Steering wheel binding after Durango box install

So the other night I finally got my durango box into my Jeep. Moments before installing it I checked the box to make sure the steering was centered and the input shaft turned cleanly 3.5 turns lock to lock, yet after installing it I was only getting 2.5 turns lock to "lock" at the steering wheel. After some investigation/force I learned that the steering wheel could turn freely to full left lock but it was binding about 0.75 - 1 turn before reaching right lock. If I put some force behind the turn I could get it to 'pop' past the binding and continue to full right lock. The wheel will then turn freely back to full left lock but will bind up on its way back to right lock again, and it always binds at the same point in the turn.

I took the steering box back out and checked it out but the input shaft turned fine to full right/left lock outside of the Jeep so I'm guessing it must be binding somewhere in the steering shaft. I'm just stumped because it worked perfectly fine with my XJ box before I swapped it out, no binding what-so-ever.

Has anyone ever experienced anything like that before? Is the durango box a bit longer at the input shaft and may be causing the new binding issues? I haven't had anyone around during daylight hours since getting the box into the Jeep so I haven't had an opportunity to watch the shaft joints for binding while someone else cycles the steering but I wanted to see if anyone else had this problem before me... maybe I'm running into a known problem with durango boxes and someone can point me in the right direction? :dunno:

You need to get under and see if the knuckles are hitting max travel. If so you are going to need to go with a shorter pitman arm. Also, you might want to adjust the drag link to center the box.

Sorry, knuckles aren't hitting max travel... the drag link is not currently hooked up so it's able to free turn from lock to lock of the steering box. The binding is somewhere in or before the steering box itself (and based on the fact that the input shaft turned freely outside of the Jeep my assumption is that the binding is before the box itself but haven't been able to verify that yet.

For safety's sake, I would find someone well versed in rebuilding steering gears and have them tear it apart and verify all is well. The reason I got into rebuilding gears is that I rolled my jeep when the box siezed up on an obstacle in Moab. Hence the avatar.

Are you sure you got the adjustment on the top of the box correct when you put it back together?

That adjustment is the only reason I haven't done a steering box rebuild yet. I'm afraid to get it wrong and don't feel like buying the tools to do it yet.

Did you add washers between steering box spacer and the steering box or use a inner plate made for the big box?
Durango boxes are wider than stock and need the extra space or the cylinder will be slightly crushed into the frame when torqued down.
This usually only binds the box at one end of the stroke.
Make sure there is a slight gap between the side of the frame and the steering box.

lazyxj said:

Did you add washers between steering box spacer and the steering box or use a inner plate made for the big box?
Durango boxes are wider than stock and need the extra space or the cylinder will be slightly crushed into the frame when torqued down.
This usually only binds the box at one end of the stroke.
Make sure there is a slight gap between the side of the frame and the steering box.

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I did already make a slightly larger-than-stock inner plate but still had to add some washers, so yes, I did space it out enough that the spacer/plate would sit against the box w/o rocking and there should be enough space. That said, I was out working on the steering tonight and saw a handful of extra washers laying on the ground and thought maybe I would add one more in just for shits and giggles to see if that helps anything.

I will pull the box and toss in an extra washer next time I get a chance to do so after getting a friend over to give me a hand... I still want to check the steering shaft for any obvious binding there before going through the trouble of pulling the box out again.

themangeraaad said:

I will pull the box and toss in an extra washer next time I get a chance to do so after getting a friend over to give me a hand... I still want to check the steering shaft for any obvious binding there before going through the trouble of pulling the box out again.

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Pulling the box by yourself isn't much fun.
If you have clearance between the side of the box and frame, then you are fine.
A few years ago, I pinched a large cylinder-steering box, while installing it in a XJ, and the box developed a bind in one spot. When a set of thick washers were added to the spacer, the bind disappeared.
I was surprised the cylinder was pinched hard enough to slightly distort the shape of the cylinder, causing the steering to bind in one spot.

lazyxj said:

Pulling the box by yourself isn't much fun.
If you have clearance between the side of the box and frame, then you are fine.
A few years ago, I pinched a large cylinder-steering box, while installing it in a XJ, and the box developed a bind in one spot. When a set of thick washers were added to the spacer, the bind disappeared.
I was surprised the cylinder was pinched hard enough to slightly distort the shape of the cylinder, causing the steering to bind in one spot.

Click to expand...

I've had the box in and out a few times now. I can get it in and out by myself no problem though that doesn't mean I want to take it out again . Will be even easier this time since I won't have to deal with taking the steering shaft/hoses off and can just swing it out to the side just enough to get the washer in there

And though I think it has enough space I could definitely be pinching it a tiny bit which is why I was already thinking about throwing an extra set of washers in there. 1 washer per bolt wasn't enough but 2 washers per bolt seemed OK.. maybe when I tightened it down even 2 washers weren't quite enough. Trying an extra washer should be quick and easy to do so I will rule that out before digging too much further.

I used 3 grade 8 washers. 2 wasn't enough.

RedHeep said:

I used 3 grade 8 washers. 2 wasn't enough.

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Yes, but my steering box spacer is slightly larger than the stock aluminum one so that took up a bit of space on mine.

Figured I'd give an update. I just added a 3rd washer to each steering box bolt. No change to the binding though I am inclined to believe it's one of the joints or something outside of the box.

I pushed the Jeep into the garage and now that I can hear it better it definitely sounds like the binding is in or caused by something much smaller/lighter than the steering box itself. It's a higher pitched and longer (as if it kept vibrating for a while) popping sound than I wouldn't expect to hear from something inside a heavy steering box that is bolted to the frame.

Upgrading the box to a stronger one may have exaggerated a previous problem with one of your joints.