sloppy power steering box

[77pony]

My power steering box is a mess. I have about 5-10 degrees of slop in the wheel. My steering linkage is tight. I am pretty sure all my slop is in the box. You can see the shaft move back and forth at the box without any movement at the arm.

So my questions are:

(1) Is this going to be tightened up with a rebuild? I just want to make sure before I do it.

(2) Is West Texas still the favorite place?

(3) Should I consider some kind of aftermarket system rather than rebuild what I have? It's the original on my '77, and the pump works fine. Everything is good except that I herd it down the highway rather than steering it.

Thanks. -al

 

[maritime mudder]

Can you not just tighten up the mesh between the sector shaft and worm gear? If it doesn't leak then why rebuild? There should be a 9/16 nut and a slotted stud on top of the box. losen off the nut and move the stud until the slack is gone.

 

[lil' hotz jr.]

i'd send it to texas. they did mine, and i couldn't be happier. they ran into a few things that needed to be a major fix, i said okay...cost $10 more. it took them i'd say about 2-3 weeks to send it back. i'm very pleased with their work!

 

[DirtDonk]

You can only go so far with the adjusting screw. If you go too far you can do more harm than good. Though you CAN try it a little. But from what you say, it doesn't really sound that bad 77pony. Do you think it's really only 5 to 10 degrees? I may be off in my figurin' but that sounds good. Can you convert that to fractions of a turn? I'm thinking anything less than an eighth of a turn overall is good.
Or did you mean 5 to 10 degrees in each direction? Now that might be excessive.

Paul

 

[txbronco_73]

what place in west texas are you guys talking about?

 

[scope]

Pretty sure they are talking about West Texas Offroad: http://westtexasoffroad.homestead.com/

 

[70TEXEB]

Thanks scope, for the link, did not realize they had something like that around here.

 

[77pony]

I've tried the adjusting screw. It just puts resistance in the wheel, without cleaning up the slop. And maybe it's more than 5-10 degrees, I don't really know. I just know that I can't keep it straight on the highway. There's a bunch of movement in the wheel before I actually push the wheels. I don't think it's an 1/8th of a turn each way, but it's bad. Something is terribly wrong in there, and I just want to make sure that it's fixable in a standard rebuild. Leaks aren't my problem. -al

 

[DirtDonk]

OK, I kind of figured that was the case but wanted to make sure.
Did you back the screw out again to where it was? You definitely don't want that binding feeling. That's what I was referring to in my last post. They pretty much set the backlash when building it, and as things wear, you can only do so much with just that screw.
If it's as bad as you say, and you KNOW that your trackbar bushings and mounts are tight (that's the most common reason for wandering and play) then it sounds like it's time for a rebuild.
I know you said the play is in the box but I thought I'd mention the trackbar anyway since it's such a repeat offender here.
Be ready for some "extra" charges for the rebuild though. Not always, but a lot of times with these old boxes you need to replace some very expensive parts inside.
I think that's where West Texas really shines though. I've heard lots of people say that the extra charges, if any, are more reasonable than most other shops. Kind of a pain to ship it out, but if you don't have a local shop to do it, they may be your best bet.
Good luck. Hope it's a quick fix.

Paul

 

[77pony]

Yeah, I backed the screw back out until that resistance went away. This steering box has been this way for a long time, and back when I replaced my track bar bushings (along with all the rest) it didn't help. By now my front end probably isn't as tight as it could be, although my tie rods and drag link are new, but like I said, if you have someone move the steering wheel back and forth while holding the steering arm, you can see all kinds of movement in the steering shaft without any movement of the arm. There must be some very worn gears in there somewhere, and I just want to make sure that those are replaceable. I'll call West Texas and see what they say. -al

 

[72moore]

You know about the bleeder valve right?
hope this doesn't offend you.
I thought i'd mention it anyway.
my old 73 had a problem and this helped alot. eric

 

[bronco-billy-66]

You know about the bleeder valve right?
hope this doesn't offend you.
I thought i'd mention it anyway.
my old 73 had a problem and this helped alot. eric

I don't what is it

 

[77pony]

Neither do I. Tell me more about this bleeder valve. -al

 

[76Broncofromhell]

A bleeder valve? On a steering box? I think you're talking about the sector shaft jamb-nut, which really does nothing for you if your lower bearing is out.

On a lifted Bronco the steering is kind of a chain effect. Everything you do to tighten one part ultimately causes more wear. I went to Bullet Proof on everything and it tightened the steering a ton, then the box went sour. I had the box rebuilt and it was awesome, then since there was no give in any parts of the linkage, all that wear transfers into the box. If it keeps pissing me off I might go up to a ram-assist.