steering box need replaced or something else??

hey guys just trying to figure out where a loud annoying noise is coming from that i have had for about a year now...

basically i know that its something with the steering. when having a buddy turn the wheel you can hear it from underneith a little bit but can definately feel the pop/clunk from either the tie rod, the pitman arm, or pretty much any of the steering components. only thing aftermarket is a big daddy tie rod.

so after going under and tighting all the nuts today, it still does it, and in fact seems a little louder now that i tightened everything....

so basically my question is those of you that have had your steering box go out, what kind of noise did it make?? was it a pop/clunk noise that can be heard/"felt" through inside while driving??

i am trying to figure out if this is the problem or if it is one of the joints....thanks all for help

Hey i have the exact same problem and i was searching the site for info and i havent come up with anything. The sound is really anoying. i noticed that when i disconected my sway bar it wasent as frequent or as loud but you described the way mine sounds perfectly. I have greased and tightened everything with no luck. by the way i have a 97 with a simple rc 4.5

One area where a steering box might make that kind of clunk might be the output shaft if the play is bad enough. Try with the wheels on the ground to see if there's a lot of side play in the output shaft of the box. A little is normal when someone wiggles the wheel, but there shouldn't be any significant lost motion and you shouldn't be able to wiggle it by hand from below. If this is what is clunking, you might even be able to make it clunk by yanking on it from below.

When my 95 steering box went out it didn't clunk so much as just get sloppy. and vague on center.

I think you're just going to have to go through the whole front end again and see if you can find the noise. Don't forget ball joints. Jack up one side by the axle so the tire is a few inches off the ground. Now get a big lever, like a 2x4 or a piece of stout pipe, and a fulcrum, and push the wheel upward. Look for any visible play in the ball joints, especially the top one. Any movement is bad.

And check the front swaybar/frame bushings.

I had the same noise. When you say you tightened ALL the bolts, did you include the 3 bottom motor mount bolts? Since I had Kevins track bar and mount, it adds more pressure to the box frame. After a good tightening of the motor mount, track bar and steering box, silence once more prevails.