this is long over due and I think this could help a lot of people!
I have a 1979 Dodge B100 shorty van. it had manual steering with horrible slop/play. from what I researched all dodge power gearboxes are the same fit from late 70's to early 90's almost positive cars and vans the same. EDIT Joshie225 "Car and van power steering boxes interchange, but trucks do not. And 4x4 trucks are different than 2WD." thank you!!
what I used to complete this project.
1) a used powersteering gear box out of a 1992 dodge ram 2500, 318 engine in it. the engines didn't change the gearboxes. why I went used for a couple of reasons. I paid $30 for a used powersteering gear box with the pitman arm still attached and the piece that attaches the end of the steering column to the gear box. if in the event the gearbox was bad I still needed a 30$ core for my parts warehouse. so the pitman arm and the piece that attaches to the gearbox from the steering column were a bonus however the pitman arm appears to be the same, as the one off my manual gearbox. The piece that connects both gearbox and steering column are not the same manual to powersteering, so you absolutely need that piece. And that piece most likey is only found in a junk yard! So it was a win win for me with the junk yard part!
2) next you need the power steering punp and bracket and in my case I needed the bracket that mounts to the engine to the bracket that holds the pump. ( before I sold my 74 dart to my friend my uncle picked up a pump and bracket and pressure line off line used. I never put it on. so turns out it is a pump and bracket that was only on 73-74 demon sl6 cars I believe? it has a cleaner look, bracket wise than the most common pump bracket setup.
3) youll need the p/s pulley for your crank pulley/harmonic balancer and the few bolts that attach it.
4) a belt that works with your pump/bracket application. I had a confussing time getting the right belt. which may only be a problem in my case because of my application.
5) powersteering hoses- here is what I did.
for the return line I just ran high pressure powersteering line from the gear box to the pump return. I then took the high side power steering line that I had with the pump for a "73-74 demon car" and cut the rubber portion out. so I had two small metal lines with flares and fiiting on one end of each. I then flared the oppiste ends just enough to have a bubbled end with no sharp edges. I then took new high pressure powersteering hose and slipped it over the ends that I flared with the correct amount of length I need to to reach pump and gear box and double clamped it with fuel line clamps. fuel line clamps are way better and stay super tight.
6) get her aligned

the hardest part of this was figuring all this out. if you would like to see what I did. Instagram ironhead_zig and youll see my video of everything running and how easy to turn the wheel.

this was one of the best things I did to make the van drivable. if you would like pictures. let me know and ill post them also I think this should be a sticky thread somewhere, because I was a little turned off on this project because a couple years ago I think someone mentioned of needing a whole steering column. which I didn't want to do. but YOU DONT NEED TOO!!!

Car and van power steering boxes interchange, but trucks do not. And 4x4 trucks are different than 2WD. A 1978 Dodge Magnum donated it's power steering to my '72 B300. I believe the hoses even fit. This made reverse maneuvering with the trailer much easier.

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Joshua

I recently acquired an 87 Ram 150. The previous owner had already done this conversion... yay! But the steering is so sensitive that I can barely keep in between the lines at highway speeds. Maybe its just that I'm not used to it. I mean there is no play in the steering at all I the wheel moves the truck moves.

My question is, are there any manual steering components that need to be adjusted or replaced during this conversion? Your post didn't mention it so probably not but it's worth a shot.

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1987 Dodge Ram D150 225 /6 Automatic

Power steering vehicles are generally aligned with more positive caster to help the steering return to center and track center. The increased caster increases steering effort which is why manual steering uses less caster. So... I got a fever. And the only cure is more caster. Assuming of course that nothing else is wrong with the suspension and steering.

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Joshua

I'm going to pretend like I know what caster is and then go google it. As far as suspension the entire thing was just rebuilt at a shop so it's just fine. It must be this caster thing you speak of.

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1987 Dodge Ram D150 225 /6 Automatic

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1964 Dart GT

Thanks that's very helpful. Is this something I can do at home or do I need to take it in and get a full alignment?

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1987 Dodge Ram D150 225 /6 Automatic

Caster is about the hardest thing to do at home. Sorry.

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Joshua

I'm actually relieved that you said that. I'd end up screwing it up.

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1987 Dodge Ram D150 225 /6 Automatic

imagine a castor on a shopping cart, it returns to center because the pivot is in front of the wheels contact patch, thus if it is more like that, its has more positive castor