Changed my pitman seal, now my steering sucks.

[ZMan]

I changed the pitman shaft seal on my '92...and now my steering is really goofy. When turn right it is normal, but turning left, I have to turn the steering wheel 90 degrees before it does anything. Even with all of this play, it is VERY touchy once it reaches the "sweet spot" when turning the wheel either direction, this makes the normal driving adjustments very hard and I'm pretty much jerking all over the lane going down the road.

Could this be caused by a air bubble in the lines? I've been driving it for a week 40miles a day I woulda figured it would work itself out by now. Thanks in advance if you can help me out with this.

[MAKG]

Sounds to me like the meshload is really, really tight. Did you remove the sector shaft?

If I were you, I'd get a reman steering box and ditch the one you have. It's not unusual for Pitman shaft leaks to signal a severely worn sector bearing and teeth.

To fix a meshload problem, you need a beam-type inch-lb torque wrench and you have to drain the gear and disconnect the Pitman arm.

[ZMan]

ahh well that could very well be it as I did in fact remove the shaft. That sucks, guess I'll look up some prices, thanks mike.

edit: How do I go about adjusting the mesh load if I get a inch-lb torque wrench? Just for some added knowledge.

[ZMan]

well thanks for your help mike, and sorry to waste your time. I went in to check my brakes just now and found that all 3 mounting bolts had loosened. Tightened em back up with some blue locktite on them. I should have known better because we had the same thing happen to my friends Ranger last summer.

[MAKG]

Glad you got it sorted out. That's a cheap repair, at least.

[Jspafford]

Crap, I was going to offer you a complete gearbox free if you came and got it outta my way...