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I have a 1972 F600 with manual steering. Noticed a little wondering back and forth when driving it. Is there a way to adjust the slack in the steering box?
Is the play you're feeling in the box for sure? A fast way to ruin a box is to overtighten the sector shaft adjuster. IME boxes that need sector shaft adjusting will tend to bind on corners, and need to be rebuilt.
With the truck parked, get a helper to move the steering wheel left/right with one hand, just until it stops moving with single-hand light pressure, and you watch the pitman arm, drag link forward to the left spindle. If the steering wheel barely moves L/R with light pressure before requiring effort, have your helper turn the wheel L/R but use enough force to activate the right wheel, and inspect the tie rod ends for lost motion.
If the slop is not in the box, drag link, or tie rod ends, you may have loose kingpins rather than play in the box or linkage. Kingpins are very sturdy, and durable . . . as long as they're greased often. Skip the routine greasing and they wear fast. Kind of a muscle job to check them for slop on a medium truck. I use a Johnson Bar and a helper.
The below is extracted from the 1973 FSM, pgs. 13-33-01 thru -03, with F100-F350 4x4 and Bronco information removed for clarity:
