OHFarmboy

I have a 94' (see my sig) And have EXCESSIVE play in the steering ( I have to turn the wheel a quarter turn and hold it there to go straight!!!) Anyhow I replaced my track bar, hubs/bearings, and checked the ball joints. That didn't help (though it needed done desperately) When I have someone turn the wheel it seems like the intermediate shaft spins a bit before it catches the splineshaft coming out of the steering gear box. Could the splines in the coupler on the shaft be worn and causing this? Or is it more likely the steering box? I am sick of fighting this thing all over the road, it is dangerous in bad weather and I don't feel that safe having passengers along (ok so it's not that so much as it is incredibly annoying to drive and not fun at all anymore) Does anyone have any input on this? And if it is thought to be the shaft is the Borgenson shaft the best bet?? HELP ME I HATE DRIVING THIS THING!!!


Tom

1ST GEN.

I have a 99 4 wheel drive (not in signature) and its doing about the same thing I have to drive with the steering wheel turned 1/2 way to the left to go straight and it seems the wheel wants to turn back when driving and it also has a good track bar and I have never been able to find anything wrong, you aren't alone

OHFarmboy

Thank God!! I also have to turn my wheel to the left, I think as I stated before that I have narrowed it down to the intermediate shaft slop on the spline shaft. I hope thats it as it's only about $220 and the steering gear is around $600. Anybody elses input would be great we would love to figure this out!!! My truck's got about 165,000 on it.


Tom

Hemi Cat

Any slop there can be an indication of an upcoming failure. If it is the splines, just fix it. If the slop is inside the gear box you would be better off replacing it. There is a good steering gear shop around Frazier Mich, about 10 miles north of Det called Harry's steering gear. 810-296-2920. A good place to deal with.

P.O.R.

check the top cover of the steering box,it has 4 bolts and the adjustment in the midle of it,make sure it is tite,my problem with lose steering turned out to be the sector shaft,thats the one that comes out of the bottom of the box with the pitman arm attached,the bearing was shot, made for alot of movement side to side.i put a reman box from napa on and a steering stabilizer,truck drives great now, the box was $220 and the stabilizer was $190,here is a link.. http://www.protintnw.com/steeringsuspension.htm

CORed

The OEM intermediate steering shafts are junk. Mine was replaced at 35,000 miles under warranty. I've never heard of a part going out of spec so soon. It definitely made an improvement. And I had a new trackbar put in under warranty at around 29,000 miles. It made an improvement as well.

SO if you are all still using your stock, original steering shafts, you probably should replace it immediately. In fact, my dad just replaced his with a Borgeson. His truck only had around 38,000 miles so he missed the warranty. He felt an improvement as well.

BTW, these were both 2001 trucks. The Borgeson was around $210. I have heard of a Flaming River shaft as well, but do not know any details. I'm currently using the second OEM shaft until it wears out... oh, say in another 10,000 miles. Just plan junk! I'll probably replace it with a Borgeson.

Steve

OHFarmboy

Well I think I am gonna go with the Borgenson shaft, it's cheaper than the OEM one anyhow. The dealer also wanted $600 for the steering gear box, I found it at NAPA for $240, and at Advance (ugh!) for $150. So I think I will just replace em both and hope to God that it fixes it!!! Should steer like a new rig then, I havent pulled a trailer in month's because of this, just didn't feel safe.


Tom

vssman

The 2nd gen I-shafts do not have any splines. The slider is a steel shaft with overmolded plastic & has flats on it. Some lash (very little) is always present in order to allow it to collapse in a crash. As the truck flexes while you drive it (you'd be amazed at the movement) it may cause a little wear. The 3rd gen is a completely different design using actual splines but will not fit 2nd gens. What's really disgusting is that DC buys these things from their supplier for A LOT less than they sell them at the parts counter.