Question about sloppy and wandering steering

[Brewcity]

Hey guys...I have searched around, and the general consensus seems to be that if you have sloppy or wandering steering, its a pitman and or idler arm issue.
My question is...do our 2000-2006's have a steering wheel position sensor or something similar? If so...does anyone have the part number for it? Would this also cause the steering issue if this sensor is bad?
On my old 2 door Tahoe...there was one, and replacing it made a difference in steering feel.
What about the gearbox? My Tahoe has 107,500 miles on it, and everything looks stock (just bought it a few months ago). Should I plan to do everything (steering box, idler and pitman arm, and a sensor, if there is one)?
Thanks so much for ALL the help with this. I really appreciate it!

 

[treehan77]

you might wanna read this. be careful. i myself have not tried this, i haven't needed to. i would heed the warnings and make VERY small adjustment(s). basically your're tightening up the steering box.

http://tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46957

 

[Brewcity]

you might wanna read this. be careful. i myself have not tried this, i haven't needed to. i would heed the warnings and make VERY small adjustment(s). basically your're tightening up the steering box.

http://tahoeyukonforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=46957

Thanks SO much! I will give this a try, and report back.
I really appreciate it.

 

[ezdaar]

Thats a bandaid fix. the Correct way to tighten the box, you must remove it.
That adjustment on top will only increase the gear mesh preload, not remove the slop.
Basically it will make the steering wheel feel tighter, ala harder to turn, but the slop is still there.

 

[southboundchicken]

No sensor.... Try replacing the pitman arm, idler arm and idler arm bracket if its still sloppy consider replacing the steering gear box..., i just replaced the gear box idler arm and bracket, pitman arm tie rods and ball joints and what a difference..... Also, one thing i was doing was running my tires with more pressure than i should have and while this wont do anything for the sloppy steering i felt it did contribute to the wondering so check tires for correct pressure

 

[treehan77]

Thats a bandaid fix. the Correct way to tighten the box, you must remove it.
That adjustment on top will only increase the gear mesh preload, not remove the slop.
Basically it will make the steering wheel feel tighter, ala harder to turn, but the slop is still there.

do you mean remove and replace it? if not, what's the process to tighten when removing to actually remove slop?

 

[clandr1]

I've rarely heard of steering boxes going bad, so that would be the absolute LAST thing I would mess with and/or replace.

My truck has 134k on it. At 120k I took my truck to have an alignment done, and they showed me my tie rods had some slop in the ends. I never noticed any sort of slop or wandering on the road, but sure enough they were in need of replacement.

I replaced the tie rods, pitman arm, and idler arm. Seems just as tight as the day it was new. I highly doubt your steering box is the culprit here.

 

[ezdaar]

There are You tube vids showing exactly how to do it. The guy adjusts a gearbox for a jeep, but the process is exactly the same.
I am looking for it as I can, but wont promise I will find it or post it.

What your looking for is how to adjust the "input shaft adjustment" then follow it up with what was shown here, "sector gear pre-load adjustment" That's the proper way to tighten your worn out box.

These gear box's are steaming piles of shit. they wear out, leak and just generally suck! GM designed them way back in the 50's or someshit. There is a reason GM moved to rack and pinion.
Even new gear box's have been know to be sloppy. unless you go third party from a reputable vendor. you will always have sloppy gear box. Unless. you buy new and adjust it properly yourself..

 

[Brewcity]

Thanks so much to ALL of you for your input.
So..it seems that since there is no sensor like my old Tahoe...I will need to replace the idler and pitman arms 1st, and see how it feels. Guess that is in my near future.
Thanks again to all!

 

[ccapehartusarmyINF.(ret)]

SHOCKS MAN shocks you probably need new shocks whens the last time they were replaced