Ok, i've got a 2000 Dakota with the new 4.7.
I'm looking into putting a 360 in there, and i'm wondering if there's a heavier-duty power steering unit that i can order that will still bolt onto the harness on the 360.
Any ideas?

Well... IIRC you've got rack and pinion right? If so, you've got a whole different set of issues than the recirc ball (Saginaw box) guys. I don't have a clue how to make R&P more durable, but if you're contemplating the solid axle swap, I'll tell you what we did in the Durango to make the recirc ball a bit better...

When we did my swap, we rebuilt my steering box and changed the ratio a bit. 4 turn rather than 3 turn.

That didn't last too long my stock box. The gears where fine, but the factory 3 bolt box just wasn't up to the task of 35" tires and wheeling. It quickly developed play in the sector shaft. We tried adjusting it a time or two, but that really is a band aid for a real problem.

First.. I don't know JACK about steering boxes.. So from this point forward, I'm going by what I've been told... So :flipoff2:

Anyway.. Apparantly the most 3 bolt boxes have a bearing at the top of the sector shaft, but only a seal at the bottom. This is not so good considering the leverage placed on the pitman arm when wheeling with big tires all flexed out on rocks..

To fix this, we swapped my internals (4 turn gears) into a HD 4 bolt steering box. This unit is supposed to have a bearing at the top of the sector shaft AND a bearing/seal at the bottom of the sector shaft - near or at the pitman arm. This extra bearing should prevent deflection of the sectorshaft under stress of wheeling.

Anyone have any other info about 4 bolt vs 3 bolt please chime in!

After 2 years / 25K miles, and a lot of wheeling on rock and other high traction surfaces, the box is still tight as a drum on the freeway.

I wish I knew more about it.. Since I knew nothing about steering boxes, I trusted the 4xDoctor to just "handle" this issue for me. I'm a gimp (see moniker) and didn't ask about the donor box, yada yada yada..

Take this info for what it's worth.. :flipoff2:

Thanks man. :flipoff2:

I know before you talked about a lot of emails that you had back and forth with different people about your buildup, would you be able to forward those on to me?