I replaced my ball joints, both tie rods, and the drag link. Before installing the new drag link I grabbed the pitman arm and could feel some slop in the box. I held the hex screw and loosened the lock nut and then unscrew the hex bolt or turned it CCW a little until the box felt tight. Then I held the hex bolt where it was and tightened the lock nut. I got the steering wheel centered and then aligned the new tie rods and set the toe to 0. I am sure it is within a 1-2 mm. I was getting some inner tire wear and thinking it was due to the bad chamber angle.
The steering feels a lot better but I can turn the wheel +/- about 10 degrees when heading straight before feeling an effect on the steering.
Also when I make a turn the wheel does not turn back by itself to center as easy now. It feels like a have to lightly steer to straighten up after a turn.
I am thinking about loosen back up the hex bolt on the box a little. It seems like the slop is coming from the flex steering coupling since after the box has all new parts. I want to make sure everything is close before taking to get the alignment checked. What should I do?
07-20-2009, 10:03 PM
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