mans

hello guys.

I have a '94 grand cherokee, mileage now up past 160k.

steering wheel is badly loose, it doesn't seem to have tight control over the wheels. there is a lot of play.

standing outside the driver's window and lightly rotating the steering wheel i see there is 1" - 1.5" of play that the steering wheel must be turned before the wheels respond.



#1 I lifted the front of the car and checked each front wheel for play in the bearings, tie rods and ball joints. the wheels seem good and tight. it does not seem to need any front end parts there.

#2 I lowered the car back down and had a helper rotate the steering wheel left and right as I watched the linkage turning the wheels left and right from underneath. everything sound and good starting at the arm that sticks down all the way through to the knuckles. all good here.

#3. I opened the hood. I now looked at the steering column to see if it is tightly attached to the steering wheel as I rotate the steering wheel 1" left and right, the column moves properly together with the steering wheel as it should.

since the wheels do not move left or right until the steering wheel has been moved over a full inch in the needed direction, I have now pinpointed the problem, it is being caused by the box ( whatever you call that thing) that the steering column appears to lead into. (that box that sits right below and to the side of the airbox)


so what's next?
does that box need to be repaired ?
does it need to be replaced entirely?

big job?

I've done work on various parts of different cars before but never on a jeep, and would appreciate all help and guidance here.


thanks!

dave1123

This is not rack and pinion steering. 1 to1.5 inches seems right to me.

mans

there is something seriously wrong with this car's steering abilities.
you cannot safely go over 35mph without running a serious risk of driving right off the road or into an oncoming car.

to follow the curves of the road you must oversteer to keep the car on track.
the steering was never the greatest on this car for the last several years we've had it, but in the last few months it has become almost undrivable and spends most of it's day parked due to this condition.

Bustedback

You need a new steering box. That is if you're completely sure there are no worn parts in the linkage. There is an adjustment on the steering box, but that almost never takes care of the problem, it will only make it feel even more weird and the steering will have what is called "memory Steer" and will not self center.