YELLAHEEP
NAXJA Forum User
- Location
- Littleton, Colorado
I just had the BEST experience with a specialty rebuilder and wanted to let all my Colorado friends know to do business with this guy.
History:
I needed to replace my original pwr steering box and after checking other shops, I was referred to Colorado Automotive Rebuild Specialists (C.A.R.S.) in Denver. I was looking for a more powerful steering box and was thinking of having a J20 box built. When I spoke to this guy, he suggested I use a '99 Durango box - it has the large piston/cylinder, with the exact same input shaft, pitman shaft and fittings as the XJ box. So, he sent me home with a nicely rebuilt Durango box for $175.
Install:
The box went in beautifully. I had to make some 3/4" spacers to mount between the box and frame to accomodate the larger size of the cylinder. At the same time as the box swap, I decided to "upgrade" to full size Waggy steering (over the knuckle, TRE holes reamed, etc...) Well, after everything was in place, the Waggy steering parts turned out to be a bad idea. Nothing fit right, the parts rotated when turning - junk. On top of that, my turning radius sucked. I figured it was because of the junk steering parts and parked my rig for a few months.
The fix:
I junked the Waggy steering and purchased the Canyon Climber steering setup from Phat Jeeps. Excellent pieces, nice machine work, tight steering. But, I still had the steering radius problem - so bad that I couldn't negotiate most turns through the bank and fast food drive-thrus without a J-turn. So, I called up Humberto Viramontes at C.A.R.S. After hearing my story of woe, he said to bring it down for him to look at. (I've had the steering box now for 11 months - warranteed for 12 and have barely used it). Humberto was a bit perplexed himself because he believed that the Durango box and the XJ box were set up exactly the same except for the larger internal parts. He asked that I remove the box and bring it back for him to compare to an XJ box and look inside them side by side.
Today, I brought him the box, fully expecting to have to leave it with him for a few days - being that this was a custom application and certainly not his fault. I certainly didn't expect what he did for me. Humberto stopped what he was doing and tore down my Durango box right then and there, he brought out an XJ box and did the same. He quickly discovered that there were spacers in the Durango box on each end of the cylinder that limited the travel of the piston - thus, keeping it from turning the pitman arm to the same degree as the XJ box. He then completely rebuilt my Durango box with new internal pieces, removed the spacers and put it back together - all in 20 minutes time! And no additional charge!
I put the Durango box back in this evening and I've got my steering back!
I highly recommend that you guys check out C.A.R.S. for all your steering needs. He knows his stuff! Be forewarned, he speaks just enough english to get by, and his shop is VERY humble (messy and a bit disorganized) but he's simply the nicest guy I've ever met in the rebuild industry.
Additionally, he's already done several modifications to steering boxes for 'wheelers that want to add hydraulic assist rams to their set-ups. He can get you all the info you need to build the system and drill & tap your box for the fittings.
Colorado Automotive Rebuild Specialists (C.A.R.S.)
Humberto Viramontes
1110 Yuma St.
Denver, Co. 80204
303-292-6324
History:
I needed to replace my original pwr steering box and after checking other shops, I was referred to Colorado Automotive Rebuild Specialists (C.A.R.S.) in Denver. I was looking for a more powerful steering box and was thinking of having a J20 box built. When I spoke to this guy, he suggested I use a '99 Durango box - it has the large piston/cylinder, with the exact same input shaft, pitman shaft and fittings as the XJ box. So, he sent me home with a nicely rebuilt Durango box for $175.
Install:
The box went in beautifully. I had to make some 3/4" spacers to mount between the box and frame to accomodate the larger size of the cylinder. At the same time as the box swap, I decided to "upgrade" to full size Waggy steering (over the knuckle, TRE holes reamed, etc...) Well, after everything was in place, the Waggy steering parts turned out to be a bad idea. Nothing fit right, the parts rotated when turning - junk. On top of that, my turning radius sucked. I figured it was because of the junk steering parts and parked my rig for a few months.
The fix:
I junked the Waggy steering and purchased the Canyon Climber steering setup from Phat Jeeps. Excellent pieces, nice machine work, tight steering. But, I still had the steering radius problem - so bad that I couldn't negotiate most turns through the bank and fast food drive-thrus without a J-turn. So, I called up Humberto Viramontes at C.A.R.S. After hearing my story of woe, he said to bring it down for him to look at. (I've had the steering box now for 11 months - warranteed for 12 and have barely used it). Humberto was a bit perplexed himself because he believed that the Durango box and the XJ box were set up exactly the same except for the larger internal parts. He asked that I remove the box and bring it back for him to compare to an XJ box and look inside them side by side.
Today, I brought him the box, fully expecting to have to leave it with him for a few days - being that this was a custom application and certainly not his fault. I certainly didn't expect what he did for me. Humberto stopped what he was doing and tore down my Durango box right then and there, he brought out an XJ box and did the same. He quickly discovered that there were spacers in the Durango box on each end of the cylinder that limited the travel of the piston - thus, keeping it from turning the pitman arm to the same degree as the XJ box. He then completely rebuilt my Durango box with new internal pieces, removed the spacers and put it back together - all in 20 minutes time! And no additional charge!
I put the Durango box back in this evening and I've got my steering back!
I highly recommend that you guys check out C.A.R.S. for all your steering needs. He knows his stuff! Be forewarned, he speaks just enough english to get by, and his shop is VERY humble (messy and a bit disorganized) but he's simply the nicest guy I've ever met in the rebuild industry.
Additionally, he's already done several modifications to steering boxes for 'wheelers that want to add hydraulic assist rams to their set-ups. He can get you all the info you need to build the system and drill & tap your box for the fittings.
Colorado Automotive Rebuild Specialists (C.A.R.S.)
Humberto Viramontes
1110 Yuma St.
Denver, Co. 80204
303-292-6324