I have a 93 D250 and the steering is really loose. Truck wanders a little on the highway. I've heard about rebuild kits to replace the steering gear but i'm not sure if thats the right thing to do just yet. The steering box does leak though. Anybody have any suggestions on how to fix this problem or has anybody had similar troubles?

 

Try a search on borgeson steeriing shafts.You can build your own for less than the real deal but you'll have to search it out on here.(I'm not sure I spelled borgeson correctly)

 

Check to see if the slop is coming from your steering coupler (little can shaped thing on the end of you steering shaft right before the gear box) Chrysler has a rebuild kit for these (part # 04443436AC) for less then $10. Here is a good article on rebuilding one...

http://ramchargercentral.com/index.p...owtoshow;id=16

Also like bumpytruck said you can build your own shaft that eliminates the coupler all together. Here is an article on that...

http://ramchargercentral.com/index.p...owtoshow;id=30

Or if you have the money the borgenson shaft is a good way to go.

 

Mine developed a leak on the bottom seal due to excessive bearing play at the shaft that connects to the pitman arm. I tried adjusting it out but it was too far gone. I then bought a reman from NAPA and that didn't leak but the thing was sloppy. I couldn't adjust the play out of it. I made them give me another one and after readjusting the shaft end play it seems to be OK. IF this one dies I will try to get a new one. I am tired of messing with the remanufactured junk that is on the shelves these days.

 

Just curious does the new borgeson shaft eliminate all the slop or is it just a temporary fix like the rebuild kit?
Also, about how long does the rebuild kit last before the slop returns?

A few more things: Sometimes the welds break under the steering box and cause some slop and other funky things to happen and sometims the tie rods need replacing.
Brent

 

There are a lot of different places you can have slop, especially on a 2wd. Get under the truck and have somebody move the wheel back and forth so you can see where the slop is. Look at all the steering linkage - tie rod ends, center link, idler arm - any of them can cause slop if worn. Boatnik's talking about the steering box, if the bottom seal is leaking chances are the box is wore out and you should just replace it. If it's clean but there is slop in it, it is still in good enough shape to be fixed with a couple simple adjustments. The upper seal is no big deal, you can replace it and readjust the box and it will work like new. If the slop is in the steering shaft, rebuild the coupler or buy a Borgeson shaft.

Serious - No fix on the steering is ever totally permanent - stuff wears out when you drive the truck. I rebuilt my coupler last spring and it's still good. For $10 I'll rebuild it yearly if I have to, it only takes about an hour. The Borgeson will take all the slop out of the shaft until the u-joint wears out.

 

Thanks guys I got alot of good leads and ideas as to how to fix my problem, Nate thanks for the links let you know how it turns out.

 

Thanks guys its time to go to work on fixin this rig i'll let you know if I need anymore advice, I really appreciate it.