CTD2001

On the 93 4x4 that i have, the steering is driving me nuts. I just had to put a new steering gear box on the truck as the old one was leaking bad and i am guessing was probably the original with 206K miles on it. So the new steering gear box is on and now leak free, however i am able to turn the steering wheel a couple of inches left and right before the trucks wheels actually turn. I can see the steering shaft moving back and forth when i do this, though there is no response at the wheels. The truck runs fine down the road, it tracks straight and i am not chasing the steering wheel back and forth to keep the truck straight. I can let go of the wheel and it will track straight. The issue i have is when i turn the steering wheel, i have that play and then all of a sudden it catches and the turning is abrupt. I can not make small gentle side to side movements like if i am trying to avoid a bump in the road or if i have to move over a little bit to pass someone walking on the side of the road. Will a new steering shaft cure the problem or is it deeper then that? Thanks for the help

mullishacrew

i had the same problem, the sloppy connector for the steering shaft to box wears out quickly and is just a bad design, i went with borgeson and havent had a problem since.

mullishacrew

you will also get the u-joint style connector when you get a borgenson steering shaft, it gets rid of the whole stock sloppy system.

archer39

^^^what he said^^^ i have the same problem just not as bad... yet.

CTD2001

I only use this truck for plowing in the winter and dump runs ect durning the summer. I looked at the steering shafts and found one for 199 which is not to bad, but for the amount of use this truck gets, i am not sure i want to put that expensive of a part on the truck. If i just replaced the steering shaft with factory replacement, will that get ride of the slop for a while?

archer39

it will fix it for a little while. but it will wear out again, its a poor design. here is a link to a article in the sticky about how someone made there own. i am sure it would be cheaper than buying the borgeson shaft.

mullishacrew

nice thing about borgeson is you only do it once and you never have to worry about it again.

BC847

Check the adapter plate that holds the steering box to the frame for cracks around the mounting holes. Then check the frame itself right behind the plate for cracks.

Both are very common in the 4x4's.





I've gone to the extent of adding the steering brace from the ram charger (I think it is).

CTD2001

thanks for the tip, i will check that out

Tron

The kit from dodge to rebuild the the joint at the box is around 20 bucks if the housing is not to worn.