Steering slack

[MetalBeardSolid]

Got an 89 C1500 that I have replaced the rubber disc on intermediate shaft, upper and lower ball joints, inner and outer tie rods, and the steering gear. I've had it aligned and there is STILL slack in the steering. From dead center I have about an inch or so of steering wheel movement before wheels move. Is there something I'm missing ??? Thanks in advance.

 

[chipskittles]

Lots of people swap out the rag joint "rubber disc" for a jeep intermediate shaft. That will help a lot. Unless you got a low mileage used steering gear or a rebutable rebuilt steering gear odds are your steering gear has hard parts wear and will have some amount of play. It's just the way it goes with these old boxes. Pitman and Idler arms need to be checked as well, should have been done when you did the rest of it, they wear out just like the rod ends do

 

[MetalBeardSolid]

Yeah I replaced the idler/pitman arms as well. Everything but the steering shaft and column have been replaced. The gear box was a parts store reman. Have you seen or heard of anyone doing a rack and pinion swap on these trucks ?

 

[chipskittles]

I have heard that wheel bearings can cause steering play too but having never seen this I have a hard time believing wheel bearings would get this loose without making themselves known(noisy!). Anything is possible and i'm sure there is a rack and pinion kit out there but it's more trouble than it's worth for anything but a show truck. Just my opinion of course

 

[delta_p]

The steering gear has a little play anyway by virtue of its operation. There is stub shaft that has the output spline that connects to your steering column. On the stub shaft is a cylindrical valve spool inside of a cylindrical valve body. The stub shaft/valve spool and the valve body are connected to the worm ball drive. If the worm drive were held fixed the valve body won't move but the stub shaft and valve spool can torsion twist a little. So the valve spool could move relative to the valve body.

The valve spool and valve body form the hydraulic passages to each end of the piston. When there is no resistance on the pitman shaft, like sitting on a work bench, the stub shaft, the valve spool, the valve body, and the worm all move together to drive the piston and hence the pitman shaft.

When there is resistance, like the tires on the ground, the stub shaft acts like a torsion bar first twisting against the resistance of the worm to move. The valve spool moves relative to the valve body. This positions the valve spool to block some fluid passages from return and send hydraulic pressure to one end of the piston offering steering assist to move the piston and turn the pitman. The worm drive turns too and so does the stub shaft (your turning it) and the valve body. When you let off the wheel coming out of the turn, the torsion bar effect releases and allows the valve spool and valve body flow passages to realign to neutral and provide the same return pressure to both sides of the piston. The road resistance allows the wheels to straighten out and spin everything back to straight (or you could power assist it by turning the wheel).

The amount of torsion twist is small but even at 2 degrees on a 15.5" steering wheel is about 3/10 of an inch along the circumference of the steering wheel. So I would imagine there is always some play. Sorry for the dissertation but the steering gear is sort of a really cool device.

 

[kennythewelder]

If you haven't replaced the rag joint, that is where your problem is most likely. This is the rubber disc @ the steering shaft to steering gear box. The Jeep swap will do an even better job of taking out the slack.

 

[Bob L]

Turn the steering shaft back and forth by hand and watch the pitman arm. You should be able to tell if the play is in the steering box or rag joint just by looking. You can do this with the engine off and key in unlock position.

 

[AllThrottleNoBottle]

Turn the steering shaft back and forth by hand and watch the pitman arm. You should be able to tell if the play is in the steering box or rag joint just by looking. You can do this with the engine off and key in unlock position.

+2 on the watch-and-see method

As said earlier, could be a loose box, even if it's been replaced. My **** was so loose when I got the truck (sorry, that sounds like some kinda Pepto Bismol ad!), I decided to do some research and spend the dough on a RedHead box - couldn't be happier. A quick look at it like Bob was saying will tell the tale.
-Rich

 

[94_Z71]

I just had my steering box replaced last week (it was hemorrhaging power steering fluid). Truck has 145K miles. Now all that slack in the steering is completely gone. It's almost too responsive.

 

[deadbeat]

He said first sentence he replaced rag joint. My dad put 3 orielly boxes on his, all were junk. He then put a red head steering box on it and all the slack is gone.