Play in steering after rebuild and adjustment

[DieselAmateur]

Howdy gang,

As the thread implies, I've got some sloppy steering and could use some guidance.

Long story short, my Saginaw 800 box was leaking from the pitman shaft. I pulled the box, and when trying to remove the seals trashed the pitman shaft bearing. Since I could only find the bearing in a complete reseal kit, I figured what the heck, may as well replace all the seals in there while it's out and on the bench.

Ever since I owned the truck, the steering wheel never tracked straight with the wheels. Even after alignments, going straight down the road required having the wheel clocked 45 degrees to the left. Not the biggest inconvenience, and I know I can't have nice things, but having a straight steering wheel isn't too much to ask for is it?

So when I finished the reseal job, I did as instructed in Ferm's write up, thinking that this would also solve my crooked steering wheel issue

adjusting a steering box

These instructions are for a late model type steering box like the 88+ has in it, earlier trucks is similiar though. 1.Heres what we start off with as this job is MUCH easier to do with the box out on the bench. 2.Start off by taking a hammer and a large flat punch and loosen then remove the...

www.thetruckstop.us

I reinstalled the steering box, and while I don't have any more leaks, the wheel clocked issue is still there. That and it seems super easy, almost too loose to turn left, and while not hard to turn right, definitely more resistance turning right than left. Going back and further tightening the allen center nut only seems to make it more challenging to turn right and doesn't seem to add any more resistance to turn left.

I'll see if I can take a video, but with the truck running I can turn the wheel from center to the left the aforementioned 45 or so degrees and I can see the steering shaft & input turn but the wheels don't. So it seems to my novice set of eyes that there is still a decent amount of play in the box, only to the left.

I also replaced the pitman and idler arms along with the idler support bracket to eliminate any of them as potential reasons for the steering play.

When rebuilding I also made sure to alternate the two different colored ball bearings that go around the worm gear. I'm fairly confident everything internally is resealed and reassembled properly, but the left to right difference gives me pause.

So, with all that said, any ideas as to why my wheel is still crooked and there still seems to be play in the steering box? Did I back out the steering box thrust assembly too much? Why so much easier turning left than right?

I have an alignment scheduled for tomorrow, so if anything changes or is discovered on the lift I'll update here.

 

[ak diesel driver]

You need to find a different alignment shop if they can't center the steering wheel.

 

[Rockabillyrat]

Don't those trucks have a rag joint in the steering shaft? If so I would check that.

 

[FellowTraveler]

Variable steering box needs to be centered or it will be squirrely because pressure is different side to side.

 

[DieselAmateur]

While the rag joint isn't spanking new, from having it out of the truck I don't see much of the slop coming from there

@FellowTraveler, can you elaborate on how to center the box? I had the input shaft centered when I adjusted it out of the truck.

 

[Big T]

I replaced everything but the rag joint on the front end of my ‘99 Suburban and had it aligned. Steering wheel is cocked 45 degrees to the left on the highway and it has about 2” of loose play. I don’t think these vehicles ever had tight steering. By comparison, my wife’s 4Runner has 255K miles on it and the steering is as tight as day one and nothing has been replaced.

 

[FellowTraveler]

While the rag joint isn't spanking new, from having it out of the truck I don't see much of the slop coming from there

@FellowTraveler, can you elaborate on how to center the box? I had the input shaft centered when I adjusted it out of the truck.

Measure your tie rod length (s) on each side if they are not close or the same then the rods need to be adjusted (alignment), if they are equal, then its in the box "not centered" or in your steering shaft not installed to box centered.
I have seen rag joints without the traditional flat for aligning it to the steering box, being "round" and can be installed incorrectly.

 

[Will L.]

Yeah, getting a wheel to be center is a case of getting everything installed in the right position.
As to the 2” of play in the box- once they get around 200,000 miles on them, 1” of play seems the average.
but when you compare it to the issues in ford, dodge full size trucks- having a box wear out is no biggie. Look into the nightmare the dodge Cummins trucks have had in steering from day 1.

Yeah Toyota holds together ok, but so does the mid size gm ford and dodge trucks. A couple thousand pounds more makes all the difference. And could they make the box last 500,000 without problems? Yup, they donit all the time in the bigger trucks like top kicks. I can’t count how many top kicks crush 1 million miles and barely need any steering or suspension components. You just have to pay for it up front. People want low priced trucks and some stuff has to give.

 

[DieselAmateur]

Thanks for the contributions everyone. Don't know what went differently at the alignment shop this time around, but the play or lack thereof in the wheel is much better. Maybe it's just the sum of new pitman and idler arms and new idler support. The box feels much better too after alignment, not nearly as drastic between each side. I may even tighten the sector shaft a wee bit more.

 

[Will L.]

Oh yeah, bad pitman and idler will wreak havoc.