Been driving the truck and find that I have about 2 inches of play in the steering wheel. I have new king pins, ball joints, have rebuilt the connecting arm so it must be wear in the steering box. Have looked at the manual on how to adjust it but before I went at it was curious if 2" is normal or not? If not, when I do the adjusting, how much should I expect? Or is 2" too much to adjust out and I just need to rebuild the gears Thanks!
2 inches is a wee bit excessive. Read in the service manual, it shows how to tighten up the slop. I would read and post for you, but I am out of town right now....
Steering Box Adjustment First , you must remove the level plug on the top of the steering gear and top it up with 90W or thicker oil , then grab each wheel @ 9:00 and 3:00 and move them back and forth whilst looking underneath to ascertain where the play is as it can be in the drag link or loose steering arms , even in parts you've paid to be repaired or replaced . To adjust : loosen the locknut on the side of the steering box and find a 90° right angle flat blade screwdriver that fits the slot on the adjusting screw , gently turn it _in_ whilst rocking the steering wheel back and forth through the play , DO NOT force it beyone the freeplay ! as the screw goes in you'll notice the freeplay gets less and less , stop when the screw begins to have resistance or the freeply is 3/4" . hold the screw from turning as you snug up the locknut and go give it a test drive , if you now feel lumps or tight spots in the steering , stop and loosen the locknut , back the screw off 1/4 turn and re-snug the locknut , try again . Sometime the box is so work out you cannot reduce the play all the way without it getting stiff , stiff steering is VERY BAD and can fail without warning ! . Remember : you MUST lubericate the steering box before trying to adjust it . The oil may drip out , this is normal , you can use STP or Bardahl , any thick oil but never , _EVER_ grease as it's a recirculatint ball typ steering gear and grease won't lube it atall . You can find the 90° screwdrivers in pawn shops or Harbor Freight very cheaply . I hope this helps...
Nate~ you can't ever leave this site! You have taught me, and you continue to teach me things that books just can't. I swear, you are Nate the Great! Thanks! Paul
Steering Thanks Nate for the detailed step by step. It will really help this weekend when I do as you suggest! I also really like the Harbor Freight tip. Its always nice to have a good reason to go over there, and I'm sure I'll walk out with more than a 90 degree screw driver!
Tools Glad I was of help . I prefer to buy my tools from Pawn Shops and thrift stores when I can as it helps the local economy and I get better tools for less $ too , always a good thing . I work on a HUAGE truckshop and some of the other mechanics have towering Snap On tool boxes over 6' tall with $80,000.00 worth of tools in them , those guys don't actually *fix* nor diagnose anything but they sure do change the heck out of parts... I have three old rollaways full of tools I've collected over the decades but I work out of a three drawer traveling box as I like to drag it to the vehicle , within it are many different brands of tools including some Chinese tools , ones I found sufficient to do the job .
