Steering Gear Bracket & Cracked Frame... Yikes!

[KEENO]

Last week my trucks steering took a 'turn' for the worse. It had increased turning to the left and reduced to the right. Also the Steering Wheel Angle was all of a sudden off by 90*!



The Culprit? The lower tab on the Steering Gear Bracket had broken completely off. This is the second bracket I've replaced on my truck in the 7 years that I've driven it daily. (Fairly common issue on the 4x4 trucks... . I don't think 35" tires help much either)



The worse part? I found a cracked frame that ran thru the top mounting hole parallel to the side of the frame and then, up and over the top of the "C" Channel.



Warning: Check your Steering Gear Bracket before the increased flexing causes a cracked frame.



Tim "KEENO" Keen

 

[mysteryman]

A better steering gear

This is a real common problem on 4wd trucks..... This happens for 2 reasons.



1) using wider tires and deep offset wheels than the stock tires and wheels...



2) the 78 to 93 4wd trucks were fitted with 2wd steering gears .....

A) This was done to reduce costs.....



B) The sector shaft in the early 72 to 77 4wd trucks sat horizontally . The steering gear was mounted on a right angle bracket. The pitman arm pointed down to the ground and swung front to rear of the truck. This was much stronger due to the way the force was applied to the frame. .



C) On 78 to 93 4wd trucks a 2wd box was mounted on a steel bracket to tip the box about 30 degrees... . Then the drag link was bent in a Z to keep the tire from hitting it... ... The problem was that now the pitman arm swung left to right causing the frame to twist... This often caused the rivet to come loose where the front cross member joined the frame... Once that top rivet came loose the frame would move excessively causing the frame to fracture where the box mounts... ...



We did make a special bracket to reinforce the frame. It ran from the inside of the frame where the box mounts to the front cross member... . These brackets did not get put on very many trucks at the factory...





To solve your problem vee out the crack. Then neatly mig weld the frame back . Replace the rivets that came loose with 1/2" fine thread grade 8 bolts. Use thick flat washers and a prevailing torque lock nut. Do NOT use split lock washers...



Now go find you a 72 to 77 4wd steering box,pitman arm and cast angle bracket... . Also get the drag ling... .

It will fit your truck and keep you from breaking it again... . If you have wide tire/rims I would recommend going back to stock... .



If you need anymore info on this PM me

Last week my trucks steering took a 'turn' for the worse. It had increased turning to the left and reduced to the right. Also the Steering Wheel Angle was all of a sudden off by 90*!



The Culprit? The lower tab on the Steering Gear Bracket had broken completely off. This is the second bracket I've replaced on my truck in the 7 years that I've driven it daily. (Fairly common issue on the 4x4 trucks... . I don't think 35" tires help much either)



The worse part? I found a cracked frame that ran thru the top mounting hole parallel to the side of the frame and then, up and over the top of the "C" Channel.



Warning: Check your Steering Gear Bracket before the increased flexing causes a cracked frame.



Tim "KEENO" Keen

 

[DieselBuzz]

KEENO, nice to have you back around here again.

Yeah, I sold my 9 3/4" wide 589s so hopefully this wouldn't happen again. It is a situation that needs to be checked regularly so people don't get hurt. It's funny how quicky you go from, "What the... " to "Oh my God. . " when this happens. :--)

 

[AKimmel]

I sleeved and boxed my frame in the steering box area when I had my truck apart. My bracket was cracked and the top of the frame had a small crack also. Time will tell if I fixed it for good. On a side note, my 87 frame and bracket never broke since new with 33's and 8 inch wheels. So who knows.

 

[hotram03]

I have a 92 4x4 and was wondering at the present all is good is there some type of bracket I could fabricate to bolt or weld in to prevent this from happening, concerned.

 

[ESchoon]

Here is a good writeup on how to box the frame at the steering gear box location. http://ramchargercentral.com/boards/index.php?topic=52254. 0