Power Steering box

Power Steering box
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grunt

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Location
Connecticut
Vehicle(s)
1979 CJ 304, 400 automatic
I have a inch of steering play at the steering wheel on my 1979 cj with power steering. I also have a new borgeson steering shaft. Does the steering wheel supposed to have no play or is a inch is acceptable? Just trying to figure out why my jeep wanders....scary!.....I looked at the "sticky thread " here and my ball joints seem to be ok. I bought this jeep which looks to be a 2.5 rough country lift but not sure. It has the rough country shocks all around and stabilizer. Any other info would be appreciated
 
grunt said:
I have a inch of steering play at the steering wheel on my 1979 cj with power steering. I also have a new borgeson steering shaft. Does the steering wheel supposed to have no play or is a inch is acceptable? Just trying to figure out why my jeep wanders....scary!.....I looked at the "sticky thread " here and my ball joints seem to be ok. I bought this jeep which looks to be a 2.5 rough country lift but not sure. It has the rough country shocks all around and stabilizer. Any other info would be appreciated
Click to expand...


You and me, Grunt! Here are my tracks that tightened up the really dangerous slop in my '80 CJ7 /AMC 304

1. Replaced factory PS box mount with HD single-piece unit. (Biggest gain)
2. Replaced rusted-out steering shaft (you're there already).
3. Tuned/tightened the shackles (small gain)

So now I can drive full-time in my lane. But it still wiggles a bit.....

4. My tierod ends are worn - what were holes are now ellipses. TODO list
5. Bought a PS Box brace. Will install after tierod ends... TODO list

Notice I haven't even gotten to front wheel bearings and ball joints. After these, I go to front end alignment and re-balancing. I saved this for last because all the other blemishes will likely mask any bad front wheel wobbles.

A Jeep owner's work is never done!

bonne chance
 
An inch is not bad, how long are your front shackles? Caster is probably the first thing to look at and longer shackles eliminate this.
 
Grunt,

Could be anything along that chain of items between your steering wheel all the way to your wheel bearings on your front axle. As Sasquach mentioned Caster, toe-in,tie-rod end, shocks, springs,lift & shackles will all have an effect in how it drives at 60 mph. Pay attention to the angle from your steering box drag link to your spindle.
Could even be the rear end is out of alignment. Take a pry bar and crawl around underneath it and check for movement.
 
I've been trying to replace a leaky box at the stering shaft. The replacement had a huge amount of play compared to my original. I'm trying to get a seal kit now to keep the old box. The bottom line is boxes can be very different.
 
Ok guys here are some pics.....sway arm bushings llook like they are toasted. Just noticed pitman arm is welded. Shackles are 3 and a half inches from center bolt to center bolt. I believe stock is 3 inches center bolt to center bolt. Should the pitman arm be up more on the box splines? After replacing the sway bar bushings maybe get 2 degree shims to compensate for the taller shackles ? How does my drang link look?.....got to raise the jeep and check more throughly...

101_0114.jpg

101_0113.jpg

101_0112.jpg
 
Pittman arm welded? Please explain............
As far as up the spline..........looks about right. the nut at the bottom should be near flush and of course tight.
The angle from the Steering gear Drag link to the r/s spindle looks OK.
I would fix the shackles and forget the shims.
Check the spring bushings at both ends including the shackles.
Did you have the front end jacked up in these pictures? Or was all the weight on the springs & tires?
Keep checking.................
 
Well i was wrong on the rough country lift ...it is actually a Rugged Trail lift which I found is no longer in business. Upon more investigating I found one lower shock bushing gone. Bushings at the springs look ok. Having someone turn my steering wheel I see a very slight flex of the steering box . No cracks at the mounts though. Tarry99, here is a better pic of the pitman arm. Looks welded or heated up? A pic of the lower shock....where can I find a bushing for it?...

101_0115.jpg

101_0117.jpg
 
tarry99 said:
Pittman arm welded? Please explain............
As far as up the spline..........looks about right. the nut at the bottom should be near flush and of course tight.
The angle from the Steering gear Drag link to the r/s spindle looks OK.
I would fix the shackles and forget the shims.
Check the spring bushings at both ends including the shackles.
Did you have the front end jacked up in these pictures? Or was all the weight on the springs & tires?
Keep checking.................
Click to expand...

Weight was on the tire and springs.... With shorter shackles will my drag link hit my front springs...looks close already..
 
Grunt,

Again I would just continue to look around at all of your steering and suspension, You need a long bar to see if you can get movement out of these Items, take the weight off of it first , let the suspension hang.
Shocks if there worn out or the bushings are gone will effect the road ability of any vehicle.
Just how bad is the vehicle at freeway speeds? Does the front end dive when you stop fast?
 
If it were me I would replace the pitman arm, shocks and those shackles.
 
It should not hit as that all looks pretty stock.
 
And I would agree with Mtnwhlr on those replacements. Not sure you need that big of a dropped Pittman Arm through?
 
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