Stiff Steering

[michael0584]

A little background first... The steering box on my 87 Jimmy was leaking very badly, It had slop in it that I had adjusted out, so aside for the leaking it worked fine, sometime at low rpms and trying to turn the steering wheel fast it would get hard to steer like the pump was having problems, kind of like it feels when it is low on fluid. I figured this was caused by the leak maybe it was low on pressure. I swapped the steering gear box in from my 86, it looked better, didn't leak, and had no slop in it. Its been a long time since I drove the 86 so I don't know how well it worked in the 86. Now that it is in the 87, the steering is harder than normal, its definatley working just not very well. You can feel the groan in the steering wheel like the pump is struggling. the steering wheel will also not center itself. Whatever position you put it in it stays. Normally when turning I can let go of the steering wheel and it will straighten up, now it stays in the turned position. The 86 had atf in it instaed on power steering fluid, I redrained all the fluid out of the 87 thinking the mixture of power steering fluid and atf may have caused it. No change, the longer I drive it out on the freeway it seems to get better, but after sitting it gets worse again. Sometimes its not noticable, sometimes its as if there is almost no power steering. Sorry for the long post. If I hadn't swapped the gear box it would seem to me that the pump is the problem, I'm not sure what in the gearbox could cause this??

 

[michael0584]

I fixed it. I loosened up the adjustment on the gearbox a little and now it steers easy. Previous owner must have tried to adjust slack out of the gearbox and got it too tight.

 

[sweetk30]

gm tech states loosen jam nut then adjust set screw down till bottom out vary lightly. then back off 1/8 - 1/4 turn and hold and snug up jam nut.

funny thing is guy was just in my shop few days ago. had new box and pitman arm with both inner tie rods all replaced at gm dealer under warrenty.

well the whole dealer ship couldnt figure out the 2" play up at the wheel when driving.

i found the set screw 1 full turn off spec. reset the screw to spec and road test after all good.

bad point is if set to tight damage to box can and will happen .

 

[michael0584]

Yea I'm a little worried, not sure how long this thing was driven too tight. Do I leave this one on or do I put seals in the original one and put it back on?

 

[fordsucks!]

I fixed it. I loosened up the adjustment on the gearbox a little and now it steers easy. Previous owner must have tried to adjust slack out of the gearbox and got it too tight.

Where on the gearbox is this adjustment?

 

[Wes Harden]

Yeah that adjustment is a critical adjustment. If the box worm gear is not in the exact right spot the adjustment will be off.
I am always hesitant to do this.
I expect the gear box rebuilders marked the nut and screw, and will not warranty box if changed

 

[fordsucks!]

Yeah that adjustment is a critical adjustment. If the box worm gear is not in the exact right spot the adjustment will be off.
I am always hesitant to do this.
I expect the gear box rebuilders marked the nut and screw, and will not warranty box if changed

the adjustment nut has fresh black paint and will definitely have marks if a wrench is put on it. The threads are covered in black paint as well. Im definitely not going to touch anything..

I knowingly overpaid, specifically for the warranty. I'm going back Monday. The steering wheel not returning to center after turns is unacceptable. I am manually countersteering after every turn.

I've only driven maybe 15 or 20 miles. Do you think there's a chance that the new gearbox has to be broken in?

 

[centexk5]

No. It’s just sloppy QC. Same with my PSC. Last box groaned turning to the left. This box is stiff to the left and has almost a quarter turn of play to the right before it turns and groans turning left or right. I hate steering boxes.

 

[Wes Harden]

The steering should not have a break in. It should operate as designed from day 1

 

[dyeager535]

Apparently when adjusted wrong those things can actually lock up when turning, such that you can't straighten them back out. That would make for a hell of a ride. The whole "tighten up the adjustment" idea is obviously easy to do wrong.

IIRC it's both the top of the box AND the adjustment on the steering shaft end that should be done in conjunction with each other, and the box is supposed to be adjusted via in-lbs measurement at the input, but that is a lot of work when it's already in the rig.

My steering box has a ton of play in it, I did a very minor adjustment, and couldn't tell I had done anything. But it's not supposed to take much. Not real fun to drive with no on-center feel.

 

[diesel4me]

Just about every steering box I touched that adjustment screw on,ended up being replaced by a "good used" salvage yard one..
I'd try to tighten the screw just a 1/8th of a turn in hopes of improving the "slop" in the box,all it did was make it lumpy or want to bind up just off the straight ahead position..so I moved the screw back to where it originally was..then P/S fliud oozed out around it..

I suspect the "other"adjustment on the steering shaft end of the box is the one that needed to be adjusted--I attempted that once,used a chisel and hammer to loosen the big lock nut ring,then had to invent a "spanner" tool to fit in the 2 holes in the adjuster plug--then the dam box started leaking like a sieve and still felt like it was binding up inside...
I put a new seal in it and it still leaked,so I got pissed and bought a used steering box at the junkyard for $50,one that looked dry and had low miles..no problems with it for the rest of the time I owned the truck..

So far ,out of at least 5 attempts to install a pitman shaft seal kit ,only two were a success for more than a few days,my current '82 K2500 and one I did on a '68 Chevy Caprice wagon I had..
I consider steering boxes disposeable now..they eff up,I get another one..and I feel used ones pan out better than rebuilts too..

 

[fordsucks!]

Went to shop today, they suggested first getting alignment and checking the caster. He also said that "reman boxes are always sticky at first, it will loosen up with time." I'm thinking damn, this guy probably reads the Forum

They said if there's any problems will take care of it, but I'm going to give it a few weeks to see if it really does loosen up.

 

[Abusfullofnuns]

I can't remember if I had this issue with the gm box(i think so), but if the adjuster is too tight, it will cause stiff steering and not want to return to center.

 

[Wes Harden]

"reman boxes are always sticky at first, it will loosen up with time."

This bugs me, the box should not wear in. This means it's not adjusted properly. If it does wear in a couple of days that wear will be accelerated.

I'm glad they say they will stand behind this. But don't wait you have 90 days from the pick up date.
This shop doesn't do alignment. That much work on the steering gear they should have aligned it or sent it out to be check/done, before returning to customer.
Not impressed

 

[fordsucks!]

This bugs me, the box should not wear in. This means it's not adjusted properly. If it does wear in a couple of days that wear will be accelerated.

I'm glad they say they will stand behind this. But don't wait you have 90 days from the pick up date.
This shop doesn't do alignment. That much work on the steering gear they should have aligned it or sent it out to be check/done, before returning to customer.
Not impressed

I'm not impressed either. I have 12 month warranty in writing but i'll give them a fair chance... I'm definitely going back if it doesn't feel any better after a few weeks.

 

[Blue85]

Yeah, what's breaking in? Probably 90% of the box is used parts. Is anybody broaching new pitmans or pistons for these things? Even if they were 100% all new parts, I don't remember any break-in process happening when I worked at Saginaw Steering Gear.