Jeepwalker

Like the post says, what's the most common steering part to wear ...which would cause my 87 steering to feel loose? Having someone run the wheel back/fourth, I can't really see any loose parts. I've done it a few times. Wiggling items ..and the tires, I don't detect anything loose. When I replaced the axle u-joints the spindles were surprisingly tight feeling. The intermediate shaft is tight. I'm thinking the drag link bushing must be shot, but I don't see obvious wear or slop at that point. Shocks are brand new. Thanks for any input.

I won't lie, it's pretty rusty under there and this rig is my snow plow rig (for many yrs).

PatHenry

It could be slop in the gear itself. Unfortunately this is a pretty common issue and the aftermarket replacement units are hit or miss with a lot more "miss".

I had a little bit of looseness in my front end - notably the actual steering itself was not sloppy - and replaced all the tie-rods and track bar for something like $200 in parts.

I've seen recommendations for taking your gear to a competent rebuild shop or buying a Red-head gear box (I have their site bookmarked in case my gear goes south on me... ).

dave1123

I, on the other hand, have the opposite problem. There is absolutely no backlash in my steering box. It feels like it has rack&pinion steering and lacks return-to-center. The jeep was last owned by a construction company who used it for personnel transport to-and-from job sites. They have a big large-equipment shop and they probably "fixed" it themselves. It sort of has me worried. I have an appointment for a wheel alignment Wednesday and we'll see what they say about it. The steering is rock solid, but the steering wheel itself is at about 30* when you're going straight. It hides 1/2 of my gauges! I'm thinking they pulled the adjustment up too tight. It doesn't bind near full lock though.

Yes, I would have to say the steering box is the most common wear item and the only one you can't fix yourself, at least not easily.

PatHenry

They shouldn't say anything about it. They should adjust the drag link adjuster as necessary to return your wheel to center and then adjust any alignment issues with the wheels and return it to you.

My 95's steering is nice and tight as well and after replacing the steering components (despite my best efforts to carefully measure everything to return it to the pre-replacement adjustments) I had my wheel off about 30 degrees as well. I was going to get the alignment checked/corrected after the new steering parts anyway and they obviously adjusted the drag link adjuster appropriately.

dave1123

That was one of the points I checked before buying this jeep. Crawling under the front end, I noticed several new tierod ends and lots of grease. The axle u-joint looked rusty, but they aren't loose or bind on turns. That's the pisser with this jeep. It seems they did all the lubrication maintenance and fluid changes, but didn't pay any attention to the frame or body. I paid $800 for a 2000 with only 125K miles on it! The engine and transmission are perfect!