so you have verified that the play is in the steering ox input shaft and not the steering shaft joints or slip joint?
if its in the input shaft then have you tried adjusting the box at all?
The play IS in the box. Without the truck running you can turn the input shaft over 10 degrees without any rotation from the output shaft. The adjustment on the top, according to PSC is for their valving - not gear play. And I have followed their directions on adjusting it.
And just FYI, All the tie rods are tight. The ball joints were replaced within the last year with MOOG's. Control arm bushings were also tight when I replaced the ball joints. Timken bearings on the front, adjusted and packed regularly.
This is my second PSC box. The first one developed play in the pitman arm/sector shaft. So I purchased the steering stabilizer bar that has the flange bearing to support the end of the shaft. Now this box has developed play in the gearing inside.
What is it with aftermarket parts not being as good as the OEM. My original box had 220k miles on it and while it did have play in the pitman arm shaft it had zero play in the gears and still doesn't (I keep it as a backup).
It has got so bad that I almost get blown off the road if a truck comes flying past me on the interstate.
Any answers to these questions? I noticed you said "brand new Michelin tires". Are you felling a little of the "new tire squirm"?
6x6. 5x12 enclosed trailer. Tires now have almost 7000 miles on them and have already been rotated once (at 6000 miles). But refer to answer above concerning the box.
TAZ The most important thing is to understand ratios. Our Rams have steering boxes made by GM at their Saginaw plant. Many mechanics refer to them as the old Saginaw box. GM made them in different ratios and there are no marks on the outside of the box indicating which ratio it is. That may be why so many of our Rams have had the wrong ratio box installed on the assembly line. At idle (you might want to take some of the weight off with a floor jack) turn your steering wheel from lock to lock and count the turns. Since yours is wandering I would bet you get 4&1/4 turns stop to stop. The input shaft should have been turned by the assembly line worker from stop to stop and rejected it if it was not 3 turns. 3 turns and about 10 degrees to be exact. I have a 98 12v that I bought new and it drove me not drive me nuts for 7 years. I was about to get rid of it when a Man named Quigley wrote in to TDR and told of the different ratios. Mine was a 4&1/4 turn and I replaced it with a 3 turn rebuilt from Power Steering Services in Springfield MO. NO MORE WANDERING. It is true other things can affect the steering but I had checked everything and it still wandered until I changed the box to a 3 turn. I would guess the 4&1/4 turns are for high profile vehicles to prevent roll over in an extreme avoidance maneuver. Changing a box is no fun. Two years ago when I was 77 I changed mine myself. By planning ahead and taking measurements before and winding up with the same measurements afterwards I did not change the alignment. What I am telling you is not known by the dealers or by the alignment shops or even by Master Mechanics. Feel free to E-Mail me with any questions and if I know the answer I will tell you but I don't know everything so you might get an "I don't know" Having the wrong box has been a common problem or so it seems from reading all the posts for 9 years. -- email address removed --
Yup very familiar with the boxes from Saginaw. I have a '77 Corvette with the same Saginaw built box. The current box on the truck however is a PSC (
PSC Motorsports). Light valving and variable ratio. When it was new it was great. I love the light valving/ease of turning for maneuvering trailers.
I'm about to start calling PSC to see what they say.
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