Power Steering is Very Sloppy

-
1969VADart

1969VADart

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2013
Messages
2,498
Reaction score
811
Location
Fredericksburg, VA
I have noticed recently that the steering in my 69 Dart has gotten very sloppy lately. I originally had the factory power steering box rebuilt by Steer and Gear (maybe 5000 miles ago). It seems odd for it to be so sloppy (more so than normal). I have already worked on adjusting/tightening the steering box (turned the adjuster about 1/2 turn), but that didn't seem to do what I needed. I suppose I could turn that adjuster some more.

While looking down at the steering and having someone turn the wheel back and forth, there is a little bit of play between the coupler and the box, but there appears to be a lot of play at the point where the steering column goes into the coupler. Is it possible for the coupler itself to go bad? I was considering purchasing a Borgeson or a Flaming River power steering box, but it looks like that requires modification to the steering column (cutting to shorten) and a different coupler all together. Would appreciate some insight on what problems people have experienced like this and how they have resolved it.
 
I got the borgeson box and love it. I did cut 1/2" off my shaft but after I found out there is a coupling that will work with it so you don't have to cut the shaft. It is in one of the threads on here.
 
christmas53 said:
I got the borgeson box and love it. I did cut 1/2" off my shaft but after I found out there is a coupling that will work with it so you don't have to cut the shaft. It is in one of the threads on here.
Click to expand...

Does the Borgeson still connect to the factory power steering pump with the same hoses/connectors?
 
1969VADart said:
While looking down at the steering and having someone turn the wheel back and forth, there is a little bit of play between the coupler and the box
Click to expand...
I don't think there should be any play there

1969VADart said:
but there appears to be a lot of play at the point where the steering column goes into the coupler
Click to expand...

There could be play there but I would expect it to be minimal.


My car had a lot of play (still has some) but mostly it was the idler arm (67) it was able to move all over the place making it seem like the gear box but wasn't

There is a how-to on rebuilding couplers BTW
 
It sounds exactly what my car was doing. Everything was new, tighted the box, no fix! I had put the coupler together wrong . I couldn't believe I had done it but I did.
 
There should be zero play in anything from the steering wheel to the input of the gearbox and very little play from the gearbox to the wheels. The only play that should be allowable would be "however much" clearance the gears have in the gearbox. There is a spec for it as outlined in the factory service manual where it tells you how to adjust the gearbox.

From there, "I" would jack the car up in the front, put it on jack stands. Have someone sit in the car and rock the wheel back and forth but only hard enough to capture the play in the system and not so hard to turn the wheels. Get under the car and inspect each joint where the linkage is put together. Pitman arm to center link, tie rods to center link, tie rods to spindles, center link to idle arm, idler arm to k frame. All that. If there is any noticeable slop in any of those areas, you have bad parts and need to replace accordingly. Also pay close attention to the steering shaft and coupler area going into the gearbox, all the while your assistant continues rocking the wheel back and forth. You will find the problem if you do it in this way.
 
I fully agree with RustyRatRod! It should be obvious to a keen eye. My rr used to handle weirdly. I jacked up the front and could move the passenger wheel in and out a bunch. When I looked under the car, the idler arm frame side bushing was sloppy as hell, letting the center link end travel up and down at least an inch. I welded the inner sleeve to the idler arm itself, greased the bolt, didn’t over tighten it, now it’s slop free. I know that’s an unsavory way to do it, but it’s been fine for 10ish years.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. The "how to rebuild" thread was particularly enlightening. This will probably be my winter time project. I have a couple questions. First, is there any special trick or tool to use to remove the column? I assume it is just a matter of releasing the pin between the coupler and the steering box and unbolting the column under the dash and pulling it straight up through the firewall? Would appreciate any clarification. As to the points about bad or worn parts underneath, my entire front end was rebuilt with PST rubber parts only about 5,000 miles ago. Wouldn't it be particularly unusual for any of those parts to fail already? Again, thanks to all of you guys for the advice. I am going to try to use this project as an excuse to also swap out the LCA's so I can finally install my PST sway bar (the car did not originally have a sway bar).
 
like Rusty said, you just have to get under there and look with someone rocking the steering wheel back and forth to see where the play is at.....lots of places it could be
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top