I've replaced most of the steering components and now have my truck handling good. I only have one issue left - steering wheel does not want to return to center. Most of the trouble is on right hand turns. I have to manually turn the wheel to center. On left hand turns, I have to help it during the last half of a wheel turn.

You can see everything I've replaced below. I've basically replaced everything steering related except for my intermediate shaft and Power steering pump. The BJs, TREs, and trackbar are all Moog parts. The dampner is a Monroe shock. Could the dampner be the issue?

I got the steering box from carsteering.com. I did not adjust the steering box before installation because the vendor said it would void my warranty. Anybody have any ideas?

Alignment on Monday:
L camber - 0.2
R camber - 0.1
L caster - 3.3
R caster - 3.2
L toe - 0.04
R toe - 0.05
Total toe - 0.08

8000 miles on RSS
2000 miles on the following:1300 miles on steering box
1150 miles on front and rear swaybar end links and bushings (suspensionmax)
200 miles on all 4 shocks (Monroe Gas Mags)

 

Usually, a non return to center is too tight of an adjustment on the screw directly above the sector shaft.

 

Another thing that crossed my mind after posting the original message... The non return to center started after I installed the RSS. After installing the RSS, I had to use 2 hands to steer the truck, but knew that the bushing had to get broke in. That was 8000 miles ago and the bushing has broke in and turns easier, but do you think I could have put something in a bind in the column? I did remove the column from the truck to install the RSS. But then again, after a left turn, the wheel does try to return the center more than after a right turn, so maybe it is the over-center adjustment on the box.

I may try to call carsteering and let them know what is going on. Maybe they'll let me adjust it without voiding the warranty. Either that or they will have to send me another box.

 

Just got off the phone with carsteering. Told them the box was not returning to center. They gave me 2 options. 1) Take the box off the truck and ship it back. When they receive the box, they would send out a new box. 2) Pay $100 deposit and they would ship a new box today. After they receive the old box, they refund the deposit. Of course, I selected option 2. Oh, and free shipping. I don't know how well their steering box will hold up, but you can't beat the customer service and warranty return policy.

 

Well, got the replacement box installed this weekend. Same issue - it does not return to center. This box is worse than the previous - no attempt to return to center from either direction. I'll have to make another call to carsteering.com to see what my options are.

 

Try removing the steering damper and taking it for a drive. I've seen them bend several times and cause stiff steering.

Another condition I've seen is new Moog ball joints that are too tight. In this case, drive for a while and see if it improves.

 

I'll give that a try, but at this point, I think my RSS bushing is dragging as I turn the wheel. I started another post about this. I'm going to fix the RSS issue before I call the box vendor.

 

Cranking in a bit more caster will help also.

 

Update
The RSS bushing was the cause of my steering problems. It never broke in and would not allow the wheel to spin freely. I bought a column from a junkyard that still has the factory bearing installed. Installed the new column today and no more return to center issues and the truck drives better than new.