Hi All, Happy New Year!


I have a question about my steering box, and I'm hoping that someone who has been through this before can offer some advice.

Okay, so I adjusted my steering gear in the car, but I didn't do the fancy torque meter method, I just backed off the adjuster, test drove, repeat etc...

The problem I am trying to cure is excessive play when driving in a straight line. I've been having issues with wind and road ruts pushing the car around. I should start by pointing out that I've replaced the ball joints that my mechanic decided were worn, I've put new shocks on the front, replaced the steering damper, and the idler arm bushing. I also put two new Michelin MXV4 on the front.

Ultimately, I wound up backing off the adjuster almost three complete turns. As I did so, it was only as I got to the third turn that I felt any resistance at all in backing the adjuster off. So, I tightened the lock nut and test drove it. I noticed a significant improvement, though it's still not as snug as I feel it should be. It also seems that the slop in the gear is slightly off center. By that I mean that I have little or no play between dead straight ahead and turning left. The car responds instantly when I move the wheel left at all. However, there is excessive slop between dead straight ahead and right turn. There are several degrees of slop before the car responds to the wheel being turned to the right. The result is wandering all over the place under certain conditions.

I would like to try adjusting the gear a bit more, but I am beginning to wonder if either the gear is too worn to adjust, or there is some other component that is responsible for this type of slop. As far as I can guess, it is in the gear.

Has anyone had success curing this condition with adjustment? Is three full turns way too much for a good steering gear? The car has about 125K miles on it, and the paint on the gear adjustment lock nut seems to indicate that I was the first person to attempt adjustment.

Also, does the off-center nature of the slop indicate anything? I am thinking that if adjustment does tighten it up, then my wheel will wind up cocked to the right when driving straight. Is this correct?


Any help very much appreciated.


Thanks!


-tp