Loose gear box

[cjmspartans]

Hey there, so I got my truck aligned and got new tires put on and the guy at the counter said that the technician noted that the steering box was loose and the pitman arm needed to be replaced.

I'm fairly certain I replaced my pitman arm about a year ago... I'll have to go through some paperwork... but my question is can this accelerate tire wear? I'm okay with driving around with loose steering for a while until I get the money together to make the repairs. I just dropped $850 into it this week so I'm not feeling like dropping another $550 into replacing those two parts at the shop.

I've never replaced these components before. Is the steering box and pitman arm a difficult job to do in the driveway? I've seen people on here mention replacing the rag joint, as that man make a big difference.

 

[alpinecrick]

If the alignment is correct a wore out steering box and pitman arm won't really cause premature wear on the tires--except for steering back and forth more while trying to keep it on the road......

Parts store reman steering gear boxes are junk. They don't return to center very well, and wear out quickly--in as little as 10k. Unfortunately, GM/AC Delco stopped producing the factory ones.

I've had good experience with Moog pitman arms. Did you replace the idler arm AND the idler arm bracket?

I recently replaced the rag joint on my 96 K1500, although it was a bit more loose than the new one, it didn't make any discernible difference.

Redhead, Steerco, and others build upgraded, remanufactured boxes. The parts stores offer brand new boxes. My next steering gear box (which will be soon) will probably be the BBB/Vision from RockAuto based on what I been told so far, anyway.

For new or the upgraded steering gears, well, sit down before you look at the price..........

 

[Tavi]

Not difficult. A bit time consuming. 3 box to frame bolts, pitman arm bolt, steering shaft and two fluid lines.
With the gear box out pitman arm is easy to remove. A bit tight while in the truck. Rag joint can make a big difference. Mine touches the mechanical interference of the rag joint before it will start turning.
I would start with the rag joint. Box can be tightened. If you do it yourself, work up slowly and replace the joint first.

 

[alpinecrick]

Tightening the adjustment bolt on the steering gear will help if done correctly--but it tends to be a very temporary fix. Once the gear the bolt adjusts begins to wear to the point of creating loose steering, the gear is generally wore out.
https://www.gmt400.com/threads/how-to-adjust-the-steering-box.1599/

If by any small chance the truck still has the original AC Delco steering gear box, a quality rebuild kit (Edlemann comes to mind) may be the least expensive, quality rebuild.


Pressing a new pitman arm on a new steering gear shaft can test even the best 1/2" impact guns.........

 

[Schurkey]

Tightening the adjustment bolt on the steering gear will help if done correctly--but it tends to be a very temporary fix. Once the gear the bolt adjusts begins to wear to the point of creating loose steering, the gear is generally wore out.
https://www.gmt400.com/threads/how-to-adjust-the-steering-box.1599/

There's TWO adjustments, and the easy one that everyone talks about is the SECOND one performed AFTER the difficult one is already done.

 

[Supercharged111]

There's TWO adjustments, and the easy one that everyone talks about is the SECOND one performed AFTER the difficult one is already done.

I found the method for the difficult one to be BS, so now set that first based on feel. The tight then back off 1/4" or whatever it was left my box retarded tight which left over center retarded loose.

 

[alpinecrick]

There's TWO adjustments, and the easy one that everyone talks about is the SECOND one performed AFTER the difficult one is already done.

You're right, I wasn't clear. Adjust the bearing on the input , then worm drive and gear adjustment bolt.

Still, it tends to be a very temporary fix.

 

[cjmspartans]

Took me a while to get back to this thread, but thanks for the input everyone. I'll get the gear box replaced soon. I might just go ahead and do the adjustment seeing as to how it will only be in the truck for about two more months.

 

[sewlow]

Pitman arm needs replacing & they did an 'alignment'?
WTF? That's not right. There's worn parts in there! A total waste of time.
I hope you didn't pay for that.
The guys I deal with wouldn't even have attempted to do such, until they or myself replaced what was required. They certainly wouldn't of charged for the diagnosis either.

 

[sixteenacrewood]

I've been working on my front end this year, new ball joints, tie rods, adjustable sleeves, pitman/idler, rotors, calipers. Bought one part every few weeks then did the work.
I adjusted the steering gear as per youtube videos.
But. I only moved the Allen wrench 5 minutes (like a clock face) at a time then test drove a few days, then adjusted again.
I also changed my power steering fluid twice in on month.
My steering is crisp and tight except for a bit of vibration feedback from a worn lower steering shaft bearing.
I will replace it and the lower intermediat steering shaft next month.

If I were you I would play around with the gear adjustment.