have a 88 302 with 163K and i replaced the steering box, and all the tie rods and crap have all been replaced so basically the front end is new. the problem is i have tons of slop in the steering wheel i can move it 5-6" to the left or right and nothing happens no turning of the wheels or anything nadda!!!!!! and its really dangerous and annoying so i need some help or some info thanks.

 

I'm no expert but have learned from here that you should also check steering rod for play, also radius arm bushings can cause some steering problems, my ball joints and front axle u-joints were causing my 91 to steer bad. It was suggested to me to take it to a good alignment place and let them check it out. I still have some play and suspect my steering box but mine is 100 times better than what it was.

 

Have you checked the steering box anyway? It may still need to be adjusted. Beyond that, if tie rods are good, look at the steering shaft from the firewall to the steering box. It has a u-joint up top and a rag joint down below. Have someone turn the wheel while you lean over the fender and watch the steering shaft. Let us know what you find.

 

I have the same problem with my stering and it's getting worse! In regards to Honney's reply, I also replaced the gearbox, but how do you adjust it?

Eric

 

I have new radius arm bushings so i know thats now it. there is no rag joint on a 88 so its not that. Steering box is fully adjusted to where is supposed to be. so its either the column or ball joints one or the other.

 

My son's 88 Bronco had the same problem, but what fixed it was (this may sound real stupid, so brace yourself) the bolts were lose that hold the steering gear to the frame. I noticed it only by chance as he was turning the steering wheel while I happened to look through the wheel well and see the gear box move.

Fred Hoefer

90 302 Bronco bone stock
79 351M Bronco Ausie heads, TRW forged pistons, RV cam, Edelbrock intake with Holley 650, Straight pipes from cats, 40" ground hawgs, Hyd tilt front, electric seats, 700W stereo, 3 stabilizers, 8 Rancho RS5000's, etc.(I think the hood is still stock)

 

If you look at the top of the steering box pretty close to the center you will see a nut about 3/4 inch in size with threaded rod coming up thru it with a slot in the end. There are 2 ways to do the adjustment one way is to lift the front up so that both the front tires are off the ground and can turn from side to side without hitting anything. The other way is to do this on the ground, tires up is better but on the ground works just fine (ground works even easier if you have power steering). Now use a wrench and loosen the nut on top of the box just enough so you can use a slotted screwdriver to turn the threaded rod. Tighten down the rod then tighten the lock nut back down. Now go to the steering wheel and turn it full right and then full left. Repeat the adjusting of steering box tighten the lock nut tight and you should be ready to go. If after the 1st tightening you notice it turns alot the second time you may want to adjust it a third time. DO NOT TIGHEN THE THREADED ROD REAL TIGHT JUST RUN IT DOWN UNTIL IT STOPS DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN WITH THE SCREWDRIVER. What you are doing is pushing the gears closer together you do not want to put them in a bind. If you have any other questions just ask, hope this helps and Good Luck,

Rick
86 302 EFI, bored 60 over, AOD,
Headman Headers, Flowmaster 40 series,
2 inch dual exhaust, MSD ignition

 

Thank you so much! That's exactly what I wanted to know. I'll try it today.

Eric

 

HELP!!! I did the adjustment exactly as described above (i even backed it off a little from dead stop)and it did work...too well! Now the wheels/steering wheel will not center itself after making a turn. This makes driving almost impossible! How do I reverse the adjusting rod? It won't let me simply loosen it for some reason so i'm lost at this point. Do I need to tear into the gearbox to undo a locking mechanism of some kind? I'm in real need of help here guys. Thanks.

 

This adjustment is usually made an 1/8 of a turn to a 1/2 turn. no more.
Too much turning may cause damage...
I turned mine 1/8 turn and that fixed it right up..
Best wishes,
Gene

 

>there is no rag joint on a 88 so its not that. Steering box
>is fully adjusted to where is supposed to be. so its either
>the column or ball joints one or the other.

That's odd 'cause the shaft pic'd came out of an '88. My buddy's '87 had a rag joint and so does my '90.

http://www.superford.org/registry/users/33/139/steering_shaft.jpg

As for steering box adjustment, obviously if you over-tighten the screw it won't return to center. But I've never heard of it not allowing the screw to back off afterwards. Kinda sounds like you need to tear into the box. Sorry not more help.

 

Man, you took all the fun out of driving my Bronco. I just went ahead and adjusted mine (1/2 turn) and took it for a quick ride and I was actually able to drive between 2 parked cars without closing my eyes wondering if I was going to take off someone's mirror. Seriously though, Thanks for the info, I was going to change the steering box on mine because the local mechanic said that if it needs to be adjusted it's worn out anyways. In regards to the post I had the problem of mine not returning to center at all previously. You could turn the wheel and she would head in that direction until you turned the wheel back straight. My 91 had the original ball joints with 144,000 on the truck so those were changed along with the front axle u-joints and that finally allowed the steering to return back to normal.

 

Well, i fixed the problem. Just needed to turn the wheel with the engine off. Thanks for all the help.

 

wow thats really weird, i've been to several ASE certified shops around the phx area saying that i have no rag joint. My shaft looks totally different than that too and i got it from Ford about 2 years ago. This problem is really bad though i'm tired of the truck drifting left to right and having tons of slop in the wheel, it gets really old after a while.

 

I read the info that was thrown out about your steering.

I have done the same thing and I cannot seem to turn my adjusting screw back out, because mine does not return to center either.

You said you had to turn the wheel with the vehicle off?

I am unsure of how you 'untightened' or backed off of the adjusting bolt on your steering box because I cannot back mine out

Please help.

Troy

90 Bronco EB
302 / AOD

All stock