Sloppy Steering Adjustment

[Thundervee]

I understand this is an old thread, but I thought I'd let yall know I just did this on my 98 2500 and it made a world of difference, thanks for the diy

 

[rezfire]

I tried this and did about one whole turn 1/4 turn at each point I did test drive. A little better but not much. Do I keep going at 1/4 turn at a time until it gets better?

 

[dapepper9]

I tried this and did about one whole turn 1/4 turn at each point I did test drive. A little better but not much. Do I keep going at 1/4 turn at a time until it gets better?

Don't go anymore or you could very easily start running into gear binding. Only so many band-aid fixes you can do and if it changed very little more than likely it's not the problem.

 

[crazzywolfie]

I tried this and did about one whole turn 1/4 turn at each point I did test drive. A little better but not much. Do I keep going at 1/4 turn at a time until it gets better?

considering what year your truck is you probably need to jack up the front tires one at a time and test tie rods and ball joints. your sloppy joint will most likely make itself obvious.

 

[Rustycowl69]

Now the wheel comes back on its own but not all the way center, would that be the steering box just worn out or is it too loose now?

Return To Center is affected by caster, too. Generally more caster means better return to center. More caster is also useful for making the car more directionally stable.

 

[rezfire]

New balljoints last year. Everything else appears tight. It seemed that steering was tight and loose immediately after new balljoints. Actually on second set of balljoints cuz first set failed quickly.

 

[crazzywolfie]

New balljoints last year. Everything else appears tight. It seemed that steering was tight and loose immediately after new balljoints. Actually on second set of balljoints cuz first set failed quickly.

make sure you buy good quality parts that are greasable

i would still recommend checking the tie rods/ball joints.

 

[AJ_IOOF]

OK, read through the thread and was wondering if this will work on 4th gen trucks?

 

[rezfire]

I posted on 4-6-16 about my steering adjustment where I turned adjustment about 1 full turn. Steering was tighter and better and less play. After about 1000 miles, it now has little play and “more tight” to the point it wants to continue to track left or right and not return to center easily and is somewhat scary to drive. So, now I backed off the adjustment half a turn and no initial difference. I now have several questions:
1. Does it take some time for the adjustment to “kick-in”?
2. Am I risking catastrophic failure where I could lose all steering control while driving?
3. Is it most likely the steering gear box that needs replacing?
BACKGROUND: The loose steering was immediately noticeable when new balljoints were installed about a year ago and new tires. I took the vehicle to the tire shop complaining of loose steering after several months. They said the balljoints were loose and replaced balljoints (greaseable) for a second time and reported that all other front suspension parts were ok and alignment was done. Steering was still loose but I drove off thinking I could live with it. The loos steering becomes extra scary when towing my travel trailer. So, I researched and found this thread and attempted the steering gearing box adjustment myself. Vehicle has a total of 175,000 miles. 5.9 Diesel 4x4 2500 Dodge Ram.

 

[Cliffman]

I did this adjustment and I SCREWED UP on the 3rd go round and forgot to hold the set screw in place before I unscrewed the nut. So I have no idea where I'm at with it. Is there a starting point like tighten all the way down and back off so many turns???

 

[12vcummins59]

didnt work

I tried this with my 96 2500 but no matter how far I turned it either way the steering didn't feel any different, no play anywhere except for in the steering box, I did follow the directions in the original post, I had the box replaced under a year ago, any suggestions? Thanks

 

[meistermash]

I tried this with my 96 2500 but no matter how far I turned it either way the steering didn't feel any different, no play anywhere except for in the steering box, I did follow the directions in the original post, I had the box replaced under a year ago, any suggestions? Thanks

Yea. There is a piece of crap bearing under the brake booster in the steering collum.
Rock solid is the outfit that makes a solid plastic replace ment fix.
And, when you have that shaft from the box to the colom off, see how much play is in that sliding joint.
Center punch the crap out of the slider side until it is better.
Made a bunch of difference in my 01.

 

[12vcummins59]

Thank-you, will try it

 

[12vcummins59]

Yea. There is a piece of crap bearing under the brake booster in the steering collum.
Rock solid is the outfit that makes a solid plastic replace ment fix.
And, when you have that shaft from the box to the colom off, see how much play is in that sliding joint.
Center punch the crap out of the slider side until it is better.
Made a bunch of difference in my 01.

Dumb question but what do you mean by center punch the slider

 

[richterat83]

Thanks for the how-to. I'll be attempting this later this week as i just brought the truck home last night and had about 1/4 turn of play on the highway.

 

[DMH61]

My sons 1988 D100 2w drive has very loose and sloppy steering and tends to drift back and forth in the lane. Here's my dumb question do I turn the hex bolt left or right to tighten the steering?

 

[dapepper9]

Right, don't do too much

 

[crazzywolfie]

My sons 1988 D100 2w drive has very loose and sloppy steering and tends to drift back and forth in the lane. Here's my dumb question do I turn the hex bolt left or right to tighten the steering?

no don't just adjust it. have you gone through all the other steering components like ball joints, tie rods and rag joint first. if those are all good then you may want to look at adjusting the steering box but it should be the last thing looked at. the issue is likely in the tie rods or rag joint. there is a reason i usually cruise down the highway with 1 hand on the wheel lol. lot easier to deal with the slop in the rag joint with only 1 hand. you can try rebuilding them but you are probably better off to shim it or replace it with a borgeson steering shaft but they are not cheap.

 

[Danielk48]

I'm need to the forum. Own a 99 with severely loose steering. Power steering working fine, but I can't turn the wheel from perfectly straight a quarter turn each direction before the wheels even begin to move. Also, never heard of a "rag joint" before.

... anyone want to enlighten a new comer? I'm extremely able and knowledgeable enough to fix it myself, but it seems like it's too much play for tie rods or ball joints.

Any insight fellas??

 

[Rogan68]

I'm need to the forum. Own a 99 with severely loose steering. Power steering working fine, but I can't turn the wheel from perfectly straight a quarter turn each direction before the wheels even begin to move. Also, never heard of a "rag joint" before.

... anyone want to enlighten a new comer? I'm extremely able and knowledgeable enough to fix it myself, but it seems like it's too much play for tie rods or ball joints.

Any insight fellas??

Follow this DIY. Also check the output shaft on the steering gearbox for excessive side play. If you have some side play, you can 'bandaid' it with a steering brace. Additionally, tierod ends and track bar for excessive wear.. Easiest way is to have someone sit int he truck while you lay under the front. With the key on engine off, have them flick the wheel back and forth through the 'play', while you watch all the steering components for excessive play. They'll need to turn left/right to where it gets tight, back and forth..
You'd be surprised how much movement you'll get when all the parts (combined) have a little play. The track bar worn will allow the truck/axle to move side/side before it tries to turn the wheels.