Got a quick technical question regarding the P/S control valve...

How much side to side motion should be exhibited by the Ball stud in teh top of the Valve...

Here is the test I did.

> Both front tires in Air - car on jackstands - front suspension full droop
> Steering wheel locked - engine not running
> Grasp tire at 3 and 9 o'clock and try to turn tire

>>Tire moves 3/4-1" each direction...

>While another is under car did same and watched for where the slop was...

>>All slop was at the control valve...the ballstud was firmly anchored in the pitman arm - no noticable movement of pitman arm or the ball stud...however the Control valve moved on the ballstud about 1/2" or more...

Obviously there was no pressure in the system at the time, but i cant imagine that the Ballstud is supposed to move side to side so much in the top of the control valve....

Power steering is fine though the front end feels really loose.

>No noticable movement at ball joints - tie rod ends - or idler arm (idler arm was my primary suspect TBH) in fact the idler arm looks to be real good shape - pulling on it up and down nothing happened - no movement at all....

So...Is my control valve shot.... are there any other tests i should do to isolate my loose steering up front.

>oh.. steering box has been adjusted and the cushions on the end of the power ram replaced.

Thx all.

 

Check the control valve with the tires on the ground and the engine running. That play sounds normal for "engine off" test. Re-check everything. A small amount of play somewhere can be alot of play at the wheel.

 

There will be quite a bit of "slop" at the pitman stud as long as there is no pressure in the valve (engine not running). Repeat your observation with the car running and I think you will see a totally different story. Whether you eliminate all of it is another matter, but to do what you did without pressure in the system is a waste of time. Look for play carefully at the gearbox. There is a great faq area for more info.