Serious steering issue, please offer some input!

A few weeks ago I noticed a pretty weird clicking noise coming from the front end, looked all over and couldn't notice anything. Still don't know for sure what it is, but I suspect it's the brakes. I had a friend who I trust to an extent tell me to turn the hex socket ontop of my steering box "one full turn" and see if it goes away. Well I wasn't aware, but now I am after playing with the adjustment 400 times and counting, that "one full turn" is a HUGE adjustment.

The input I need at this point is I am just shooting in the dark with this steering box. It's obviously way out of wack and I need to get it back to a tolerable adjustment asap. I keep loosening, tightening, loosening, tightening and can't seem to get it right. What am I looking for here? What should I do to get it back to the stock feel? I am aware of what this adjustment does now, I would have never messed with it if I knew it then. PLEASE HELP. TIA.

I had a relocated hose contact my steering shaft after I put a larger intake manifold in. That caused a "pretty weird clicking noise" as well. Look at the shaft and make sure you don't have similar issues.

Jim www.yuccaman.com

I've checked to see if anything was hitting in the engine compartment already, like I said I think it may be my brakes.

I really need to know how to get this steering box back to normal before I kill myself.

To begin with, the adjustment you are messing with is the over-center adjustment. What it does is give your box a sweet spot to return to after a turn (straight ahead). This adjustment can tighten as the box warms up and cause loss of steering if radically out of adjustment.
What you want to feel is a slight sweet spot right in the middle of your lock to lock. This adjustment can remove a little of the backlash in your sector shaft, but that really isn't it's function.

AutoZone has a step by step.

Center the input shaft. Back off the adjuster and tighten until it just touches, very lightly snug it (like two fingers), hold it in place and tighten the locking nut. If this is overtightened it can cause your steering wheel to lock, after the sector shaft and assorted pieces heat up.

The better solution is to adjust it by the book. I'm guessing your XJ is pre Chrysler steering. Though the adjustment is similiar.

What do you mean adjust it by the book? I have a 99 XJ.

w0mps said:

What do you mean adjust it by the book? I have a 99 XJ.

Click to expand...

The book says to remove the gear box and do it on the workbench.

Adjusting it by the book will require that you disconnect the box from the steering, so that you can measure torque. The book has you put the thing iin a vise.

First, you must adjust the worm thrust bearing preload (that's at the input end). Once that's done, you do the over-center. I'm assuming that you're not going to do the preload first, so here's the over-center procedure:

First you must make absolutely sure that the steering is centered, because it's designed to be tighter on center. If you make the adjustment off center, it will bind when it centers, running the risk that your steering will bind, you will crash and you will die. No shit. That's important.

The adjustment is made with a torque wrench on the pitman shaft. First, you rotate the shaft on an arc of 45 degrees from the center you have found. Record the torque reading (the "over center rotating torque"). Now, turn the shaft between 90 and 180 degrees to the left of center, and read the torque again. Do the same thing 90 to 180 degrees to the right of center, and read the torque once again. Average these two readings to arrive at your "preload rotating torque."

Now, you adjust the over center screw so that the over center torque is 4 to 8 inch pounds higher than the preload torque. Note how little that difference is.

When adjusting, loosen the nut, and then turn the screw counterclockwise until it's fully extended, and then carefully turn clockwise until the correct torque is reached. Clockwise to increase.

Make very sure that you hold that screw in place when you tighten the lock nut.

If you're not ready to do this procedure, I'd say the safest bet is to disconnect the drag link from the pitman arm, and then redo the over center adjustment by feel more or less as 8Mud suggests. Start by backing the screw out, and then carefully tighten it until there is just a little bit of play on center. Don't snug it up too tight, because the circulating fluid will cushion it a bit, and it may tighten up as it gets hot. It may not be perfect but it should be reasonably safe.