in my '77, the steering box gave out and i bought a replacement on eBay. they are both number 116 461 04 01 with pitman arm 2350 (whew). however, 46-412 differentiates three generations of boxes by some stamped markings present under the filth. they can apparently occur in different orientations, making them super hard to read. the latter half of the codes are never even mentioned.

* 13b, 1st generation: no markings explained; "locks on steering arms or on frame cross member".

* 13c, 2nd generation: "A" means "locks in steering housing". also, "Never install 1st version of steering box instead of 2nd version".

* 13d, 3rd generation: "A" means "stop and 10.5mm pitch", "A*" means "stop and 9mm pitch", "AK" means "stop, 9mm pitch, and modification on ball guide tube".


now, the box i am removing has a marking starting with A*. perhaps this means it is 3rd gen. however, it was not original to this chassis, and i have no idea what code was on the earlier box. the box i am hoping to install seems to be marked starting with "1*". maybe it was an "A*" where the initial strike was off-center, or maybe it is another code not explained in the FSM. the only other different i notice is the much larger molded text, "YY" on the old box, "YY G" on the new one.

is it OK to install this box? should i now be determining whether my "steering arms or frame cross member" have locks on them? anything else to look out for? thanks, folks!

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'77 240D, 504H, OM617.952, etc.