steering adjustment ??

[79403ta]

i took my 97 Z71 with a 350 to a front end shop today to get it checked out as far as steering and ball joints go and they said everything was good but they said my steering box had some play in it and that there is a nut on top if the steering box with a bolt he said loosen the nut and tighten the bolt a little...he said this had to be it because my front end parts were good...can this be adjusted like this ??

[alblogg]

I know on the old ones you could take the play out like that but I didn't even know the new ones still had it on there.

[sreve]

yeah ,you can set the high point, but to do it right it gets involved. rebuilt steering boxes around the $225 to 250 range. an alldata subsciption roughly $25 .

[Blue Bowtie]

As of at least the 2002 model year (and probably yet) the Saginaw boxes still had the sector shaft preload adjustment. As previously stated, be cautious about over adjusting. The ball/worm arrangement is designed to wear evenly, but there can be "high" or tight spots in the sector gear arrangement itself which, if overloaded, can start liberating metal pieces from the gears and destroy the box, as sreve indicated.

If you want a good idea of what you're dealing with, check this site: http://www.off-roadweb.com/tech/0501..._steering_box/

[alblogg]

Originally Posted by 79403ta

i took my 97 Z71 with a 350 to a front end shop today to get it checked out as far as steering and ball joints go and they said everything was good but they said my steering box had some play in it and that there is a nut on top if the steering box with a bolt he said loosen the nut and tighten the bolt a little...he said this had to be it because my front end parts were good...can this be adjusted like this ??

I know it works on manual steering never tried it on PS but I do know if you tighten the screw part to tight it locks up your steering, you have to go in small turns.