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my first 4x4 1990 jimmy

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old_jimmy_carlos

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westminster colorado
i have a bad steering issue my steering wheel is almost 180 degrees to the right and while driving i have very loose steering. i did u joints, drag link, bearings, ball joints, center link, stablizer shock, oh and i do not know much about uploading pictures. :weapon3::burb:
 
Do you get equal turning radius right and left? If so, use the drag link to center your steering wheel.

With the truck off, have someone turn the steering wheel slowly back and forth until all slack is taken up, and you watch to see what parts DON'T move as the wheel is turned.
 
i do feel it turns slightly better to the right. when i have the truck off and twist the wheel left to right i have the same play but nothing starts moving right away. you think it could be my steering box. i also have more tire wear on passanger front wheel it got eaten up significantly faster than the driver side. lol sorry im just loosing it its the last thing it needs done mechanicaly then i can move to floor boards.
 
Worn tire on one side should be tie-rod adjustment...the rest of it's not really adjustable AFAIK, or at least shouldn't need to be adjusted under normal conditions.

The point is, the steering wheel is your starting point. The first joint is in the steering shaft in the firewall. If that is solid (not likely bad) then move the wheel and watch the relationship between the steering shaft and the input of the steering box. I *think* the trucks had a rag joint there, is it shot? If input moves at the same time as the steering shaft, then compare the input shaft movement with the pitman arm. Does it move at the same time? Then start looking at all the joints after the pitman arm, etc.
 
ok my steering wheel and shaft seem to move together ok. i am lifted 4 inches also. when i drive around and take turns my steering wheel ends up in different possitions, sometimes almost 180 degrees ending upside down when i go back to a straight. the k5 still pretty controlable but it is pretty scary seeing it do that
 
Hmm. Kind of befuddled as to how the steering wheel can return to a different position when you drive straight. Only things I can think of that could cause that are a loose drag link, or for some reason something is "slipping" in the gearbox. That seems unlikely/near impossible though.
 
the original gear box was shot when i got the k5, it sounded like a soda can in a grinder lol so i went to the juck yard and got one out of an 82 k5 to put in my 90 to save money it was 25 bucks haha. but i have gotten stumped by it as well.
 
What about the pitman arm? Is that tight on the output shaft of the box? It is splined and clamped in place.
 
I'd guess the adjuster sleeve for the drag link is not tight enough. It's fine thread so it doesn't need to be spectacularly loose for the DLE's to jump a thread or two...

Your drag link is what you use to fine adjust the steering wheel position. Get the box centered with the wheels straight, then with the steering wheel unlocked rotate the adjuster until the wheel is straight up. Then tighten the adjuster sleeve bolts.
 
Sounds to me like he may have a sheared leaf spring center bolt,that has let the axle move fore and aft,and that would account for the steering wheel sometimes returning to the straight ahead position sometimes,and the wear on one front tire,probably the one on the side with the busted center bolt..
 
diesel4me said:
Sounds to me like he may have a sheared leaf spring center bolt,that has let the axle move fore and aft,and that would account for the steering wheel sometimes returning to the straight ahead position sometimes,and the wear on one front tire,probably the one on the side with the busted center bolt..
Click to expand...

This...

I had the same issue years ago and it was a broken spring pin...
 
Is the frame behind the steering cracked? I ask this because I just bought an 88 K5 that a hole was completely tore out of the frame and multiple cracks. Mine did similar things.
 
i did have a complete split on my frame, i welded it and put on the off road design plates. but my dad did say he thought he saw the axle move when steering the k5 in a stand still.

i am curious about this adjuster sleeve i will check on that as well.

so is this center bolt easy to replace? and usually how much you think it may be?
 
You may be able to see the axle move back and forth while turning the steering wheel back and forth...also look closely at the front leaf spring bushing,often they will get loose,or the spring "eye" opens up and lets the bushing flop around,that can cause the same symptoms..you may have to take it apart to see if the center bolt has sheared though..the u-bolts sometimes hold everything tight enough so its hard to tell if its sheared or not...you may see evidence of the spring plate having moved around on the spring or the u-bolts on the axle tube if its been moving for awhile..The center bolt costs maybe 5 bucks tops,or you can just use a grade 5 or 8 hex head bolt with the head shaved round on a grinder so it'll fit in the hole in the axle pad..you must remove the two u-bolts and spring clamp plate to find the center bolt,and jack the spring up off the axle far enough to slide the new bolt in after removing the old one--two c clamps on each side of the spring will keep the leafs from coming apart and make it easier to get the new bolt in.......................................................................................................I let the weight of the truck bear down on the spring before tightening the center bolt and u-bolts...best to get new u-bolts as used ones shouldn't be re-used,but I have re-used some that were in nice shape with no troubles...
 
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