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Steering Wheel "Slack/Play" - Steer Left/Right/Left to Go Straight...

PWagon

PWagon

1/2 ton status
Joined
Mar 6, 2009
Posts
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Location
Dallas
I've been trying to fix my steering issue without asking for help on this site, but I give up. I have about an inch of slack/play (whatever it's called) in my steering. I have to constantly steer left, right, left, right just to keep my K5 out of the ditches. Okay, that may be an exaggeration of sorts but not much. Here's a list of all the things I've replaced/fixed to rule out my issue. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
  • replaced control rod end
  • replaced both drag link ends
  • replaced upper and lower ball joints
  • had the front end aligned
  • replaced the steering stabilizer shock
  • replaced the intermediate steering shaft with the typical XJ swap
  • tightened my steering box adjustment screw 1/2 turn (clockwise)
  • re-torque wrenched the leaf spring U-bolts to 150 lb-ft (in the recommended 1-2-3-4 pattern)
  • repacked the bearings in grease and torqued them using GM's specs
  • replaced all 4 tires (just because they needed replacing)
  • replaced the power steering pump
  • replaced the rubber eye & shackle bushings with greasable poly bushings
My best guess is I've either missed something from the firewall down, or there's something in my steering column that I haven't got to yet. I'd sure appreciate any suggestions.

I forgot to mention that my steering column is a tiny bit loose. It's the common issue where the 4 bolts deep in the column loosen a bit. However, it's not that loose, and I can't imagine that would make that big a difference on steering. It's on my list of things to fix, but I just hate tearing into steering columns.
 
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I had to build a spacer to sit between the XJ steering shaft and the lower steering column "bearing". The bearing walked down the shaft and steering got all funny.

View attachment 217937

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also xj shaft needs pinch bolts on bigger shaft body to hold smaller body tight after the plastic is removed to fit our trucks.

weld 2 nuts to body of shaft with a hole under each . then 2 set screws with red locktight to pinch the shaft . it still lets the shaft slide in a accident but no play driving .

and the box adjustment is

box centered NOT wheels as they can be off . so the box is centered.

loosen adjustment nut on top of sector shaft holding the stud with the allen wrench in the center .

allen down till just contacts / starts to bind up . then back off just a tiny bit .

hold stud with allen and tighten nut . .

there is an adjustment on the input side but I have not ever done one my self .
 
Measure your toe in. I'm guessing you need a little more toe to get it to run down the road without the wandering.
 
I hadn't thought to check the frame. Just curious, who makes a plate add-on fix kit for that, and how much is it? I'll try to look at the frame this weekend to see if it's cracked or not.
 
PWagon said:
I hadn't thought to check the frame. Just curious, who makes a plate add-on fix kit for that, and how much is it? I'll try to look at the frame this weekend to see if it's cracked or not.
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even if not cracked check the bolts for loose .

lots of places sell the weld on repair plate . offroad design has them and the bolt in brace .
 
Front leaf spring bushings good ?--front spring rear shackle bolts and bushings tight ?.....those can let the axle walk around if they are shot--also if you have stock springs,they often crack where the front eye bolt is,the two top most leafs are rolled around the bushing and they crack there sometimes..

I have had a few GM 4x4's that needed the front wheel bearings tightened up a bit more than the usual "tighten them up,then loosen until you can JUST detect play" to get the truck to stay on course..

One truck had the inner wheel bearing outer race spin out inside the hub,and though you felt no "play" with the bearings adjusted--there was still slop between the outer race cup and the hub bore--truck didn't wander at all after I got another hub..

A tire with a bad belt can cause a lot of trouble and often gets overlooked--the front end parts and alignment gets the blame often when its the tires and or mismatched rim offsets to blame..
My van wandered and pulled to the left pretty bad until I discovered one rally wheel up front was a 6" and the other was an 8" wide one..putting all 4 that matched on it "fixed" it..(after I wasted money on lower ball joints,Idler arm,shocks,brake calipers !)..
 
Have somebody else steer it while you watch - you might find the problem in seconds. Amazing how many things can move when all you're trying to do is steer.
 
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Blue85 said:
Have somebody else steer it while you watch - you might find the problem in seconds. Amazing how many things can move when all you're trying to do is steer.
Click to expand...
this

Steering box loose (included bolts or crack frame)
Old XJ shaft with loose upper rubber, needs welding. Or loose where the two halves come together.
Bad lower column bearing
Broken tilt ball in column

but checking while moving steering wheel (with engine off for more strain) will help isolate the issue.
 
Although it doesn't sound like your issue, if the axle shaft u-joints are rusty and sticking it can cause strange steering issues. Just something to keep in mind.
 
I had a similar problem along with a leaking input shaft at the box. It was an old box so I replaced it. It is nice and tight again. I suspect the input adjustment was off and the box had wear. The adjustment on the top of the box did not take out the play anymore, although it helped in the past. This time, the autozone box worked well. Last time I bought one, it wasn't set right and it had the auto steer feature, which is no good.
 
Well, after tearing into the steering column I found two problems. The first one I knew about (the 4 loose bolts at the bottom base of the column). The second problem I discovered by accident. I found the plastic steering knuckle was worn enough to cause my slack. I ordered a brand new one from a place in Utah called SteeringColumnServices.com and they have every part imaginable. I ordered the knuckle and had it at my doorstep a couple days later. Here's the before and after of the looseness. I now have no (I mean zero) slop/play in the steering wheel.

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View attachment 223499

View attachment 223500

View attachment 223501

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