall - it's bolted to the inner fender well (as is the one in my Giulietta - although that one is much closer to the radiator and is bolted to the frame rails).

The box is just bolted to sheet metal, and the sheet metal starts to fatigue over the years and flexes. In volvos in eventually tears - and the box will just flap around when you turn the steering wheel. You can imagine how scary that would be.

I doubt that happens with GTVs, although I don't know for sure. I'm sort of new to the particular model. Still, the box in my car does torque slightly when the wheel is turned. It doesn't effect the handling of the car, and I suspect it only torques when the car is not moving.

Am I making any sense here?

cheers,
Brian

 

[gprocket]

Ha!, I don't know what I was thinking of (well I suppose the hanging pedals...). Indeed the box is bolted to the side as you say. But I believe it goes through an aluminum block that is buried behind the sheetmetal and takes the load. It is this block that gets destroyed when GTV's are dip stripped.

Sorry for the senior moment...

 

[wirelessjunkie]

Are they the same brand? If it's just the case that broke, you can use the case from the "new" unit to fix your broken one. If they are the same brand of box, then the only differences will be in the shaft.

Are there different suppliers & designs for the Giulia series?

 

[papajam]

Yes. Alfa used boxes of both Burman and ZF manufacture. To tell which one you have, look at the top of the steering box. A Burman box has a flat top plate with a football shaped plate secured with two bolts. A ZF box has a ribbed plate with an adjusting screw and locknut.

 

[gprocket]

A Burman box with issues...

 

[wirelessjunkie]

Many thanks guys. Will see if I can get it worked on this weekend. Cheers.

 

[JazzforG]

Wireless seemed to resolve his issue, so I'm going to revive this thread. My steering box broke while parallel parking; it just exploded (it looked like the one posted above by GPRocket). The steering wheel just spun like a top. It took me about two full days to get that thing out of there and replace it with another used box. On top of that, it had taken me a good few months just to find the replacement.

All of that, by the way, was about three years ago. I had to store the car and it sat idle until this week.

So, I just went to the local shop to have the wheels re-aligned and now... man, there seems to be a lot of play in the wheel. The car doesn't seem to handle as well, especially at high speeds. I've only driven it today (just picked it up), so I can't tell you if it's under or over steering. But, it seems to float at high speed. Someone please tell me I didn't put a junk box in there. Please tell me that.

Also, before I had driven it or had it realigned, I put new lower profile, wider (205) tires on. Not sure if that is contributing. What can I do to get my handling back?

 

[gprocket]

Well first I think I would try to determine where the slop is coming from. Have someone wiggle the steering wheel while you watch the tie-rod, pitman, and idler arm. The way that burman box is designed, I don't think wear is going to show up as play. (I think wear = leaks = dry sump = high stress = broken case). I believe there are shims that go under that football shaped plate that is to take up wear. I suppose you could fool with that a bit but not until you are certain the play is from the box.

I would be more inclined to concentrate on the idler arm. Since there is no was to grease the idler arm, they go bad and allow play. I have one that needs replacing. There is a Papajam post somewhere that explains how to add a Zircs fitting on it to keep it lubed. Not a bad idea.

I doubt the low profile tire have much to do with it. I think sitting for years is probably the toughest on it.

Good luck!

 

[gprocket]

Here is an exploded view of the burman box parts:

 

[rafael]

is it difficult to restore a burman steeringbox? do you need special tools?

 

[gprocket]

No special tools are required to dissemble the box - pretty much held together with M8's and nothing is press fit.

I suppose restoration would depend on what needs to be worked on. You can replace all the seals and gaskets if you are leaking. If the shaft bearings or reciprocating balls are worn they readily available standards. If the case needs to be sleeved that would certainly would take special equipment. If the case is cracked it could be welded and re-machined. At that point I would probably look for a good used box from APE or eBay.