Adjusting steering box...
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 190
Likes: 0
From: Melbourne FL
Adjusting steering box...
I am not sure if this is true, but I heard from someone that the steering box has a bolt on it that you can tighten to take some of the play out. This annoys me, and if you read my previous thread you would know why I am worried about it. Anyway, is their an adjustment? The steering box probably needs to be rebuilt, but in the interim I would like to do something.
Burning Brakes
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,006
Likes: 28
From: Lutz Florida
Just loosening the locking nut and turning the adjustment screw on the box will probably do more harm than good and may cause premature wear on the the worm gears (expensive to replace).
There are basically two procedures for adjusting the steering box. The best way is to remove it completely from the car and use a 0 to 30 inch -pound torque wrench to adjust the box. The second procedure can be done with the box still in the car but it is pretty involved too.
If you remove the box to adjust it, you may as well go the rest of the way and rebuild it, or have it professionally rebuilt. If no one tampered with the adjustment before you got the car, with any luck the worm gears inside will still be ok and the rebuild won't be too expensive.
Here is a link to information on in-vehicle adjustment; http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/?page_id=4. Click on the link for Manual Gear Adjustment - In Vehicle.
Have you checked the rag joint? If there is a lot of play in your steering I would check there first if you haven't already - then all the other suspension and steering components..... then the box. Best of luck.
There are basically two procedures for adjusting the steering box. The best way is to remove it completely from the car and use a 0 to 30 inch -pound torque wrench to adjust the box. The second procedure can be done with the box still in the car but it is pretty involved too.
If you remove the box to adjust it, you may as well go the rest of the way and rebuild it, or have it professionally rebuilt. If no one tampered with the adjustment before you got the car, with any luck the worm gears inside will still be ok and the rebuild won't be too expensive.
Here is a link to information on in-vehicle adjustment; http://jimshea.corvettefaq.com/?page_id=4. Click on the link for Manual Gear Adjustment - In Vehicle.
Have you checked the rag joint? If there is a lot of play in your steering I would check there first if you haven't already - then all the other suspension and steering components..... then the box. Best of luck.
Tech Contributor
Joined: Aug 1999
Posts: 15,154
Likes: 3,959
From: Connecticut, USA
76 above, pretty much covered it. You'll be lucky to find no one played with it in the past. Many are "adjusted" wrong and the end result is worn out gears which cause a lot of slop and road wander.
