sluger17

Hi guys I just replaced my steering gear because I had some slop and noticed the steering gear output shaft was wobbling the the left and right of the jeep instead of rotating with inputs being made. Anyway I purchased a rebuilt one off rockauto and the install went smooth, except for the 2 broken pitman arm pullers. I kept everything centered and jacked the jeep up and started it and filled the reservoir while working the wheels back and forth. The pump was a bit nosiey the next day but went away by the end of the day. I noticed right away that it was tuffer to turn left but really easy to turn right. All my tie rods are tight, ball joints are solid, steering damper is 3ish months old, track bar is solid, new shocks on the front, sway bar bushings were replaced about 3 months ago too. I've been driving it a week now to see if it breaks in but it seems to be the same. It also seems to wander a bit doing 70mph down the highway where as before I would just have a bit of slop.
'95 cherokee with 173k

Any inputs would be greatly appreciated?

kstopp

Was the steering gear centered when you installed it?

Might be a bad rebuild. What brand did you use?

sluger17

Yes, I kept the steerin wheel centered and, wheels centered, I had to adjust the link that hooks up to the pitman arm to re-center the steering wheel because upon hooking it up it was slightly right of center.

I was thinking the same thing about it being a bad rebuild, it is Lares.

kstopp

For a sanity check, go to one side full lock and count how many turns it takes to reach the other lock. Divide in half and see if the mid-point of the steering box is actually when the wheels are straight. Perhaps they messed this up.

Radi

Disconnect the pitman arm and see if it's still hard to turn in one direction. If so, it's the steering box.

Have a look at the preload screw on top of the steering box. Are there at least 2-3 turns of thread visible yet? If not, the "rebuilder" compensated for worn gears by overtightening that worm gear preload. They do it a lot. It'll make it tough to steer and unstable on-center. (and accelerate internal gear wear substantially)