I have a 84 GMC 1/2 ton 4wd Pickup. The steering is very sloppy. When you turn the wheel it just does'nt seem to pull the wheels all the way one way or the other. In another word, when I pull into my driveway, its like I have to swing out before attempting to pull in. There is a lot of play in the steering wheel. I have priced out changing the Tie Rod Ends all the way to the Ball joints. What an exspensive undertaking. Ya Ya, I know I am whinning. I really can't affort to replace all the Front End Parts right now. So to ease the sloppy steering what parts should I look at replacing now? Any help would be appreciated. God Bless And Thanks.
Put the front end on jack stands and see where the play comes from. Shake the tires (top to bottom - balljoints; side to side - tie rods), draglink, steering arm, and steering shaft from the box to the firewall. If it moves, it should be replaced. Check the ps fluid as well. You should also look at your frame by the steering box, as that is a common spot where the frame can crack on 4x4s. If it is cracked, there are weld in repairs you can get. I went through something like this about 8 months ago, had a fairly new ball joint go bad, went to replace it and found a small crack in the lower A-arm. I decided to check everything while I was there and ended up replacing both the upper and lower a-arm and most of the steering even though I didn't really have the time or money. In the end you might be spending more than you want to, but its better to be safe than sorry.
This guy has done an excellent job of detailing the steps involved in replacing your ball joints. I hope the link is still available when I need to do mine http://www.delbridge.net/balljoints
Front suspension for a 4wd is completely different than 2wd. 4wd ball joints will require disassembly of the hubs, removing discs, spindles, backing plates, axle shafts, and knuckle. Then you get to figure out how to get the ball joints in and out with a ball joint press. I don't remember how, but once you get the first one, the second side goes much faster. And if you have to, while you've got the axle shafts out and the ball joint press you might as well check those u-joints. As far as that writeup, I disagree with a couple of things he did. When he popped the ball joints, he completely removed the upper first, which makes it harder to pop the second. If you back the nuts to the end of the thread but leave them on, you can pop both upper and lower without the eyebolt method he used. I also didn't agree with the way he removed the lower ball joint. You can use the ball joint press, just slide the unthreaded part of the press over the ball joint and use a spacer on the bottom. Less work than trying to hammer it out, and less likely to damage something else.
sloppy front end Guys I noticed one thing that hasn't been mentioned. Make sure the steering box itself isn't sloppy. Look at how much you turn the wheel compaired to how much movement you have in the steering linbkage. You can check it also by grabbing hold of the steering shaft (column) and rotating that. Watch the pitman arm for movement. If you get much (at the column that means almost none) movement you can adjust the slack in the box. There is a nut and in the middle of it will be either a screw or and allen screw. Hold the middle while you loosen the nut. Turn the middle screw to take the slack out. Be careful to not go too far though because if ya do you might find it TOO tight and not be able to steer it. If that happens just back off on the screw untill it works well. I have had to adjust these on almost new trucks so it's very possible that you may need to.
