Need Advice - Tighter Steering

[RedWings69]

I already know that Bornco's are not know for tight steering but I feel my rig is really sloopy and looking for either a root cause or suggestons to upgrade/update to obtain stiffer steering - Current set up is a 76' with 2.5 lift running 33's - Duff Heim joint steering linkage no drop on pitman and no steering stabalizer - steer box was rebuilt 2 years ago no leaks. Bump steer is not bad but I really dont have anything to compare that to. Any suggestions?

 

[1969]

Just because your box isn’t leaking doesn’t mean it’s not tight inside. What constituted a rebuild on the box?
Post pictures of your front end

 

[DirtDonk]

The suspension lift, even the fairly minimal one you have, still increases the angle of the steering and suspension linkage.
That increased angle might not be horrible, but it absolutely adds a little bit of nonlinear movement.
Also, the way you orient your tie-rod center link can have an affect as well.
I’ll ditto the suggestion of 1969 to post up some pictures of your front end.

Things like wider wheels with more negative offset (deeper dish) can have a negative affect on perceived steering play as well.

But since so many potential things are involved here, the best way to start is with “the test”.
With the vehicle weight fully on the ground, grab a helper to sit behind the wheel and turn it back-and-forth continually while you watch everything in the front end. You don’t need to go lock the lock, but if they turn it at least a quarter to a half a turn in each direction, that’s usually enough to showcase and highlight pretty much anything.

You might want to do this for a minute or two, so you have time to crawl around underneath and look closely at every attachment point and linkage in the front suspension.
From the Pitman Arm and draglink, all the way out to the wheels and wheel bearings.
This will tell you what else is loose, or what else is going on that contributes to the loose feeling.

It’s a good start.

 

[WILDHORSES]

Check it in the manor Paul said above and open the hood looking straight down on top of the steering box while your helper is rocking the steering wheel back and forth. I can't tell you how many Broncos show up and I go through this spiel. Everyone says the box is tight on the frame because they tightened the bolts. The Bronco frame is notoriously week at the steering box. First things first, make sure the box is not wobbling back and forth on the frame.

Jim

 

[RedWings69]

Pics attached - the steering box was rebuilt due to a leak and quite honestly when I reinstalled and drove it felt no bette than before but the leaks were fixed. I will have to get the wife and do the steering test a little later today. Thought i would get he pics uploaded for others to look at.

 

[WILDHORSES]

I sure I won't be the only one to say so but you can use a drop pitman arm.

Jim

 

[Viperwolf1]

I'm voting for a loose track bar. But yes, bump steer is a problem on this one. I'd rather see a track bar riser than the extended frame mount. Maybe a drop pitman arm or conversion to tie rod over. Lots of opportunity for improvement here.

 

[DirtDonk]

Looks like it might be one of the drop Pitman Arms for the 78/79 trucks.
That’s a common part when converting from the 76’s Inverted Y steering, to the inverted T that we see now.

What messed up the angles was adding the trackbar drop bracket without a deeper drop Pitman Arm.
I have a feeling though that even a fully dropped Pitman Arm for a 76 (probably should be the’75 and prior arm) bronco is not going to quite line things up perfectly.
But at least it would be better!

 

[RedWings69]

Thanks for the replies and advice. Sounds like the drop pitman would the be the first step - This pitman arm was sent with the current heim steering system (installed 2 months ago) so not being experienced enough in this, I installed it. The prior one was a drop pitman that I assume came with the WH 2.5 Lift that was already installed when I purchased. The old one appears to be a 3" drop- is that edaquate or recommended? The track bar was also installed when I purchased so I need to do a little research on the options that Viperwolf1 recommended. Thanks again for all the info - still consider myself new at all this.

 

[DirtDonk]

The old Pitman Arm is a perfect place to start.
Mainly because you already own it!
It’s at least a first step in this case, because your entire steering linkage has been replaced with a different design, so you have to sort of do a two-step dance. More back and forth usually.

Change one thing, then change another to compensate. Then change again, because the others weren’t necessarily meant to work together. Back-and-forth…
You have to see how the individual parts work together. But yes, Pitman Arm with a deeper drop will help.
Will it make the two pivot points parallel? We don’t know yet. Maybe, maybe not.

The 76 and 77 Broncos had a different style of steering, as you probably know. But that also included a much larger trackbar bracket on the frame. So in some cases, you don’t even need a trackbar drop bracket.
You can see that your current Pitman Arm matches up relatively closely to the original pivot bolt in the trackbar bracket. That’s where this type of Pitman Arm comes in handy.
When changing from the Y-type steering to the T-type steering like you now have.
Adding the trackbar drop bracket is not a bad thing, normally, but it means that you now need the deeper Pitman Arm.
Even though the one with more drop probably still isn’t quite enough drop. It’s just closer.

The riser that Viperwolf1 was talking about is stronger, and fills the needs of many. Including those that need custom angles on their track bar.
It does have some downsides, of course, including more expensive to begin with, harder to install, and other modifications to the tie rod and/or trackbar bolt are needed.

While we’re talking about all this front end geometry, can you measure the distance between the top of the axle tube and the bottom of the frame rail?
This gives us a valid starting point. I know you say it’s got a 2 1/half inch lift, and that should be correct. But it never hurts to verify.
The stock distance being approximately 7 inches, you’re looking for somewhere between 9 and 10 inches.

 

[71 CA Bronco]

I second what Jim asked. You need to have someone look at the steering box while the other person turns the wheel back and forth. I would check the frame strength before getting too crazy. Very common problem with early Broncos but a pretty simple fix with reinforcement.

 

[RedWings69]

So I ran the heck out of the steering and the box is not moving or flexing so that is a positive - in measuring the lift I am coming up with just over 10 3/4" so should be in that range for a 2.5" lift kit. I will install the drop pitman in two weekends from now so will see it that makes any difference. Thanks again for all the suggestions and especially the education. This site never lets me down!

 

[DirtDonk]

No, that’s more in line with a 3 1/2 inch lift. So you definitely will benefit from the more deeply dropped Pitman Arm.

 

[bigmuddy]

Have someone rock the steering wheel quickly and then go very slow and look at every part of the steering system for movement.
Box, Track bar ends, steering shaft etc. Even the most minor amount of movement translates into bigger/sloppier movement at the steering wheel. Also look at the Duff SRE joints to see if they are rocking back and forth when moving the steering wheel as well. If they are moving back and forth then the steering will feel lose. With that said this isn't typically and issue with that type of steering like it is with the one ton Chevy steering ends.
Someone probably mentioned it but sealing the box is not the same as a rebuild, so you likely didn't see any change after reinstalling and having the box sealed.

Good luck!

 

[RedWings69]

Late reply to all this but got sidelined with work. Installed dropped pitman arm and it made all differnece in the world so thank you for suggesting that - not sure why the zero drop pitman was sent with new steering linkage kit, could have been something I told them. Everything in entire front end is tight so moving to next possible solution. Next up is to have the steering box rebuilt this winter. Thanks all!

 

[DirtDonk]

Late reply to all this but got sidelined with work. Installed dropped pitman arm and it made all differnece in the world so thank you for suggesting that

Great first result! Glad it feels noticeably better.
Got pics of it as it sits now?

- not sure why the zero drop pitman was sent with new steering linkage kit, could have been something I told them.

It's not a zero-drop arm. It's a lesser dropped arm than is usually used with Early Broncos, but it's dropped nevertheless.
Maybe you did not tell them that you already had a dropped trackbar bracket?
And with regards to sending pitman arms with steering linkages, that's not how it usually works unless you specify.
The dropped arms and brackets are interlinked with suspension lifts, but not with steering linkage upgrades alone.
Well, except for when changing a '76 or '77 Bronco to an "Inverted-T" style linkage like you have. Hence the mildly dropped arm perhaps?

Everything in entire front end is tight so moving to next possible solution.

Was this determined with the test described above? And not just flexing and twisting things by hand? With or without the help of a prybar, the steering test as described is far superior to any other manual testing method.

Next up is to have the steering box rebuilt this winter. Thanks all!

But it was already rebuilt not that long ago. Correct?
Are you suspecting it was just a quickie seal replacement (to stop the leaks) and not a full rebuild? Is the gear mesh still loose?
This is where the "it's a Bronco" thing comes into play. These gear boxes are not all that tight even when they were brand new.
How much rotation do you get in the input shaft, before you get rotation of the sector shaft/pitman arm?

No matter what, it's great to hear that it feels better. If you get the chance, definitely post up another pic of the linkage for us.
Thanks!

Paul

 

[bigmuddy]

Are you still running the rag joint on the steering shaft that runs from the column to the steering box? check it for any play at all. Even very small amounts of movement end up as big movement at the steering wheel.