94 B4000 steering problem

[lolo2377]

i have a 94 b4000. it wonderes alot on the road. you can hold the wheel straight and it wonders left to right. i check all the tierods and balljoints. i know i need the balljoints but the tierods seem ok. could it be the steering box or anything on the steering linkage?

 

[ap3x]

Worn pitman arm can cause that. The steering knuckle/u-joint/don't remember if there's a separate term for it, can cause that. Pretty much just have to narrow it down to what could have play in it if you turn the steering wheel and the wheels don't turn initially. Mine has a similar problem. I haven't bothered to fix it because I know it isn't affecting my alignment and wearing my tires. Definitely get those ball joints done though.

 

[lolo2377]

you can hold the steering wheel straight while driving and it wonders left to right. im gna drive it on the freeway so it has to stay straight. do you mean the linkages from the colum to th e steering box? i checked all the tie rods. they so give some. but they shouldnt be too bad. i just dnt have the money to replace everything right now. but i deff will change the ball joints because my front wheels look likei got a camber kit on it.

 

[Fordisthebest30]

i would jack the front end up to get the tires off the ground. try and shake the tires while up on the ground. If it moves, you could track it by the play. it honestly sounds like you need an alignment, and your camber is way off. hope that helps

 

[Earl43P]

Just have someone rock the steering wheel back and forth while you look under there.
It's common to find that kind of play at the connection of the pitman arm to the center link; center links are cheap, but you'll want to get an alignment afterward.

 

[kkjb4x4.0]

Worn out ball joints will make the truck wander.

 

[AllanD]

The "pitman arm" (the arm on the steering box) is a solid chunk of metal and is thus NOT a "Wear" item.

 

[GoMopar440]

I'm having similar issues with my 94 B4000 4x4 I just picked up today. I have over 90 degrees of free play in the steering wheel and the top of my front tires are both noticably tilted inward.

After looking under it when I got it home, the pitman arm is worn loose where it mounts to the steering box shaft. I'm not trying to start an argument on my first post on this forum, but even if you say the pitman arm is not a wear item, mine is definately worn out of spec. The center link joint that is attached to the bottom of the pitman arm is worn very loose as well. The pitman and center link will definately have to be replaced before I can even think about getting an alignment. I'll be taking a close look at the output shaft on the steering gear box for looseness while the pitman is off. If there is any play in it I'll most likely have to get a steering gear box as well.

I'll be jacking up the front end to see if the ball joints are loose or if I'll just need to get some adjusters to get the tires to stand back up. Maybe both if need be.

I'll post more details after I get a better look at it tomorrow in case anyone is interested in knowing the final tally of the carnage.

 

[GoMopar440]

FWIW, here's the rundown on the faulty components associated with the steering wander and camber issues on my truck. YMMV

Steering:
- Pitman arm worn out: The splines are toast on the gear box mounting hole. (looks to be a drop pitman arm, need to figure where to measure it to be sure)
- Center link worn out: The ball joint on the link that bolts to the pitman is loose in the link.
- Steering gear box: splines are most likely worn out from the excessive play in the pitman arm. I'll know for certian once I get the old pitman arm off.
All the other steering ball joints are firm and look to be in servicable condition.

Camber:
- Need adjustable camber kit to compensate for the lift the PO put on. It looks to be a 4" lift and I found a Rough Country decal on the back window behind the tool box I removed from the bed. I'll have to investigate if that is indeed a RC lift or not. EDIT: Looked it up and it is the Rough Country 4" lift kit with leaf springs (no blocks).
- Driver side front wheel bearing: It has up down play when jacked up off the ground. I picked up a new Timkin bearing for it today.

Other unrelated issues found:
- The center U-joint in the TTB has no needles left in the joint.
- The front differential has a major leak. Will need to investigate if it just needs a gasket, sealent or has a cracked housing.
- Front suspension arm bushings are cracked and will need to be replaced soon. These are the ones that mount back by either side of the bell housing.

Looks like this truck was taken care of some time in the past judging by the nice lift, aluminum wheels and exhaust on it. However it most likely changed hands to another owner who aparrently didn't respect the truck as much and just drove it into the ground. Now it's my problem, so griping about it won't do any good. Time to break out the tools and get it fixed up.

 

[GoMopar440]

I installed the center link (drag lkink) today without any trouble. I also adjusted the toe inward a little bit to bring it to neutral. It was toed out a little bit before I started.

Now instead of having freeplay in the steering wheel from 12 o'clock to 3:30, I only have free play from 12 to 2:30. The darting feeling I got when trying to correct the steering for a crown in the road, cross wind or lane changes is just about gone now thanks to the toe adjustment.

I just need to pick up the drop pitman arm and a new steering gear box. The pitman arm is so worn it twists on the splined shaft (kind of like it's trying to do a barrel roll) before it transfers any movement laterally to the drag link.

Rough country finally replied to my email and they sell the 2" drop pitman arm that comes with their 4" lift kit seperately for $52.95.

 

[GoMopar440]

I picked up a used steering gear box from the JY along with a couple of other goodies for the truck today. Still waiting on the pitman to arrive in the mail.

 

[GoMopar440]

The parts finally arrived in the mail today. Got the new (used) JY steering gear box cleaned up and bolted up in place of the worn out one. The new drop pitman arm is on there now as well. After it was all bolted back up and torqued down I refilled the steering pump reservoir (sp?). While I had the tools out I also replaced the old shocks with the new nitros.

I took it for a spin and I could tell there was a HUGE difference in the steering feel before I even got out of the driveway. Feels like a totally different truck now.

The wheel bearing on the driver side is getting replaced next and then it's off to the alignment shop. So far so good!

 

[GoMopar440]

Little bit of a follow up on this topic. It still feels and drives 100% better than when I first got it, but I had a new symptom pop up recently. Shortly after I put new tires on it about a week ago I started feeling a little pop or slight bump when going from forward to reverse or back. When I took it in to get the alignment done today it turns out that the lower ball joint has now gotten extremely loose. So it obviously can't get aligned with it like that. I made an appointment to get it aligned tomorrow and picked up 4 new upper and lower ball joints on the way home. I'll have the shop put them on while they have it on the lift before they do the alignment.

I'm also going to pick up a few large washers in case they're needed to give the front coils a boost. The tires on the front are pointing inward at the top pretty bad (camber) and lifting the coils might be neccessary to help get with the range of the available alignment bushings.

One positive side effect of this delay in getting the alignment done is the guy that knows these TTB suspensions best wasn't there today. He will be there tomorrow though and will be the one working on my truck.

 

[GoMopar440]

Well, looks like the entire front end was in worse shape than I had anticipated. In addition to the other parts I already mentioned, it's now going to be getting all new U-joints in the TTB (all were bad) and all new diff seals (the old one fell out with the DS stub shaft). Since they're going to have it all apart anyway, I'm having them change the beam pivot and radius arm bushings. The whole front end is going to be pretty much all brand new when it's done. Way more $$$ than I had planned on putting in it, but I need the 4wd system to be working and reliable before winter gets here.

 

[PanamaExpat]

I had to do the same thing to mine right after I got it. Its amazing how worn out everything can be on an 18 year old pickup. The only thing I didn't replace was the pivot and radius bushings. When I dropped the transmission to overhaul it I noticed the radius bushings were cracked. I have new ones ready to put in now. By the time I am done I will basically have a new 1994 truck. Somehow it doesn't all seem worth it except I like the looks of this year Mazda. Debating whether or not to put a 3" body lift on it. Anyway once you get all the new parts in you will be amazed at how well it handles.