Steering

[sonsjeep]

Me again,

87 Cherokee, steering is loose, steers VERY easily and tends to wander because it is so loose. I imagine the steering stabilizer should be replaced, but is there an adjustment to tighten the power steering?

[MagicRat]

First, check for looseness in all the front suspension and steering components: pitman arm, tie rod ends, drag link and ball joints. These are all safety related issues.
A good alignment helps too.
There is an adjustment on the steering box for end play in the sector shaft (I think thats what it's called.
An alignment shop should do this adjustment, but this is how I adjust them:
On the top of the box, there is a screw with a jam nut around it, surrounded by four other bolts.
Leave the ignition off, but turn the key far enough to unlock the steering. Turn the steering shaft by hand. If you have play in the steering box, you can turn the shaft a bit before the wheels turn. It will feel as if its rocking back and forth a bit before engaging the steering.
Loosen the jam nut about 1/2 turn and rotate the screw clockwise just a but. As you turn the screw, rotate the steering shaft. You should be able to feel the loose rocking motion decrease as the screw turns. When the looseness has just barely been eliminated, hold the screw in that position and tighten the jam nut.
BE VERY CAREFUL. If you tighten the screw even a bit too far, the steering will become stiff and the steering wheel will no longer center itself.

[sonsjeep]

I appreciate your help, but maybe I didn't explain myself clearly enough. The steering itself is tight, no slop in the wheel (and I checked for loose components), it's just that it steers so easily, it's like the thing is in the air or driving on tires with 150 psi!

Any advice?

sj

[gtmud]

First, how did you check for the loose componants? Tie-rods are simple enough, one person turn the wheel back and forth another watches to see if there is any play, usually up and down. Ball joints require wieght off the steering system, jack at the axle tube. Thr stabilizer might be it, but there is no guarantee that'll fix it.

[sonsjeep]

I had lifted the truck and checked the components that way (as you said), everything seemed tight. But again it doesn't act sloppy. I appreciate your advice though. I'll replace the stabilizer and see if that fixes it. It just that it seems to simple to be just the stabilizer.

Thanks again.

sj