Those with steering gear issues...

[Teamiez]

Was wondering if those among us who fight the steering gear issues, if you ever notice that while the vehicles wheel alignment is in spec you notice the amount of play differs (position steering wheel is cocked) especially based on road crown. For example on the normal side of the road my wheel hangs to the left a decent amount vs if you drive on opposite side of road / far left of thru way the wheel seems pretty straight? Just weird and is annoying! Am I the only one?

 

[OR VietVet]

Road crown

 

[Teamiez]

Road crown

Out of every aftermarket invention they come up with for vehicles a rack and pinion swap would be awesome. These steering boxes make the steering suck on this vehicle for me Atleast. After #5 I give up.

 

[OR VietVet]

Where are you getting the steering gears and what brand? I recently replaced mine with a Genuine GM gear box with absolutely no problems.

 

[Teamiez]

Where are you getting the steering gears and what brand? I recently replaced mine with a Genuine GM gear box with absolutely no problems.

2 of them were gm remanufactured purchased and installed from by a Chevy dealer by me, both had lots of play once 3,000-5,000 miles hit. Other 2 were redhead steering gears both were absolutely way to tight with no center and made for a dangerous squirrelly ride. #5 was a low mile oem from LKQ which seems the best so far. Wish I never ditched my original which was not that bad vs what I am dealing with now

 

[George B]

Was wondering if those among us who fight the steering gear issues, if you ever notice that while the vehicles wheel alignment is in spec you notice the amount of play differs (position steering wheel is cocked) especially based on road crown. For example on the normal side of the road my wheel hangs to the left a decent amount vs if you drive on opposite side of road / far left of thru way the wheel seems pretty straight? Just weird and is annoying! Am I the only one?

Road crown

The shop I work with sets the alignment to accommodate some road crown however a tire pull could cause this too. I had many tire rotations end up with a very slight pull we needed to correct by swapping the fronts from side to side.

The quality of the idler arm is also a factor. Get the best one you can find. I had a Moog one that was pretty stout.

Also, that box is adjustable. I have adjusted several of mine. On my 03 Burb I tightened by about one turn and it drove pretty well after that. Logged another 75k miles that way.

 

[Teamiez]

The shop I work with sets the alignment to accommodate some road crown however a tire pull could cause this too. I had many tire rotations end up with a very slight pull we needed to correct by swapping the fronts from side to side.

The quality of the idler arm is also a factor. Get the best one you can find. I had a Moog one that was pretty stout.

Also, that box is adjustable. I have adjusted several of mine. On my 03 Burb I tightened by about one turn and it drove pretty well after that. Logged another 75k miles that way.

The tire rotation is interesting to know, it seemed like it was ‘a hair’ different after my last rotation but if you let go of the wheel the truck tracks pretty straight. While braking as well. I do have moog for my steering linkage in the front I had no problems in the last 40,000 miles there!

 

[George B]

The tire rotation is interesting to know, it seemed like it was ‘a hair’ different after my last rotation but if you let go of the wheel the truck tracks pretty straight. While braking as well. I do have moog for my steering linkage in the front I had no problems in the last 40,000 miles there!

When I worked tires we called it a "flip flop" where we came back into the shop and switched the front tires side to side. Was a common occurrence but we were pretty **** about good service and proper diving vehicles.

 

[Teamiez]

When I worked tires we called it a "flip flop" where we came back into the shop and switched the front tires side to side. Was a common occurrence but we were pretty **** about good service and proper diving vehicles.

I might have to give the adjustment a little tweak as well, I had a 01 grand Cherokee with a steering box that was pretty shot and the adjustment worked for a bit. In the end it just got worse and started leaking and stuff so I have been holding myself back on the Tahoe as it isn’t ‘that bad’ yet.

 

[OR VietVet]

The shop I work with sets the alignment to accommodate some road crown however a tire pull could cause this too. I had many tire rotations end up with a very slight pull we needed to correct by swapping the fronts from side to side.

The quality of the idler arm is also a factor. Get the best one you can find. I had a Moog one that was pretty stout.

Also, that box is adjustable. I have adjusted several of mine. On my 03 Burb I tightened by about one turn and it drove pretty well after that. Logged another 75k miles that way.

@Teamiez, I would be curious what the alignment on your rig was set at. Should have a slight right front caster lead.