Hi,
the steering is a little loose when i drive the vehicle. I took it for an alignment today, and the guy said that the steering was loose, and that it should get fixed before he does the alignment. I looked at it today and it seems that the pump is offsetting the steering. When i hold the wheels and rotate the steering column that goes into the pump it will turn slightly before the pump turns the parts that go to the wheels. Now is there something that can be done, or do i have to replace the power steering?

There is a hex screw on top of your steering gear box, with a nut around it. You have to loosen the nut and then turn the hex counterclockwise, doesn't take much, then tighten and try. This fixes the gearbox, if it isn't already out. Other than that what shape are your control arms, tie rod ends, etc?
ron

I would only adjust the sector shaft after I was sure that all of my steering components weren't to blame. (i.e. idler arm bushings, upper control arm bushings, sway bar bushings, tie rod ends) If all of your steering parts are in good shape, then you can adjust the sector shaft. Like what was just said above, take an allen wrench and hold the center while you turn the nut thats on top of the steering gear box. Loosen the nut up and turn the center about 1/4 turn counter-clockwise with the allen wrench, then lock the nut back down. Don't do more than 1/4 turn at a time, until you are happy with the results. Some people might like their steering REALLY tight, but keep in mind, you can go too tight, to the point that when you take a turn on the road, your steering wont come back to center on its own. There is a happy medium with this adjustment, its up to you to find it.

Thanks for the reply guys. I checked under the car all the steering components are good and tight. My guess now is that it only needs adjustment as you described. I will try this tomorrow. Thanks a lot guys really appreciate it.

IIRC the 87 SDL has 2 couplings along the steering column; one under the dash, one just aft of the steering box in the engine bay. Have someone move the steering wheel while you feel for play on both sides of the outside coupling. This will tell you if the looseness is upstream of the steering box. You can check for play between the steering column shaft and the pitman arm. The adjustment method described above will take care of play only within the steering box.

FWIW, we typically call the steering pump the device driven by the serpentine belt. The pump, being the device I just described, is not mechanically linked to the steering gear so it should have no bearing on loose steering feel.

Sixto
87 300D

What i did was to hold the wheel with my knees while i was looking at the steering box and had my dad move the steering wheels just slightly. The steering column does move slightly but the steering components are now moving after the steering box. I will try adjusting the box and see what happens. I will update. Also The ball joints were replaced about 3 months ago. Do not know if that would have anything to do with it.

BE SURE you only adjust at center!! There is supposed to be some play off-center, if you adjust the play out off-center, you will bind up on-center.

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