Steering box troubles

[kenny-1907]

Hey all, it has been some time since I have posted or replied here what with the new job and house and all, but I have been visiting on a regular basis though. Here's the situation; Quite some time back (2 years or so) I noticed that when turning right and right only, that I would hear and feel a slight vibration in the steering wheel. About 2 weeks ago it started getting really hard turning to the right especially when the truck was cold (-30ºc) to the point of almost locking up. It got better when it warmed up but was still stiff turning to the right at low idle. I finally got a chance to take it to my mechanic and the steering box is shot . The cost? $575 just for the part . That would be not too bad if that is all they found. The right front hub (bearings) is shot, $475 for the part . Inner tie rod end also needs replacing and an alignment also needs to be done. Total for these repairs is going to be around $1500, perfect just before christmas. Once the repairs are done I will post back to let you guys know if that slight vibration while turning right is gone because I know there is a few more of you out there that have the same problem, and I can only hope at that price that some day GM will issue a recall for the steering box.

[silverado122775]

I had a similiar problem, except with the vibration. It was getting very hard to turn when not driving.. turns out I just needed to replace the steering fluid. I guess after 150K miles and 6 years later.. it needed to be flushed. Now it works great!!
I really hope the repairs fixes your issues. I am really sorry to hear that you are having these kinds of problems.

[kenny-1907]

Well the repairs are all done and it now drives like a whole different truck. It is funny how we don't notice noises like shot bearings as they start to appear over time and how hard the steering actually was in both directions. With the new steering box and inner tie rod changed and an alignment done, it drives like a new truck, no play at all and no road feel anymore in the steering wheel. Although probably most of that feeling in the steering wheel could have been from the shot bearings from the right front hub. The mechanic said "it was making noise, but i guess you heard it." but i had not noticed anything, but there is sure a difference now. It is alot quieter but i can not put my finger on the noise that is now missing. At least the hub was alot less expensive than they originally thought, it was only 330, not 475.