Captain bob

I have a 1971 with tilt wheel P/S and have play in steering wheel. So far changed upper lower ball joints ,upper,lower controll arm bushings,new front sway bar,greased entire front end properly.when I lift car on jack stands suspension is tight .tie rod and drag link ends are tight and car has original 56,000 miles .is this a matter of loosening the nut on steering box and tighten a quarter turn or less??? Thank you in advance bob

doorgunner

I started from the bottom-up also and replaced everything since it was all original and worn out. My drag link has a serviceable spring-loaded ball joint on one end which was packed with sand/dirt/gunk.....it seemed as though it was adjusted correctly, but the gunk allowed it to have slack occasionally.

Before you adjust the steering box.......(it can be adjusted too muchcausing excessive wear/binding/breakage)...... have someone turn the steering wheel a few inches to the left and to the right while you watch the "rag-joint" to see if it has slack in it---some slack there will cause "wandering" as the car is driven. If the rag joint has slack---replace it.

Then the P/S box can be adjusted 1/4 turn (read the manual0..... to see if the engine needs to be running/steering wheel needs to be centered while making the adjustment.

With the E-brake engaged and the engine running, get someone to slowly turn the steering wheel all the way to the left and then right while you watch the new rag joint, the input shaft on the steering box, the pitman arm on the steering box output shaft for looseness, the drag-link. etc for the slight-ess amount of slack....just to be sure....watch EACH part where it connects to another part....use a brightdrop light or an inspection light to see everything well.

Keep us updated.

If you still notice play/wandering while driving.....the internal parts of the tilt column need to be tested (a real-can-of-worms)...LOL!

Wait for expert members to reply, since I'm a rookie at this.

gcusmano74

Get a buddy to slowly "rock" the steering wheel back and forth through the looseness that you feel, while you get inside and underneath the car and (carefully!) look and feel for any slack in the system.
Start at the steering column and work your way slowly through it.

Captain bob

Door gunner I was " there" 1967 /68 hope all is well brother. I will examine rag joint tommorow with the help of my son.thank you both for info.

doorgunner

You made it back! I was at Plantation in '71....I could pick up a handful of that red dirt ANYWHERE and find a slug in it/you guys really went thru a LOT of ammo there!

(Ohhh....we're assuming that the steering wheel retaining nut is tight....LOL)