85 300td play in steering
 

so i just bought this car and got alot of the bugs out so far but i noticed theres a little play in the steering wheel but it seems to drive ok on the highway so i dont think its the tie rods, i know on my old volvo 240 u could adjust the steering rack to get the play out... is there anything like that on the 300DT or somthing i can do to fix the play??

yes you can adjust it. the steering box is on the right side of the engine. There is a screw on top it. it has an allen screw on top it. You have to loosen the screw and turn the allen counterclockwise to tighten the steering. I had the same problem, but the tie rods where bad, causing loose steering.

if you pull off your tie rods it will give you an opportunity to adjust the box. I like to do the box adjustment when the box is disconnected from the steering so you can feel the play in the pitman arm without the steering masking it.

I would make sure there were no possible candidates for causing the play, before making a sector shaft adjustment. One big culprit can be the idler bushings, or control arm bushings. But if its just a little play, maybe just idler bushings or tie rod. Ive got almost all the play out of my steering, one last place, idler bushing. Then I should have a nice and tight steering system.

Adjusting the steering box is the last resort after you have checked and or replaced everything and or you are positive that the rest of the steering and front suspension is tight.

5 minutes and a jack can tell you a lot about your front end. IE: worn ball joints, wheel bearings, tie rod ends, center link, idler bushings, sway bar bushings and you can take a peek at the LCA/UCA bushings.

Don't for get the front and rear Guide Rod Mounts. The rears usually go before the front and they will cause loose steering. The car will want to wander but subtly. You want to check the GRM's with the car on the ground or only partially jacked. I just went through all of this. Most of my steering components were replaced and very tight. I could not figure out why the steering was a little loose. After some pulling and yanking on the front tires I could see the Guide Rod moving back and forth (in and out) of the rear mount. They were completely shot.

If you find that most of your steering components are good, have someone get in the car and rock the wheel back and forth while you watch the steering linkage from under the car. Look carefully at all the tie rod ends and especially the idler arm. If the idler arm is moving up and down this is a problem.

It should be fairly obvious once you start lookng.

the reason i think the play is in the steering box is because the car drives real straight and on the highway i can do 80mph no problem and the car drives straight as an arrow but theres def play in the steering ijust know it. iv looked under the car and tho the body has some rust the undercarriage is solid and the steering inner and outer tie rods looks good. i suppose there is always a possibility of a steering component gone bad but it really feels like play in the steering wheel

Check out one of my older threads, it will help you out. Im pretty sure theres pictures too :cool:

http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/showthread.php?t=229600&highlight=nickofoxford

is it fair to say that ANY movement in the GRMs classifies them as 'shot'?