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Sloppy steering in an '89 Suburban

jonathon

jonathon

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Went and looked at an 89 Suburban today and I am almost certain I'll buy it($950 obo is the price, going to offer $800 for it). The trans was rebuilt by a local shop in January and the engine appears to be a Goodwrench 350(owner says the guy he bought it from said it was rebuilt, but it has a goodwrench tag on it). Body is pretty decent too..

The only issue it has is it wonders going down the road. I sorta thought it was the steering box, but there are no cracks that I can see and it doesn't move when turning the truck. There is no creaking or weird vibes going down the road either. The steering wheel is 180 degrees off(meaning the top is at the bottom), so I think it needs something in the front end.. any ideas? I'm thinking ball joints due to the wandering...

Other than that it seems like a solid rig that just needs some glass. Anyone ever replace a rear side window? :crazy:
 
Balljoints, sure, but also tierod and draglink ends, and if the steering wheel is that out of whack, an alignment will be in order.

Before you take it to the alignment shop, though, test all the above:

Jack the front end up, grab the tires at 12 and 6 o'clock, and wiggle up and down. If there's noticeable movement, yep, balljoints are prolly shot. (Could also be wheelbearings, but you'll check those when you tear the knuckle down.)

Then, with the truck on stands under the axle, grab the tierod, the long one that goes side to side. Wiggle it and look for serious slop at the end junction to the knuckles. It has to turn, but should have some resistance. If it flops about like a wet noodle, you're in for some fun.

Same thing for the draglink, which is the short one that goes from the steering arm (on the box) to the knuckle (behind the driver's side tire.) Easiest to remove said tire, btw. Any slop there will manifest itself as you moving the wheel and the steering not changing ... or the steering moving and the steering wheel NOT moving. Also easy to tell with the key off and the steering wheel locked, push the draglink around and see if it moves appreciably.

Then read up on replacing TRE/DLE's (short answer: count turns when you undo them, and remember that one end is RH threaded and the other LH, so that you can turn the adjuster sleeve to align it. And soak the adjuster sleeve in WD40 or penetrating oil or something for like a day first.)

Oh, and could be the ragjoint at the base of the column where it joins to the steering box ... but I'm thinking TRE/DLE/balljoint.

-- A
 
I say more probable to be a bad rag joint. I just finished working on a 94 k1500 that had a busted rag jolint and you could move the steering wheel half a turn before anything else moved. :eek1:

Definately don't disregard what Aaron is telling you also. Those are valid wear items that do need attention from time to time and more so once the vehicle is lifted and has larger than stock wheels/tires.
 
grab the sector shaft of the steering box and try to turn it by hand, there should be no play in it. my 91 suburban does the same thing, all the ball joints and rod ends are perfect but the steering box has a TON of play in it. and if it is the sector shaft its an easy fix because i you can adjust it.
 
Now dumb question, but what tools are needed for balljoints? Never done them but it's good to know..

Thanks for the help guys :)
 
Basic open ends and or sockets up to say 1",a torque wrench would be nice and a pickle fork to pop tie rods or drag link ends loose. Just be aware some of the ends are left hand threads,some right hand.
 
I just picked up an 81 Blazer that had very loose steering, the guy did an xj shaft swap but it didn't cure the problem, I checked out everything and it turned out to be a loose drag link - the bolts were tight, but one was not clamped down enough and there was a little bit of play in it when the steering wheel was turned. have someone turn the wheel so you can visually inspect everything - hope it's a simple fix for you like it was for me
 
Good information guys, thanks :) Hopefully nothing major but for what I'll be paying for it.. back up vehicle/beater since my '91 is still very nice.
 
Picking it up tonight :D Figure worst case I'll have to spend $250-$300 rebuilding the front(including buying the sockets I don't have as well the ball joint press from HF) and it'll be a reliable vehicle and a good beater.
 
Drove it home.. the wandering didn't seem too bad. Wednesday I'll check for slop in the balljoints, tre's, and drag link. I'll also measure toe...

Would really fubar'd alignment cause it to wander? I noticed when turning or going into a slight curve it would not wander at all, only when attempting to go straight.

Driving with the shift kit was a different experience, the hard shifts are kind of fun though :eek1: I got all the paperwork on the trans, and it still has 3 months of a warranty left on it with only 2k driven since it was installed :D
 
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