Loose Steering, Possibly Gearbox?

[jco77on]

I have a fair amount of slop in my steering as well. I tried adjusting the worm gear on the steering box, but over-tightened it. This led to it binding at center and being loose when turning it to the left or right. Loosened that adjustment back the way it was. Ended up rebuilding my rag joint and that seemed to help a little. It occurred to me this morning that I'm comparing this gearbox steering to my rack and pinion steering car, so maybe I just need to get used to it? Not sure how much slop is "normal" with a gearbox setup.

http://www.steeroids.com/html/steering_box_facts.html

(scroll down to the "on center feel" section)

 

[4x4junkie]

^^
That link gives me a 404-Not Found error.

Mine has maybe a slight bit less than ½" of free-play in the steering (measured at steering wheel rim with it on-center). You might be able to get it to be slightly less, but I think most of that little bit comes from within the recirculating ball mechanism of the steering box (which I don't think there's any adjustment for). If you can't get it down to somewhere around that amount of free-play without it binding, then the box is probably worn and should be replaced.

 

[Mark_88]

My 88 had about two inches side to side and was off on the center by abut 1/4 turn...never did fix it but just pulled the gear box (manual) and installed it on the 96...still don't know how it will track yet since I haven't driven it.

They are not as easy to correct as they seem...for those who are trying...all the pieces are notched or otherwise only go in one way...not sure about the actual steering wheel itself, but I remember having to pull mine years ago and there was some restriction with turning the wheel to adjust it on the shaft...didn't work that way.

The 96 steering was even more "precise" than the earlier versions...not too much room for play on any piece of the steering mechanism.