First you need a second person! Having one person moving the wheel back
and
forth, the second should look under car looking for movement. First
make
sure the pitman arm is moving back and forth and not up & down. Next
look
at the idler arm it should do the same back and forth only! That up &
down
play alone can give you a lot of slack in your steering & follow cracks
in
the road. Next check each tie rod end for play, you should have none!
Look
at each ball joint no play.
Now using a scissor or floorjack jack up your right front about two or
three
inches off the ground lifting from the lower control arm. Using a long
board or pipe lift up & down under the tire looking at the ball joints,
on a
MoPar you will have a very small amount of play. If you have a lot
replace
the ball joints. Next leaving it jacked up grab the front & back of the
tire and wiggle it back & forth you should have no slack. At this point
in
time you probably wont need to but if all is OK so far, do the same
procedure to the left side looking for the same symptoms.
If every thing is tight so far (Bet not) look at the gearbox steering
coupler for slack again you should find none. If everything is tight
but
the manual steering gearbox, it can be adjusted by loosening the locknut
on
the threaded rod with a screwdriver or an alanhead slot in it. Having
someone wiggle the wheel back & forth turn the screw clockwise till you
have
very little slack. This is a street adjustment and should be done when
all
else fails. The proper procedure entails using a torque wrench and
following the procedure outlined in the appropriate manual for your year
car
Also this is for manual steering not power. Before you adjust the
gearbox
repair the items that are loose such as bushings, tie rod ends, ball
joints,
steering coupler and idlerarms. Your car is 40+ sumtin years old and a
little slack here and a little more their all adds up and shows at the
wheel
and it probably is not all in the steering box!
Next question rubber or polly, rubber = soft + cushiony polly = stiff +
responsive. Every thing else you replace are slack reducers! Hope this
helps & not confuses!
I just went through my front end and replaced all the bushings, tie rod
ends
idler arm, ball joints and it drives like a new car none of the parts
were
bad but they were all loose & sloppy. Worth the time and effort!
Herb
St. Louis, MO.
-------Original Message-------
From: 62pluckedchicken@xxxxxxxxx
Date: 2/14/2009 9:19:37 AM
To: 1962to1965mopars@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Need a new steering box?
There is a lot of play in my steering wheel, when parked the wheel can
move a few inches each way without moving the tires. Do I need a new
steering box or just an ajustment?
BTW the aligment is off as well, if that makes a difference.
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