Knebel
Senior Member
can someone tell me whats going on with this? Dont seem to notice when the powersteering is under pressure, the slop yes, the noise no.
Steering gear slop and noise!?
- Thread starter Knebel
- Start date
can someone tell me whats going on with this? Dont seem to notice when the powersteering is under pressure, the slop yes, the noise no.
is the roll pin in there? hard to tell from the video.
TNTrooper428
Member
You might want to consider replacing it with that much slop. Worm gears are probably shot. Does it go all over the road while driving especially in the ruts left by the big rigs?
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
Looks like a worn out gear box. However you can check the pitman arm & centerlink to see if has similar play. When I was in alignment school we were taught the 3 inch rule. Center the steering wheel. Engine off & turn wheel left to right. 3 inch max travel. There is a small amount of adjustment in the Chrysler boxes. Very easy to over tighten & burn up worm gear. The noise sounds like the box. Might be the Pitman arm.
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
I have a 68 Fury gear box. $25 plus shipping. Rebuilt units are available too
Knebel
Senior Member
The rollpin is there. The gearbox has always been sloppy. How hard is it to replace the box, what special tools do I need? Could I get by with tightening it up just a tad with the adjuster for a few months til spring? I dont have the cash right now to replace it :/
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
It will just get worse but you can try. Just loosen the lock nut & turn the adjustment screw 1/2 turn. Lock it down. It might help some. Don’t keep adjusting it. There’s not much adjustment. Check those other steering items for wear as well.
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
Yes it’s a tough job. Mark the column to gear box pot & steering wheel so you can put it back the same or the steering wheel will be off going straight. 3 bolts hold the box to the stub frame. 11/16ths I think. Pickle fork to break the pitman arm from the centerlink. Then once on the bench rent a pitman arm puller from local chain parts store. Unless you buy a new one. Yes knock the roll pin out with a punch. Whack it hard & drive it right out. Don’t drive the punch down into the roll pin.
Knebel
Senior Member
I recently did check my tie rods and pitman arm because I had some steeringwheel rattle when braking. I also had adjusted my brakes. Seems like the noise I hear comes from the box.
How sloppy is the one you have? any idea what the shipping would be to Oregon?
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
It came off a car I parted so I never drove it. I did the 3 inch test & the play was within the 3 inches. I would guess 50-70 bucks to ship to west coast. If you like the car & want to keep it buy a new reman box. You’ll thank me later. Check Rock Auto. They ship out of Texas. A little closer to you
In my experience (and I know you have plenty of your own), it's much better to wrestle that Pitman off the gear when it's bolted to the car, despite the pleasure of working on your back on concrete. There's 130 ft-lbs on the nut so lots to break it loose, and lots of torque needed on the puller. So unless you have a really good, strong vise, let the k-frame be your vise.
Also--and this is important--the Firm Feel guys told me to ignore slop with the engine off, as there's obviously no pressure inside the box pushing on all the various guts and doing the "power steering" thing. It's essentially dead in there with no pressure. And that's true. I tried it on and off. On was still too loose, but off was downright silly...180* of slop. This is why I went with a FFeel box.
And then there's this excellent article on our steering, including lash slop and right/left preload adjustments.
Mopars on Steeroids
Correct on the price. Shipping from FFeel (Vancouver, Washington) to north Florida was $50.
Kneble, you may want to look up Firm Feel, since they are somewhat close to you in Oregon! And they are the Gods of Mopar boxes. Advanced Auto O'Zone Reilly Taiwan is not.
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
That’s true with the engine on , but it mask the other steering components. And if the box is worn as bad as I think his is he will feel it.
No doubt that box is pretty bad. Lordy!
Knebel
Senior Member
Okay so we are talking about the slop. I do feel like its a little less when the engine is on yes. how about that clicky sound it makes? What causes that? ohyeah the reman power steering box is nowhere available and firm feel is quite pricey....
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C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
Rock Auto has one for $88 plus core & shipping
The clicking sound with the engine off is probably gear slop, try the 1/2 turn adjustment on the adjuster as suggested above. Sometimes the steering coupling also wears out inside. Yours has the red gasket which is the service gasket, so it has been worked on before. There is a roll pin inside the coupling and two half moon cams that will wear out if there is inadequate lubrication. Grab the input shaft to the steering gear just above the coupling and see if it moves inside the coupling, if you get significant movement the coupling is worn out. Service kits for the coupling are still readily available. If you decide to go with a reman gear, avoid the Cardone rebuilts as they are usually junk. Rock auto sells two different ones, the Cardone unit and an AC Delco unit. The Delco units are a little more expensive but are much better quality.
Dave
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
The AC one is out of stock.
Knebel
Senior Member
I noticed that ;). Anyway, I measured the slop at the steering wheel, its its about 3 1/² inches. I just tried adjusting the screw but could only turn it about 1/8. It seems very tight....
C Body Bob
Old Man with a Hat
On that steering coupler pot. If you end up having to rebuild it a common trick is to drill a hole in the housing & tap it for a grease fitting. Just make sure you have clearance and doesn’t hit the exhaust. Then you can put a little lube in it as needed.
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