Steering box orientation question

[demon_speed]

I fixed my previous problem (thanks guys) but now that the new box is in, the truck only turns to the left, not the right.

I assumed that the rebuilt box I bought (Red Head Steering and Gear in Seattle WA) was sold with the output shaft centered, but maybe it wasn't? How do I tell?

If it WAS centered, what else would cause the truck to not turn right at all?

Is it possible to adjust without having to remove the Pitman arm again, turning the box, then reinstalling?

Thanks again!

 

[cdoggwsu]

Even if it was turned a revolution in one direction or the other when you installed it that would only mess up the orientation of your steering wheel, not the ability to turn.

So you can turn left to full lock and back to center? Or once you turn left it won't go back at all?

 

[4X4HIGH]

Who needs to make right turns anyways.

Is this a 2wd or 4wd box?

 

[demon_speed]

It's a 4x box. And it goes full lock to the left, won't turn right at all. Do the boxes have stops in them, or will they turn infinitely?

 

[4X4HIGH]

Most of these box's are 3 1/3 turns lock to lock. The only thing that could prevent the steering box from turning one direction would be if whoever built the box set the over center adjustment too tight in which then it would only turn in one direction. I'm assuming you can actually turn in both directions but the tires just won't go the direction you want them to?

 

[demon_speed]

It turns fully left, but when going right, the front wheels are pointing straight when the steering wheel stops turning

 

[owenst7]

Even if it was turned a revolution in one direction or the other when you installed it that would only mess up the orientation of your steering wheel, not the ability to turn.

So you can turn left to full lock and back to center? Or once you turn left it won't go back at all?

Not if the piston/rack and sector shaft are not oriented correctly in relation to each-other. It sounds to me like that is what is going on...where there is a definite "stop" in each direction, just not the right places. If this is the case, pull the aluminum cap off the top and pull the sector shaft partway out. Rotate the worm gear until the piston/rack is centered in the opening of the cap approximately, and drop the sector shaft back in. Make sure you've got the rack rotated in its bore close to correct, or it can bind with the sector teeth and make everything act a little goofy.

If I'm misunderstanding, and it just doesn't turn one direction no matter what angle it is turned to, the sector shaft vertical adjustment is probably off...it's the allen key on the top of the box.

I can't think of anything else inside there that can cause what you describe without some sort of catastrophic failure.

 

[demon_speed]

Basically I fell victim to retardation caused by working on this stuff in the middle of a parking lot at 3am... The box is fine, it just wasn't completely torqued down correctly, so it was flexing enough to not allow the vehicle to turn right.

Now if I can figure out why the power steering pump whines like a bitch, I'll be golden. And I checked fluid.. its full lol.

 

[4X4HIGH]

Basically I fell victim to retardation caused by working on this stuff in the middle of a parking lot at 3am... The box is fine, it just wasn't completely torqued down correctly, so it was flexing enough to not allow the vehicle to turn right.

Now if I can figure out why the power steering pump whines like a bitch, I'll be golden. And I checked fluid.. its full lol.

Jack the front wheels off the ground, start the engine, cycle the steering lock to lock at least 20 times to remove any air pockets. This should fix the whine. Just because the P/S pump is full doesn't mean squat.

 

[demon_speed]

Thanks, worked like a charm