Loosey Goosey Stearing

[THE STIG]

I've finally got my Charger running and driving although beit with a few transmission gremlins still there but those will be worked out sooner rather than later but when I drove it home yesterday there was a lot of play in the wheel. I already intend to give my suspention some more umph with a few Hotchkis pieces like tubular A arms, struts, steering rods, front and rear sway bars and some sub frame connectors. I've also thought about some of those chasis stifing parts from XV is there anything else I can do to improve the overall suspention?

 

[5.7 hemi]

Have you tried to tighten the box, take out play is what I mean.

 

[THE STIG]

Have you tried to tighten the box, take out play is what I mean.

How do I do that?

 

[Slantsixdan]

The first adjustment to make is the sector mesh preload adjustable at the input face of the box (the part that faces the firewall). You loosen the lockring (a hammer and punch works), tighten the box "lid" by carefully tapping it clockwise with your hammer and punch until it seats, then back it off very slightly and hold it in position while tightening the lockring.

Then you set the cross-shaft preload which is the screw on top of the box. You loosen the locknut and hold it in place while you snug the screw, then back it off about 1/8 turn and hold it in place while you tighten the locknut. Both of these adjustments need to be made with the load off the wheels, so the car should be lifted slightly off the pavement. (By rights, you're supposed to disconnect the pitman arm so there's no load on the steering box).

Other causes of steering slop include worn or damaged steering linkage parts (pitman arm, idler arm, centre link, tie rods and ends...), worn or damaged steering column-to-box coupler assembly, loose steering box-to-K-frame mounting, worn-out steering box, and/or cracked K-frame.

 

[Moparsmitty]

Before you adjust the steering box, get under the hood and grab the steering shaft between the firewall and coupler and twist it back and forth vigorously. You can usually tell if it's the coupler, steering box, or other component that is loose.

 

[Kern Dog]

grab and twist it back and forth vigorously.

???????

 

[hendo0601]

My advice (as a steering/suspension guy) is to jack the car up under the the control arms and support them on jack stands. Grab each tire at the 3 and 9 o'clock positions and try to shake the wheel in and out. There should be NO slop...slop meaning you can move one wheel and the other doesnt move. If there is slop you will be able to feel it...and here is where you will need a second set of eyes. As you wiggle the tire back and forth have a helper look at the inner tie rod, outer tie rod, pitman arm, and idler arm. If you see any of these parts moving (look carefully as ANY movement will translate to steering slop) you need to replace them. While you are at it grasp the tire at the 12 and 6 o'clock position and try to wiggle it. Movement here indicates either loose/bad wheel bearings or upper ball joint issues. The next test it is critical that you have the vehicle jacked up and/or supported under the control arm! Take a long pry bar and place it between the bottom of the tire and the floor and try to pry the wheel upwards. If there is any movement/slop you will see it in the lower ball joint. The suspension type in our cars is all "loaded" meaning you need to check it with the vehicle jacked up under the control arms rather than by the frame allowing the suspension to "hang." If you dont find any movement in the steering doing any of these tests, move on to the steering box/steering shaft. As a word of caution...improper adjustment in the steering box will cause the steering wheel to turn violently in one direction when you start the engine! I learned that one the hard way!