Bolt-in Steering Box Brace Kit and Weld-in Frame Repair kit.
NEW!! NOW AVAILABLE FOR 'PRE '73!

The straight axle GM trucks are notorious for frame cracks in the steering box mounting area.  This kit is designed to prevent that problem by eliminating the frame flex caused by increased steering loads like lifts, big tires and off-road use.  The bolt-on (OK you do have to drill one hole) brackets triangulate the mounting area to stiffen it up before it breaks.  If the frame is already broken, you will need a weld-on repair kit before you install the brace. 

For hard use applications, we recommend using both the weld in kit and the bolt in Brace Kit, especially in 1/2T trucks and Blazers. "Hard use" could be defined as 37" and up tires in rock crawling or other demanding use. The GU39001-L kit is shown above.  See Application List below.

      Reviews of the ORD steering box brace and weld in repair kit are online at www.coloradoK5.com.

Here's a shot of the GU39002 weld in repair kit. It's contoured to fit the frame rail where the steering box mounts to reinforce it against cracking, or to repair damage that's already been done. Welding is required for installation.

Tech Notes:

• Requires drilling one hole in the front crossmember, otherwise, this kit bolts on. Shown below are pictures of the GU39001-L kit installed on an '89 K5 Blazer:

                   
          The main brace is shown above, the smaller brace is shown installed below.
         

• The only difference between the "-L" and "-E" kits is the small clip that goes in front of the crossmember. Here's a photo of the '73-80 brace kit:
  
  
   

  Here's a shot of the 'pre-73 box brace kit:
  
   

• The heavier duty trucks, ¾ ton and larger, have frames made of thicker material than the ½ tons and Blazers but this is not enough to prevent steering cracks. Large tires and even street or mild off-road driving can eventually crack the frames out. It’s much easier to prevent breakage now by installing the bolt in brace kit than it is to fix it later.
   

• Later model trucks have a factory clip in front of the crossmember which can be retained with our brace, the small front clip just goes under it.
   

• GM used different frame stamps for the steering box area of the frame rails through the years so the contours of the weld-in repair kit are not always right on.  It may take some "heat and beat" action to get a tight fit.  The hole patterns are all the same so the bolt holes always line up.
   

• While the 2wd trucks use the same steering box bolt pattern, the frame contours are enough different that it can be a LOT of work to make the frame repair kit work.

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