how to fix steering slop write up

ok im not sure if this has been covered on here but i havent seen it yet. This is my first write up so ill try to give it my best. This will take only about 15 mins or so to get rid of that annoying slop in your steering wheel. Im doing this on my 89 xj 4.0 but im sure it will be the same or really close on most other years. So the tools you will need are:


first thing you are going to need to do is remove your e-fan. There are 2 8mm bolts that hold it on and it slides right out. Just set it aside. Now that the fan is out of the way, the adjustment nut is now accessible. The adjustment nut is Between the radiator and power steering pump right on top of the steering box.


here is the nut itself


another view and better picture


with the fan out of the way the radiator is unprotected so i got a piece of cardboard and put it against it to keep my socket from damaging the radiator. Because of the angle of the geerbox the socket almost sits right up against it, so the cardboard is pretty much a must!
So the next thing i did was take a rag and wipe all the dirt and crap away from around the nut. Then i drenched it with PB blaster because i bet it hasnt been touched since 89 when it was bult!. So after letting the pb sit for a while i took my ratchet with the (2) 6" adapters, swivel, and a 5/8 deep socket and loosened the nut. * a breaker bar may be needed. in my case it wasnt but i was about 2 seconds from using one when it finally broke loose. Just loosen it a few turns thats all you need.




you can see the cardboard really does save the radiator.
Now once the locknut is loose take a 5/8 wrench and put it over the locknut, then take a 5/32 allen wrench and put it on the hex bolt hole on the top like this




now you must hold the wrench so that the locknut doesnt move while you adjust the top screw. You may need to flip the allen wrench for more leverage. Now turn the allen wrench in 1/2 turn increments to the right (tighten) as a little turn does a lot of adjustment. So turn it 1/2 turn then go to your steering wheel and feel if you need more, then do another 1/2 turn and go back to your steering wheel and see if you need more or not. I got mine to about a half of inch of play which is tremendously better than it was. a half of inch of play when its not running equals NO PLAY while driving! Now with your wrench still on there start tightening the locknut back a little and make sure the hex bolt on top isnt moving with the locknut. If it isnt then put your ratchet back on and tighten it up im not sure of the specs but i just tightened it pretty tight.

after test driving it i noticed a huuuuge difference! Much easier to drive! Hope this helps someone..

mxracer624 said:

im not sure of the specs but i just tightened it pretty tight.

Click to expand...

Nice writeup with good pictures...but...AFIK the clearances are fairly specific (although I don't know the specs either). I do know that over tightening can toast your box, or at least shorten it's life.:lecture:

Anybody else have the answer??:dunno:

overtightening can actually cause the worm gears to lock up and you won't be able to turn. Do it a little, then check. Don't push it too far, found out the hard way many years ago on a ford.

Great write up. I know what i'm doing this weekend now.

This adjustment should not be done in the vehicle. As has already been stated, the box could lock up, break or wear out early. This adjustment is called the over-center drag adjustment and must be done on the bench with an inch-pound bar torque wrench. The bench adjustment procedure is in the FSM, can be found online and is included with many rebuild or reseal kits.

The locking nut is crimped and the screw will rotate when the nut is loosened,unless an allen wrench is used to hold it in position while the nut is loosened. This must be done with a wrench. If you break the nut loose with a socket, and not hold the screw positon, you will loose your point of reference for the current adjustment. It would be impossible from that point to adjust it a little and try the steering.

The steering box cavity is pressurized whenever the pump is turning. For this reason, these screw threads are sealed at the factory with loctite. If you break the nut loose, without taking it off and applying new sealer, the box will leak out of the top.

Adjusting this is a quick way to fubar the box and end up killing yourself. The adjustment really needs to be done on the bench. I rebuild and port a lot of boxes.

The correct procedure is to center the ram/arm then slowly tighten the adjuster until you can just feel a minor increase in turning pressure as you cycle through the center of the range. You should then back the adjuster out 20 degrees and retry, making sure that the resistance in the middle just goes away. A half turn too tight can be virtually lethal to the box. There is a tremendous amount of force generated if the rack binds and permanent damage to the box can happen. Also the correct amount of lash is required because dimensions change with temperature and you could end up with a box that decides to bind at the absolute worst time, which can result in death.

In my many years (45+) of working on vehicles, I have rarely found the steering gear to be the biggest culprit. Normally it is a combination of lots of little things like TREs, ball joints, cracked mounting points, bad track bars, bad control arm bushings.