What Vehicles Use Recirculating Ball Steering

Today, recirculating ball steering is primarily found on heavy-duty pickups and chassis cabs, medium- and heavy-duty commercial trucks and buses, and a handful of off-road SUVs with solid front axles (for example, Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator, Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series, Suzuki Jimny, and the still-sold Nissan Patrol Y61 in some markets). Most modern passenger cars and light crossovers use rack-and-pinion instead, though many older cars, trucks, and luxury sedans used recirculating ball in past decades. This article explains who still uses it, who used to, and why.

What the system is—and why some vehicles still use it

Recirculating ball (also called ball-nut) steering uses a steering gearbox with a worm gear and ball bearings that move within a channel to reduce friction, turning the pitman arm that links to a steering linkage. Compared with rack-and-pinion, it’s heavier and can feel less precise, but it excels at handling big loads, large tires, and impacts—qualities prized in heavy-duty and off-road applications, especially with solid front axles.

Vehicles that currently use recirculating ball steering

Heavy-duty pickups and chassis cabs

Manufacturers keep recirculating ball in many heavy-duty trucks because the steering box, pitman arm, and linkage are robust under towing, payload, and off-road stresses, and they package well with solid front axles.

• Ram 2500 and 3500 (including many chassis-cab variants)
• Ford Super Duty (F-250/F-350/F-450 and chassis-cab derivatives)
• Chevrolet Silverado HD/GMC Sierra HD (2500/3500 and chassis-cab models)

While specifications can vary by model year and trim, heavy-duty pickups and cab-chassis frames commonly retain a steering box (recirculating ball) for strength and durability, even as light-duty half-ton pickups moved to rack-and-pinion years ago.

Off-road SUVs with solid front axles (current production)

A small but important group of off-roaders keeps recirculating ball because it is tough, isolates kickback from rough terrain, and integrates cleanly with solid-axle linkages.

• Jeep Wrangler JL/JLU (2018–present) and Jeep Gladiator JT (2020–present)
• Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series (ongoing in select markets such as Australia, Africa, and parts of Asia)
• Suzuki Jimny (JB74, 2018–present)
• Nissan Patrol Y61 “Super Safari” (still offered in some Middle East and select markets)

These models prioritize durability and axle articulation over the sharper on-road feel of rack-and-pinion, and their designs benefit from the linkage geometry a steering box provides.

Medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles

In commercial transport, steering boxes remain the norm because they handle extreme axle loads, tire sizes, and duty cycles, and they pair with power-assist systems (hydraulic or electro-hydraulic) designed for uptime and serviceability.

• Class 4–8 trucks and buses from brands such as Freightliner, International, Kenworth, Peterbilt, Volvo, Mack, Scania, MAN, Hino, Isuzu, and Fuso
• Most city buses, coaches, refuse trucks, and vocational vehicles

These applications emphasize robustness and maintainability, and their steering gearboxes are engineered for long service intervals and high-mileage reliability.

Vehicles that historically used recirculating ball steering

Classic American cars and muscle cars

Through the 1970s and into the early 1980s, recirculating ball was commonplace in U.S. cars before rack-and-pinion became widespread for precision and packaging.

• Early generations of Ford Mustang, Chevrolet Camaro, and many full-size sedans
• Chevrolet Corvette through the C3 era (C4 adopted rack-and-pinion)

As performance expectations and packaging needs evolved, these lines transitioned to rack-and-pinion for quicker response and better on-center feel.

Older luxury sedans

Several premium European sedans used recirculating ball for its isolation and smoothness, especially on larger, more comfort-focused platforms.

• Mercedes-Benz S-Class and related models from the W126 era and earlier; G-Class used it until its 2019 redesign
• BMW large cars, including many 5 and 7 Series from the late 1980s–1990s; some V8 E39 5 Series retained a steering box for packaging

These manufacturers gradually shifted to rack-and-pinion—especially with electric power assist—as chassis tuning prioritized precision and efficiency.

Older trucks and SUVs

Body-on-frame trucks and 4x4s commonly employed steering boxes, particularly when paired with solid front axles.

• Earlier GM C/K and GMT-series pickups and SUVs, earlier Ford F-Series half-tons, and older Dodge/Ram trucks
• Jeep XJ Cherokee and early Grand Cherokee generations
• Land Rover Defender (pre-2016) and Discovery I/II
• Toyota Land Cruiser 40/60/80 Series; 105 Series; many older Hilux/4×4 variants

As independent front suspension and on-road refinement spread, many successors moved to rack-and-pinion, though heavy-duty and solid-axle models often kept the steering box.

Why many manufacturers moved to rack-and-pinion

Rack-and-pinion offers lighter weight, fewer components, tighter steering feel, and compatibility with modern driver-assistance and electric power-steering systems. Recirculating ball remains the durability-first choice where axle loads, tire sizes, and rugged terrain demand it, or where legacy platforms and serviceability are paramount.

How to tell if your vehicle uses recirculating ball

You can often identify the system by looking for a steering box mounted to the frame, a pitman arm connected to a center link, and an idler arm on the opposite side—versus a rack bolted to the crossmember with tie rods exiting each end.

Summary

Recirculating ball steering lives on mainly in heavy-duty pickups and chassis cabs, commercial trucks and buses, and a few off-road SUVs with solid axles such as the Jeep Wrangler/Gladiator, Toyota Land Cruiser 70 Series, Suzuki Jimny, and Patrol Y61 in select regions. The mainstream car market has largely standardized on rack-and-pinion for precision, packaging, and efficiency, leaving recirculating ball to applications where strength and durability trump steering sharpness.

What type of vehicle usually uses a recirculating ball type of steering gear?

trucks
Recirculating ball – Utility vehicles, trucks, and some vintage vehicles utilize a recirculating ball steering system. The design involves a worm gear and several ball bearings inside of a steering box. These components allow for less friction in between the gears.

What are the disadvantages of recirculating ball steering?

Disadvantages of recirculating ball steering system:
Complex structure: High manufacturing and maintenance costs, cumbersome maintenance process. Slightly poor steering accuracy: Due to the coordination between multiple components, the steering accuracy is not as good as the rack and pinion system.

Is recirculating ball steering better than rack and pinion?

Recirc-ball steering in this case can be slightly vague, that is, you can move the steering wheel very slightly in either direction without affecting the direction of travel. In a good rack and pinion system, any movement of the steering wheel can be felt in a direction change of the car.

What are the advantages of recirculating ball steering?

Recirculating Ball Steering (RCB) is especially well-suited for the high axle loads of heavy trucks. It allows torques of up to 8,500 Newton meters to be controlled reliably, precisely and with optimal haptic feedback.