Play in steering

[jgreg53]

I know we have beaten this subject to death, but i need to vent.  I have rebuilt my steering box with a kit from AB. I've had the thing back off the car a cpl of times to see if i missed something.  With the box on the bench. I can get the play down to a desirable amount. One thing i have found is that if you have a small amount of play it gets amplified through the rest of the components. I'm beginning to believe the gears are worn out.  I found replacement gears through ams obsolete but they want a lot for them.

[Merle Coggins]

If you can adjust the play to within tolerance on the bench what leads you to believe the gears are shot? Have you inspected/replaced your tie rod ends, drag link ends, king pins, etc? You'll never get it as tight as a modern vehicle, but should be fairly good with good steering components.

[jgreg53]

I have laid under the car as the steering wheel is turned from lock to lock. I can't detect a great deal of play in the tie rod ends. I still see play in the steering box. I admit i'm not an expert in this. 

[JBNeal]

Agreed, if the steering gearbox is within specs, then ya might have the cumulative effect of each of the steering components being a little off showing up as a lot of play on the steering wheel...a thorough examination of the assembled steering system is in order to determine what are the problem areas...maybe turn the steering wheel all the way to left or right, lash steering wheel to keep it from moving, then raise front wheels and see how much play is in the system by working each front wheel left and right, then up and down...probably gonna need a helper for this so ya can see what's going on...

[kencombs]

Define play in the steering box.  Could mean different things to different people and get you bad advice.  To me, that is the pitman arm doesn't move instantly and precisely with steering wheel movement.   Also, watching while the wheels are turned lock to lock is not the correct way to determine wear.

 

With the wheels straight ahead, just have someone the steering wheel just a little back and forth off center, just enough to move the pitman arm and steering arms.  Watch the tie rod ends closely while doing this.  There should be no lost motion.  Do the same with all moving parts.  There should be no play at any point. 

[jgreg53]

I removed the steering gearbox yet again. I noticed that with the cross shaft out and the rod and bearings and cups in, the bottom cup was recessed into the housing. When i put the cross shaft back in, the cup came back out to flush with the gearbox housing. I made a shim to go between the bottom cup and cover to take up the gap. This corrected the play in the box and gave me room to adjust the play. Other than some binding when turning left, the play is about right.