First off my truck is a 84 F150 with a 6" lift and 35" tires. I installed a droped pitman arm along with the lift as well as a new tie rod, ends, and ball joints. Before the truck was lifted I replaced the steering box due to sloppy steering, it helped and got even better after the lift and new front end components. Since then (only about 1800 miles because of my deployment) the steering has gotten sloppy again. I had it aligned and then re-checked, had all the front end components torqe checked also. Everything is in good shape, how ever my steering is still a bit sloppy. With the truck on the ground I can move the steering wheel back and forth about 1.5"-2". The steering arm going into the steering box looks and feels solid and nothing past the steering box moves. With the truck in the air the front end feels very solid. So I'm guesing my box went bad again. Sound right? Oh and yes I did adjust the screw and nut deal on the top of the box. It made the steering tighter once it caught but still had the play in the wheel. So I'm thinking maybe the stock steering box just isnt good enough for 35" mud tires. Is there a beefier set up I could run or some other suggestions I can try out? I'd sure hate to have to replace my box every 2k or worse yet learn to deal with it and accidently take some innocent bistandards out oneday.

Thanks for any tips, suggestions, and replies.

 

The steering box is made to be tighter in the center, and loose off center for easy parking lot steering. If the tie rods get off, then the steering box centering can get off, even though the steering wheel may be level(it has splines and can be re-positioned).

If you want to check this, get the wheels point straight ahead, and then take the steering linkage off the pitman arm. Get in the cab, and turn the steering wheel all the way one direction till it stops. Then count the number of turns it takes to run the steering wheel all the way in the other direction till it stops. Take this number and divide by 2, and then carefully count this number of turns and put the steering wheel in the center position(Don't worry if the steering wheel is not level)

Then get back under the truck and see how far off the linkage is that you took off. The steering box is where it's supposed to be now after counting the turns, so the steering linkage needs to mate back up to the pitman arm without turning the steering wheel to make it line up. If it's way off, then I bet this is your sloppy steering problem. You can loosen the tie rod end adjustments, and if you carefully note how many turns you move one side, and move the other side the same amount, you should be able to line the linkage back up without messing up the alignment.

Also, the screw you adjusted on the box should only be adjusted when the box is in the center position. If you adjusted it with the box not centered, then you may feel a tight spot in the box as you turn the steering wheel , and this means the box adjustment may be a little too tight.

 

Check your rag joint. Even if it looks O.K. it can have some play in it.

 

Great suggestion, didnt think of that. I'll check it out this weekend!

 

I had one come completely apart on the street once, scary. Wasn't something I ever thought about before that. Good luck.

 

I have read that "tightening" the worm screw in the box can cause premature wear on the steering box, and it was recommended never to be touched except if the unit had 200,000 miles or more on it.