Adjusting Steering Gearbox backlash

[PPeters]

OK all you guru's...



I'm trying to hunt down the slop in my steering. Got the borgeson, recently rebuilt front end (all bearings, universals, kingpins). Have a fluid leak around the seal, know how to fix that. Things are so crudded up from leaking oil that I can't tell if I have the crack in the mount plate. Cursory visual doesn't show anything, so I will clean and examine. Did a search on this, got one possible solution: Hex bolt on top of box, back off lock nut, bottom the bolt, back off one turn, relock. Came with the following caveate "... not a dodge approved solution, but has worked for me". As we all know, not all our "solutions" are dodge approved, and I am my own warranty station



So I want to hear from anyone who has tackled this problem. One other possible solution is rebuilt gearbox, but that takes all the fun out of it



Thanks!



Pat

 

[cerberusiam]

I have done the same on 5 or 6 different Dodge trucks. Varying results. Depends if the slack is in the worm gear or in the bearings. The tighter you set the bolt on top of the steering sector the tighter the steering gets. I usually tighten to the point the steering will not return to center from a moving turn then back off bolt until the feel is right. Thats rather subjective but it works. If you can't get the slop out without tight steering tis time for a rebuilt box. Check the pitman arm shaft also and see if there is horizontal deflection with motor off. That usually indicates major bearing wear and replacement time. Failing that, possibly time for a cross-over steering install? Good luck.

 

[rowland]

I overhauled my steering box this summer due to leaking seals. While I was in there I also adjusted things more or less back to stock. The dodge shop manual had information involving the amount of torque required to turn the steering shaft lock-to-lock. I was short on tools as usual and did it mostly by "feel", which worked quite well. Basicly there is two adjustments, the one one top of gear box as mentioned before and the bearing preload on the input end. As I recall, it involved loosening the big lock washer, tightening the plug to a certain torque, and then backing off x number of degrees or until it feels "right". If you have a shop manual it should help you out there. Its also much easier to do on the bench, but if you are going to replace seals you will likely do that anyways. Steering has been tight now for 5k mi. Good luck.



Isaac

 

[PPeters]

Hey fellas, thanks! I've got the shop manual, I'll look into the procedure.



Isaac, did you have to replace bearings when you overhauled?



Saw the post for the cross-over, looks cool. What is it about this mod that produces a better steering setup? You're still using the same gearbox, just moving to the 2wd mount position, so if the slop is in the gearbox you still have it. Does this remove stress on the steering gear? I understand they do this to remove the bump steering effect that comes with lifted trucks running oversized tires, are there any other benefits to it?



Pat

 

[rowland]

PPeters -



I didn't replace any of the bearings, just traded out every seal that I could get to easily. I was supposed to drive 600 mi north to the Brooks Range the next morning so I didn't really have time to mess around with a complete rebuild. So far it hasn't been an issue and I don't think they were that worn. Sorry I can't help more. As a side note, my actuall leak wasn't from a seal but from the metal gasket on the top of the box. This wasn't included in the seal kit but I was able to fix it by cleaning it, applying a little form-a-gasket, and re-torqueing to spec.



Isaac

 

[PPeters]

Thanks Isaac. Appreciate the input



Pat