steering box adjustment

[4X4HIGH]

Ok I'll try the adjust the thrust bearing preload, since its easy, first. And move on to the other if it doesn't work. How about a quick tutorial on what exactly to do once I have it out. I'd rather just put a PSC in but don't have the cash for that and want to do this before BB Thanks in advance for the help!!

Ok, in order to make the overcenter adjustment here is what you need to do.

1) Clamp steering box in a vise with adjuster stud poiinting up.

2) Rotate the steering from left to right while counting the turns then go back half as many turns (most boxes are approximately 3 1/3 turns lock to lock so you would go back about 1.65 turns)

3) Now loosen lock nut on overcenter adjustment screw

4) Now attach a dial type INCH pound torque wrench to the input shaft (might need to get creative on socket size to fit the splined shaft)

5) Now you adjust the screw so that you get about 10-14 INCH pound of resistance on the torque wrench as you go 20* on either side of center.

6) Now hold adjusting screw as you tighten the lock nut and you're done.

 

[DieselWarrior]

u dont need to pull the box to adjust the preload. You just loosen the lock nut, back it off a bit and turn to the RIGHT the preload adjuster, usually an allen wrench. While holding it there, tighten back up the locking nut.

You normally turn it 1/2 a revolution/turn at a time.

If you get to the point where resistance is felt in steering, and return to center (RTC) is slow or non-exisitant, you adjusted too far, start backing it off.

Some twits will bottom it out, then back out a 1/2 turn... wrong way to do it.

Well, thats ONE way of doing it, this page details exactly how to do it, better than I did...

http://dodgeram.info/tsb/1997/19-10-97.htm


.

 

[4X4HIGH]

u dont need to pull the box to adjust the preload. You just loosen the lock nut, back it off a bit and turn to the RIGHT the preload adjuster, usually an allen wrench. While holding it there, tighten back up the locking nut.

You normally turn it 1/2 a revolution/turn at a time.

If you get to the point where resistance is felt in steering, and return to center (RTC) is slow or non-exisitant, you adjusted too far, start backing it off.

Some twits will bottom it out, then back out a 1/2 turn... wrong way to do it.




I am interested with the adjusting plug at the input shaft, that sounds more logical of an adjustment. I did the preload on a truck before, It never made any improvement.

That is the best method of either breaking a sector shaft or causing the steering to not go beyond center (VERY BAD things happen).

I'm about to go snap a pic of the tool I made for adjusting (torquing the adjuster plug). Sorry for the crappy cell phone pics (doesn't have a macro feature).

 

[y5mgisi]

Thanks Scott! A constant wealth of information!

 

[4X4HIGH]

Thanks Scott! A constant wealth of information!

I try my best to give back to everyone here the best I can.

 

[cdoggwsu]

That's an awesome adjuster plug tool. I didn't have/couldn't find anything to do that with so I took the box down to the dealership. That was a mistake. I don't think they torqued it down at all and it was waaaaaaay too loose on the input side...enough that the input shaft could physically move in and out. Of course I didn't notice this until it was back in and bled. Went to back out of the driveway, one of the valve body o-rings blew and the steering went to ratsh!t. I should have known when the chevy tech said he hadn't done it in 15 years.

Next time I'll be acquiring the correct tools.

 

[4X4HIGH]

That's an awesome adjuster plug tool. I didn't have/couldn't find anything to do that with so I took the box down to the dealership. That was a mistake. I don't think they torqued it down at all and it was waaaaaaay too loose on the input side...enough that the input shaft could physically move in and out. Of course I didn't notice this until it was back in and bled. Went to back out of the driveway, one of the valve body o-rings blew and the steering went to ratsh!t. I should have known when the chevy tech said he hadn't done it in 15 years.

Next time I'll be acquiring the correct tools.

If a person isn't careful it wouldn't be too hard to back the adjuster plug off far enough to allow the shims and thrust bearing to fall out of place and then when the adjuster plug gets tightened the shims and bearing are stopping it from tightening correctly causing there to be excessive play.

 

[cdoggwsu]

If a person isn't careful it wouldn't be too hard to back the adjuster plug off far enough to allow the shims and thrust bearing to fall out of place and then when the adjuster plug gets tightened the shims and bearing are stopping it from tightening correctly causing there to be excessive play.

I suspect something like that may have happened. The roller bearing and race on the worm gear shaft were also kinda scarred up (they weren't when I put it back together) so for whatever reason something didn't seat right.

 

[4X4HIGH]

I suspect something like that may have happened. The roller bearing and race on the worm gear shaft were also kinda scarred up (they weren't when I put it back together) so for whatever reason something didn't seat right.

Sounds like what I just explained is what happened to you. If you ever decide to tear a steering box apart i'll bet you would never buy another steering box again as you would just rebuild your own like i've been doing.

There is really only 1 tool that makes life a whole lot easier and that is the rack piston tool for holding all the steel balls in place while you install the rack piston and then the worm gear. I had been using an old worm gear from the back side to do this but finally bought the proper tool.

 

[cdoggwsu]

Sounds like what I just explained is what happened to you. If you ever decide to tear a steering box apart i'll bet you would never buy another steering box again as you would just rebuild your own like i've been doing.

There is really only 1 tool that makes life a whole lot easier and that is the rack piston tool for holding all the steel balls in place while you install the rack piston and then the worm gear. I had been using an old worm gear from the back side to do this but finally bought the proper tool.

Oh, no I did take this one completely down and rebuild it. I got the rebuild kit from West Texas Offroad and found some instructions on the web (actually, I think you even answered some questions I posted about it a couple years back). For as simple as it was, I'll definitely be rebuilding my own the next time...especially for what they charge for one of those reman jobs at O'Reilly's.

Those damn ball bearings were a little tricky at first, but I got the system worked out after the 4th or 5th try.

How does the piston tool work?

(sorry for the hijack )

 

[4X4HIGH]

The tool is called a rack piston arbor. basically once the rack piston is out and the nut at the end is off you put the arbor through the end of the rack piston (from the nut end) and the start installing all of the steel balls (alternating dark and light colored balls) and once you have 17 balls in the rack piston then you install the remaining 7 into the ball return guide and install it then you install the rack piston back into the steering box and from the input side you install the worm gear and as you rotate the worm gear into the rack piston it pushes the arbor out of the rack piston and you're done.

Here is a buy it now ad from e-bay for the exact tool i bought. If you're going to do more of these BUY THIS TOOL. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MILL...Z280554058824QQptZMotorsQ5fAutomotiveQ5fTools

 

[cdoggwsu]

That is sweet, thanks for the tip!

 

[DieselWarrior]

Yeah, like the other poster said, THANKS SCOTT, your contribution here is valuable!