steering box

[meanwhitemopar]

hey guys.. came from DF.. figured id ask here..

i got my big ol tires. and i have the 3500 ram steering box in my 1500.. its only been in there 6 months.. been loose for a while. but its starting to get worse..

i heard today that i can adjust it.. i learned how to do it.. but i wanted to know if any " wise ol men" have done it on here before and give me some pointers/ negative stuff about it

 

[ramhunter9]

i had a old jeep that you could adjust the stearing box with some alan wrenches . does your box have key slots for alan type wrenches?

 

[SMKN]

Welcome Meanwhite! glad to see ya

 

[meanwhitemopar]

Yea, I'm here, couldn't resist... But yes, it has the 9/16 nut on the top witht he alan key in the middle.. Lossen the 9/16, tunr the alan till it has light reisitance, back off 1/8 turn, tightn the 9/16.. But like anything else, I heard a few horror stories of guys messin it up, blowin apart their boxs.. Just wanted to ask and see if anyone has done it

 

[ramhunter9]

i did it on a old jeep of mine , just like you said had no problems . go for it !

 

[Bigtman07]

Yup did it to on my ram. Haven't had any problems at all. Just don't crank too hard on the alan bolt. Don't wanna mess up ur gearbox.

 

[meanwhitemopar]

Ok, how can I tell when its tight enough? I got told, till I feel a little resistance...

 

[Bigtman07]

Yea just a lil bit is the way i did it. ya kno like when you are tightening a bolt and it starts to seat and you feel that resistance. That's about the amount I went for. Felt a little resistance moved it back an 1/8th turn and tightened the nut up. If I get some time I'll do a writeup.

 

[meanwhitemopar]

Ok, I am going to be doin this later today, so ill see what I can do

 

[ramhunter9]

Yea just a lil bit is the way i did it. ya kno like when you are tightening a bolt and it starts to seat and you feel that resistance. That's about the amount I went for. Felt a little resistance moved it back an 1/8th turn and tightened the nut up. If I get some time I'll do a writeup.

yup .... thats correct

and a write up will be awesome .

 

[Bigtman07]

Ok I'll try to get to that this evening if I can and I'll submit it to ya for review.

 

[ramhunter9]

Ok I'll try to get to that this evening if I can and I'll submit it to ya for review.

you dont need to submit it to me lol .. just post it in the 2nd gen DIY section lol

 

[meanwhitemopar]

well,your just the guy to look it over.. lol i wont be doing ti today.. it decided to rain out on me..

 

[meanwhitemopar]

well, i did the work, just inbetween the rain and i got it, its a liittle stiffer then before, but i still have lot of slop.. im going to drive it for a few days, see if maybe it has to be drivin for some amount of time to "reset" itself..

if not, i thnk i am going to look for the receipt and bring it back

 

[RamSport97]

If you tighten it too much it could cause a bind, and will literally never stay straight, and it will destroy it pretty quickly. If you have it adjusted all the way, and there is still slop, then I would return it. You only want about a 1/4-1/2" of play in the steering wheel.

You may also want to look into this

'Rock Solid' Ram Truck Steering !

 

[meanwhitemopar]

i hvae seen that solid fix.. but im just scetchy on it.. only seen one other truck with it.. and that was on DF.. so if anyone has any insight on that.. it would be good..

i changed out the box, free parts.. lol but it took 99% of the play out of it.. still has jst a littel, and i think thats due to the worn out shaft.. and ill be doing the cross over steering soon.