diagnose a steering box ?

Ok, my 89 all of sudden started DW'n, so I jacked up my jeep and inspected the steering components and could not find anything that even remotely seemed to be loose or worn out except for the steering box. It has a small amount of play.. as I turn the tires back and forth(while jacked up). I do not know if this is normal or not.. if it goes away when the power steering is pumping ?

So, I decided to pick up a used 99 durango box to swap in.. so I got a used one from the local JY, and I inspected it on the table, and it has that same small play if I move the pitman arm. Is this normal or should it not do this ? or is this box bad too ?

I got a chance today to jack up my wifes 90 XJ and try check it for this same type of play - and there was none.. it was pretty tight(insert wife joke here).

Any input ? Should I swap that durango box in and try it or take it back ?

You want to check for play with the vehicle on the ground and have your wife move the wheel back and forth while looking at all steering and track bar ends for any play. This is the best way to do it. I would re check before swapping boxes.

the most common cause of DW is steering geometry and usually the trackbar oiut of those parts. like whitexj98 says, check the box on the ground first, then check your drag bar and track bar for correct angles and if any bending has occured. also check the pitman arm for excessive (any)) play. Bushings are part of the inspection too, as are connecting points.

Sounds like the sector shaft bushing is worn out. Almost every XJ box I've seen has had a little bit of play there, its just a plastic bushing that wears out. Most companies that rebuild boxes replace the bushing with an actually bearing. I doubt that it would cause DW though, mine never did and it was pretty bad.

Hmm.. they play in the steering box that I am seeing seems to be a rotational play.. not a lateral play of the shaft.

In addition to my sudden DW problem.. it started on the first drive down the road(40 mph and up) after I swapped the 4.0 motor and only difference was new brown dog poly mounts and poly trans mount. I did leak some p/s fluid out during the swap, but topped it off.

dan89XJ said:

Hmm.. they play in the steering box that I am seeing seems to be a rotational play.. not a lateral play of the shaft.

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Hmm, sounds like the gears inside are worn out then. You could try tightening up the lash adjustment on the box to see if that helps.

Any info on how to tighten latch adjustment ? And is the Durango box worn out if it has that play ? A good box will not have any play whatsoever ?

foxwar71 said:

Sounds like the sector shaft bushing is worn out. Almost every XJ box I've seen has had a little bit of play there, its just a plastic bushing that wears out. Most companies that rebuild boxes replace the bushing with an actually bearing. I doubt that it would cause DW though, mine never did and it was pretty bad.

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That is interesting. I have probably built 50+ steering gears and do a ton of them for guys around here and there has never been a plastic bushing. The bearings do however wear out. I have never seen a set of gears worn out unless the box was run dry for a year or so.

AS far as adjusting the lash, it really needs to be done on the bench by someone who knows what they are doing. Getting the adjustment too tight can lead to a quick death.

old_man said:

That is interesting. I have probably built 50+ steering gears and do a ton of them for guys around here and there has never been a plastic bushing. The bearings do however wear out. I have never seen a set of gears worn out unless the box was run dry for a year or so.

AS far as adjusting the lash, it really needs to be done on the bench by someone who knows what they are doing. Getting the adjustment too tight can lead to a quick death.

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Old_man thanks for you input.. what do you think of this rotational play that I am feeling ? Is it normal or not ?

The rotational play is normally just an adjustment of the lash, but any side to side play in the output or input shaft is a sign of crapped out bearings. Having the lash out of adjustment is really hard on the bearings.

Ok.. so sounds like a lash adjustment is needed to be done to the box ? Do I take it to a "steering box guy" and have him adjust it ?

If you pull it, I can walk you through the adjustment if you will follow the directions exactly.

I have a durango box sitting here waiting to go in.. I can do the adjustment on that and install it.

Ideally you need to hold the steering gear in a vice, but you can do it otherwise, it is just more of a hassle.

There is a threaded shaft coming out of the box and it has a silver locking nut on it. Get a wrench to hold the nut and an allen wrench to fit the hole in the end of the shaft. Get a crescent wrench ready. With the steering gear held firmly, use the crescent wrench to rotate the input shaft. It has a flat on one side so the crescent wrench can turn the shaft. What you are going to do is to rotate that shaft back and forth from lock to lock. It should be approximately 3.5 turns. Having loosened the locking nut, screw in the threaded shaft using the allen wrench about a half turn at a time. Each time you tighten the shaft, cycle the input shaft all the way lock to lock. At some point you will feel added resistance exactly at midrange. If you can feel the resistance, the shaft is too tight. You then want to extremely slowly back out the shaft until you feel no more resistance. Once you find that exact point, back out the shaft 20 degrees and then while holding the shaft with the allen wrench, tighten the locking nut. Once it is all tight, cycle the box from lock to lock again and make sure there is no change in resistance at the middle of the range. If there is a difference, repeat the proceedure.

If you get it too tight, when it heats up, things expand and you can end up with a steering gear that locks up and you can't turn.

If you have any questions, feel free to PM me.

Just saying but have you rechecked all the componets with the vehicle on the ground yet? My steering box has some play in it too but I have no DW.