Hey guys. I heard that a manual steering box from an S10/15 truck would fit a third gen. If so, how hard is the swap, and also, how "bad" is the steering. The ratio is much different, I would imagine, but is it street driveable, or is it kinda a track/straight line only mod. I am thinking of going with a electric waterpump, already have electric fuel pump, electric fan, no powersteering and no a/c. That would only leave me with alternator and one belt. Thanks guys.

 

I have a S10 Steering box in my Trans Am. People say it's a simple drop in but you really have to do a little grinding to the cast bosses on the box. You'll have to grind the moons down so it will fit flush with the frame. Also, you'll have to grind some metal off the sway bar mount bracket if you plan on keeping the anti sway bar on. Also, only use the Fbody pitman arm (better levererage and easier to steer. No matter what anyone else might say about the S10 pitman arm fitting it is bad for the steering linkage incorrect geometry. Otherwise it's not bad at all. I've deleted my AC and have a fiberglass hood and it steers pretty easily although I have P225/ 55ZR16 Cooper Cobra GTZs in the front

 

I just installed an S10 manual steering box on my 91 RS. I mostly drag race the car and had removed the front sway bar and bracket long ago. The S10 box bolted on with no grinding at all. Haven't driven it yet, though, so I don't know how hard it's going to be to steer.

I also deleted the A/C and heater and have an electric water pump. I mounted the alternator low on the drivers side with a fabricated mount and use a single 31 inch belt to it only.

Just in case you run into the same problem I had, it seems that some of the S10 boxes have a pitman arm with a smaller diameter hole in the big end, forcing me to use it instead of the Camaro pitman arm. It doesn't really hurt anything because the S10 pitman is only a tad less than 1/2 inch shorter, but the different angle can cause the linkage to bind. That can be corrected by adjusting the Camaro's idler arm upward in its slots where it mounts to the frame until the drag link is level, then have the front end realigned.

I actually bought a manual steering S10 idler arm for comparison (then returned it for a refund ) and found out that it is the exact same length as the Camaro idler arm even though the S10's pitman arm is shorter. So, if you raise the idler arm up in its slots and get the linkage level, there shouldn't be a problem.

 

what size tires do you have? that can affect the steering!

 

245/50/16s for now. I am thinking about running a elec. wp and manual steering, and having the alternator only as well. I used a CSI pump in my LT1 and I love it.