The steering on my 92 XJ seems very sloppy at this time. When I go to turn the wheel, it turns about 3 to 4 inches of turn before the wheels start to turn.
A friend of mine says that it is the steering gear.
Does this sound correct and how hard is it replace?
Unless your friend checked the car carefully, do not depend on his opinion. You need either to find a good mechanic, or do some examining on your own, because there are very many reasons for sloppy steering, some more dangerous than others.
You could start by having someone get in the driver's seat and move the wheel back and forth while you are under the hood and under the car, checking for lost motion. Start at the steering shaft that goes from column to steering gear. There's a rubber bushing ( often referred to as a "rag joint" though it isn't quite that) at the top which can rot, and universal joints at both ends. Now go underneath. Look at the "pitman shaft" that comes out from the bottom of the steering gear. If the steering shaft moves back and forth but the pitman shaft doesn't immediately move, there's play in the steering gear. It's also common for a worn bearing to cause that shaft to move sideways before it starts to rotate. That will cause sloppy steering.
Now follow the motion of the steering mechanism along the various shafts and joints to the wheels. The drag link from the steering gear has ball joints that can wear, and there are ball-jointed tie rod ends at the steering knuckles that can wear. Look for any play anywhere. There should be none.
If the track bar ball joint wears out, the vehicle will wander even if the steering is tight.
But I would not just go out and throw money into a new steering gear before finding out what's really wrong. If you're not sure, a visit to a good alignment shop may end up being cheaper than tossing parts at it.
