My front stabilizer is loose on the drivers side and I have a lot of play in my steering(contantly adjusting wheel to keep it straight going down the road). Could the stabilizer bar be affecting my steering? If I take the stabilizer bar off, will that help? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

Any loose steering component will cause play in the wheel and should be fixed/ tightened immediatley. Also the stabilizer is there for a reason, taking it off may put yours/someone elses life in danger.

 

Well, I was reading on this site earlier that some guys have taken theirs off & hadn't hadn't had any problems. Do you know exactly what the stabilizer bar does? It seems to be the only thing loose I've found.

 

The stabilizer bar is also called sway bar. It helps to keep the vehicle upright while cornering. It does reduce axle articulation when driving offroad. I think it's a bad idea to remove it on a street driven vehicle, I put quick connects on my Toyo Landcruiser. (2 minutes to go from offroad to onroad for about 30 US$).
I'd fix it as soon as possible, usually you'll only need a link (moog about 30 US$ IIRC)
The sway bar does not affect steering looseness in the way you describe.
Due to the weight of these buggers you can test them only with a helper- with the engine running and the helper turning the wheel lock to lock you get under the truck and put your hand on each joint and check for play or movement (take care not to get your hand caught in some bad places like the fan, between steering components etc)
I think you'll find the upper joint of the track bar has some play. (I used a Luke's link to remedy this)- maybe also the output shaft of the steering box (I suggest a darin's steering stabiliser)

HTH

AlpineRAM

 

I'm one of them and no, taking it off didn't affect steering whatsoever.


phox

 

Well, I'm gonna take tjhe stabilizer bar off and see what happens. I don't know what else to try to fix my loose steering.

 

Check the output shaft on your steering box - the lower bearing will wear allowing side to side play. Sectorgear shafts wearjust like everhting else that moves. A DSS setup will take the slop out of the pitman end of the box but will not address any internal play.

At 220K my truck is fixing to get a new box and a DSS.

 

Redramnc, I'm on the road & have about 1500 miles til I get home. Can I take a couple plastic zip ties and put them around the output shaft just above the pitman connection to temporarily tighten it up? Does anyone know any other temporary fixes I can do out on the road til I get home?

 

Get some one to move the steering wheel back and forth while you're under the truck and you can see where the slop is. The steering box can be adjusted, but it's probably a ball joint.
Good luck

 

I really don't think the zip tie idea is going to work, but it might. If the bottom shaft on the steering box is sloppy side-to-side the only thing that can fix that is a rebuild/new box.