another steering question

[aliensecretion]

I have a stock power steering box, all new tie rods, adjustable track bar, drag link and bushings and i'm trying to track down the cause of my wandering steering without the benifit of somebody to turn the wheel while i watch the components. So here's my question. With the Bronco in park and truned off... if I grab the lower steering shaft and try to rotate it, should it move in the power steering box? I get a good 1/2-3/4 of a turn doing that. Not sure if it's supossed to be that way.

 

[70_Steve]

I have a stock power steering box, all new tie rods, adjustable track bar, drag link and bushings and i'm trying to track down the cause of my wandering steering without the benifit of somebody to turn the wheel while i watch the components.

You could always pay someone to be your friend...!

The tie-rod ends are a ball and socket joint. As such they will rotate some amount in all directions.

Your wandering steering could be due to some worn component, or something loose in the steering or suspention. But it could also be caused by improper alignment. BC Broncos site has a do-it-yourself write-up on how to set the toe-in. You would also want to take it to an alignment shop to find out what the caster is.

 

[aliensecretion]

Thanks Steve. Ball joints we're all new as well. I went through the past weekend and tightened everything up. Got everything aligned as well. Don't have the paper with me that shows the specs but will check it when I get home. At this point, just wandering if the play in the shaft was supposed to be there as it's the only thing I can find until probobly this weekend.

 

[70_Steve]

Got everything aligned as well. Don't have the paper with me that shows the specs but will check it when I get home.

There was another member who, not too long ago, posted the before and after specs from the alignment shop. The after numbers were terrible!!! No toe in and negative caster. You need a little toe-in, and, with power steering, you should be shooting for around 5° of caster.

Do you have a lift? If so, tell us something about it.

 

[aliensecretion]

2.5" lift, 4* c bushings, 31" tires.

 

[Crawdad]

I have play in the steering wheel when my bronco is off. Is this what you have? I was told recently I can't have front alignment done till play is removed. So I plan to mail my box to West Texas to have rebuilt.

 

[aliensecretion]

Here's the alignment info. Crawdad, that's exactly what I have.

 

[aliensecretion]

Been working on this off-and-on all week and finally got some pretty nice results tonight. Thought I'd share for the benefit of other less-experienced (like me) guys.

First, I replaced my front tires that were getting pretty worn down on the outside edges. That helped just a little bit.

Tightened up my steering box. It was just a slightly loose but torqued it down and found out I've got just the tiniest bit of flex on the frame. Going to take that over asap and get it reinforced before it gets too bad. In any case, tightening it up helped a small bit too.

Finally, I swapped out the 4˚ for 7˚ c-bushings. I could feel a major diff right away. Took it over to get it realigned and now it feels great!

So hopefully last question... are the spicer ball joints adjustable to help correct the camber or do i need a different type?

 

[broncnaz]

I dont beleive there are any ball joints for D44's that ar adjustable for camber. but you can get a upper sleeve that is adjustable for both caster and camber 1 1/2 degree is the max. NAPA sells them I'm asure other places do as well.
Another thing that can affect wandering is tire pressure. Might want to play around with it and see if you get any improvement.