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Front shackle/ steering slop?

ccarley

ccarley

1/2 ton status
Joined
Aug 29, 2010
Posts
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Location
Rohnert Park, CA
Hey guys,

Been a while. Family, job, house... things like that, you know?

Anyway, my Suburban has developed significant play/ wander in the steering area. I've gone through and checked the wheel bearings, all the ball joints are tight, tie-rod is tight, and I replaced both ends of the drag link (tie-rod?) from the steering box to the axle. Oh yes, and replaced the steering box with a good tight unit from the junkyard.

So, the steering feels tight if the truck isn't moving, but once you start going 5mph or more, there's about 5 inches of play at times in the wheel. More details: I do have ORD's swaybar disconnects, Tuff Country H.D. springs, and Bilstein 7100 shocks up there. The ride is soft (i.e. the suspension moves a lot).

I found last week that the driver side shackle on the front spring basically has no bushing at the frame, and is creaking badly and can move wherever it wants pretty much. So, I ordered ORD's heavy duty shackles & bushings, and while I was there, also ordered the bolt-in steering box brace. If this stuff doesn't help... I guess I'll order up a tie rod from them with new ends... but man the steering shouldn't suck this much! I was tempted to put in yet another steering box, but I really don't think that's the problem.

Can / will worn shackle bushings cause odd wandery steering issues? It's a super hard thing to search for... believe me I've been doing it all week!

Clay
 
best way i found is to have someone move the steering left and right while you check for anything loose. be aggresive. anything more than 1/16" is a problem. but you can go an 1/8". i put a jack under axle lift a tire and use a large long pry bar under tire to check ball joints. brakesplus will check it for free. have them check your alignment and inspect. its free. if they dont find anything then its your alignment. $60.00 tire could be bad broken belt out of round, a wobble
 
We've done that quite a few times, and that's how I found the "drag link" end was sloppy at least.

We did see that driver side shackle moving like sideways a bit, and it creaks & pops like crazy. I'll check the ball joints again when I'm under it tomorrow... but we did some pretty good pushing & pulling on the tires when they were in the air last time, and everything felt pretty tight.

Clay
 
sounds like your on the right track. take care of the sloppy stuff. did you check the steering shaft,rag joint, frame for cracks,adjust steering gear box
 
I did indeed adjust the tension on the steering box, and found out the hard way that you need to pull the pinch bolt all the way out of the rag joint LOL. So far the frame has no cracks, and hopefully that ORD brace I'll install tomorrow will prevent any from forming. I even replaced the shaft with a (better) one from Pick-N-Pull. Anything to make it steer better :)

Thanks,
Clay
 
I had my new to me 87 Blazer walk a little while driving. Got under this morning, turned the rag joint and saw the steering box rock up and down.:eek1:

All 4 bolts were 1/2 a turn or more out. No frame cracking, so I put my weight into tightening them. Drives nice now.
 
I have considered the XJ shaft, and will probably dig one up next time I'm at Pick N Pull :)

We'll see how today goes; after pouring over this front end for months, the shackle bushing is really what sticks out (this time) so hopefully that, along with the steering box brace, helps make things tight again. The tie-rod is on the list of things to do, but that will go along with a lot of other front axle work.

Clay
 
The bushing will allow almost a inch of movement if its missing or worn badly. Everytime you make a turn it will push from one side to the other as it shifts. Make sure the fronts are good too at the spring eye. I just redid all of mine and the steering is definitely tighter without the extra spring movement.
 
I've looked at the Borgeson shaft for years, in hopes that the price will come down! It is a quality piece though.

Shackles done, and 1/2 of the steering brace is done.

IMG_20131012_152353_122.sized.jpg


The old shackles did have oval holes in them; in fact, the new larger bolts in the kit fit in the holes of the old shackles!

Where the larger part of the steering box brace bolts to the steering box, it looks like I've got some steel brake lines in the way. I got the hole drilled out in the crossmember, and the front bracket is installed at least.

Took it for a test drive... and it's better. It doesn't feel 100% better, but on the short drive I did probably 50% better. It's a lot quieter now that's for sure. I didn't check the toe while I had it in the driveway, which I probably should have done. As much as I like to think the shop did a good alignment 2 years ago, I guess it could be off again.

I think the next item is to replace the wheel bearings on the rear 12-bolt... and then I'll think about the tie rod.

Thanks guys,
Clay
 
Oh yes. One more thing. If you are replacing your bushings, do yourself a favor and put them in the freezer for a while!

I did not do that, until I could not get them in the springs. Put the bushings in the freezer, went to the Oktoberfest event in downtown Cotati (walked!), came home, and it all went together pretty well.

Clay
 
good to no, borgeson's are cheaper thru jegs or summit. but still 200. plus shipping
 
That is good to know; maybe come Christmas time :)

I think I was a little premature suggesting that the steering is only 50% better; we took it out for a drive today and I'm feeling more like 75% better at this point. What a difference!

Clay
 
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