'74 w/ power steering, has been pretty stiff since i got it a year ago.

Drove in about 20 miles and the steering seemed much more free, more like ps that I'm used to.

Drove home that evening and steering wheel now has 3-4" of play & tends to wander.

Where do I start looking?

I'd had a four wheel alignment 3-4 months ago & nothing noted.

Help

 

Check the conditionof the "rag joint" or coupling. It is the component that is located in between the column and the gearbox. Grasp the "rag joint" firmly with your left hand and with your right hand ( with the steering wheel out of the lock position) turn the wheel left and right slightly and feel for play in the "rag joint". If you feel play than that is one area that needs attention. Next have someone turn the wheel left and right slightly and look at where the power steering control valve attaches to the pitman arm coming off the bottom of the gearbox. The control valve is the part that has four hoses connected to it, two on top and two on the left outside portion of it wher the lines criss-cross at the valve.,. Too much side to side play in the taper stud that comes out of the control valve can also be an issue. Then while the wheel is being turned look at the idler arm. It is located on the other end of the steering link that the control valve is connected to. Check for play in it, it should not flex up and down but only rotate side to side. Then check your tie rod ends that go from the steering link to each front wheel spindle assembly. Last but not least if all of that is in good condition it could be that your gearbox is shot or need to be adjusted to remove the excessive free-play in gearbox it self. It is easily adjustable but care must be taken to not get it so tight because your steering can lock up and not retract back correctly. On the top of the gearbox your will see a nut that has a shaft coming through it that has a slot in it for a flat blade screwdriver. Using a 5/8" wrench or socket, loosen the nut so that it will give you the ability to use a screwdriver and turn the slotted shaft into the gearbox. While you are turning the shaft, have your steering wheel out of lock so you can reach in at rock the steering wheel to the left and right while turning the shaft. You can now feel that the freeplay is being increased or decreased. If you have removed the freeplay out to your liking, while holding the shaft with the screwdriver, tighted the nut to hold that setting. Crank up the and CAREFULLY test your turning ability. Make a hard left and right turn and see if the wheel will return to the center position without your help by loosly holding the wheel in your hands. If the steering locks up and will not return, your must increase the amount of freeplay by returning to the area you just adjusted. Sometimes old gearboxes just crap out and there is nothing you can do but get a rebuilt one or have yours rebuilt. If you find that you need a "rag joint" MAKE sure that you get it from GM dealer because the aftermarket ones that I have seen are not correctly remanufactured and not keyed the same as the factory units and eventhough they will fit, your steering wheel will now be cocked out of position and cause more problems than it is worth. Even though rag joint repair kits are available, I personally NEVER rebuild the "rag joints" becasue it is a liability issue in the terms of safety and my attorney has stated that if the correct part, for this instance being a importrant steering component can be purchased new from the factory, where it is riveted as like the factory designed it to be, instead of bolts and nuts being used, he wants me to buy one instead of repairing it. Good luck and hope this helps and that you find your problem. "DUB"

 

Grandmasters advice is good. A simple check would be to start at the input shaft to the steering box. with the wheel unlocked, grab the input shaft behind the rag joint and move it back and forth to see what moves and what doesn't. for even a slight movement, the pitman arm should move accordingly. Theres a whole chain there, so you have to isolate which part went bad. You may have to crawl under and have a friend move the wheel back and forth, if it's in the linkage

 

Grandmaster & runningman, thank you for your directions. I've printed them out & will go step by step over the weekend. Then I can ask how to fix what?

Thanks Again...