Reduce steering wheel play
 

What can you do to get rid of the play in the steering wheel? I have a 1981 corvette.
Thanks
Andrew

Excessive steering wheel play is usually worn tie rod ends.

Occasioanlly a worn drag link, worn center link or a worn steering sector / box.

Worn off, rounded tires can contirbute too.

But I would bet on bad tie rod ends.

Has anyone tried one of these tools for greasing the box?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1963-1982-Corvette-C3-A-MUST-HAVE-TOOL-/171114556233?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27d738eb49&vxp=mtr

I just installed these two kits and new tires and still have play... could it be the steering box or the steering cylinder?

The two kits I just installed:
http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1980-1982.html
http://www.ecklerscorvette.com/corve...1963-1982.html

Steering box is easy enough to check, make sure the column is unlocked so you can freely turn the steering wheel. Get under the car, grab the pitman arm and with the other hand grab the rag joint and turn it. You should have zero play between the two. I just went through this last week. I had installed a rebuilt control valve on the car when I rebuilt the steering box. The box had zero play but I had at least 1/4" of slop in the valve which equated to 1/4 turn of the wheel in each direction. I installed a new valve from LoneStar on Sat. and now all is great!

The steering coupler (AKA rag joint) is often the cause of play in the steering.

Awful lot of different responses for steering wheel slop. If the front suspension is good, tires are good, alignment is fine, then would the suspect issue be the rag joint and coupler?

You can take a little bit of lash out of it, but not much. Regardless, it's not a fix for worn components.
:thumbs:

Best way to do this is slide your arse underneath and get your wife to move the steering wheel back and forth. I found a worn bearing on the lower end of the steering box that allowed the pitman arm to move without doing anything while all the tie rod ends were good. Better than replacing every ball joint and tie rod end and finding you still don't have it right.... Cheaper too...
:cheers:

if all suspension and external steering components are in good shape, it is the steering box! The OEM steering box even when brand new was sloppy-no getting around that issue. My 78's box got progressively looser from when new and I changed and upgraded every single suspension component over the years trying to tighten up the chassis handling and steering. I mean everything including poly upper and lower control arm bushings to eliminate suspension slop. Finally about 3 years ago with 65,000 miles on the steering box, I brought it to Gary Ramadei for a custom blueprint/rebuild of the box. Holy Smokes!!! What a difference! Better than when the box was brand new-by far!!!

Gotta agree that a new steering box makes a world of difference. You may want to look at it real good for leaks. If the steering box is leaking, then start there. Even if it is one of the other components mentioned, the box still needs fixin'!!!!! Those steering box leaks make a mess of everything "downwind".

I usually unlock the steering and from the engine bay grab the shaft. Start twisting it back and forth. You will see what part of the steering is flexing or showing too much play!
Adjusting the steering box will only fix the problem if its the cause. 1/4 turns on the Allen key until the slop is out. If you go too tight, the steering will not return or you will constantly be correcting steering inputs on the highway because it will not track by itself.
Also pay close attention to the ball and socket joint going into the control unit. That socket wears and a 1/16 slope translates into 3 inches of wheel slope.

I have found that I have play somewhere between the steering wheel and the steering shaft. The steering column is the only thing I did not rebuild on my car when doing my restoration so I am perplexed because I don't know what it looks like in there. Is there a coupling inside the steering column like a splined connection or something that could be worn? I can move the steering wheel about 1/2 inch either direction before the shaft in the engine bay moves at all. OP, maybe look at this too as a cause for your slop?

I had something similar with my 69. All ball joints, tie rod ends and idler arm have been replaced but there was still play so I crawled under while my wife wiggled the wheel back and forth. I found the bearing on the shaft on the bottom side of the steering box that attaches to the pitman arm was worn and actually moving back and forth. No leaks or anything and about an inch and a half play in the wheel.
:cheers:

It's an easy/inexpensive fix if there is any play in those parts. Get someone to turn the steering wheel to the left and to the right 1/4 turn from center each way while you look closely at the two parts to see if the steering box shaft is moving directly with the steering shaft above the rag joint/coupler!

The play is actually somewhere in the steering column itself. when I turn the wheel it can move about a 1/2" left or right before the shaft turns above the rag joint. Seems weird........ Yes??

I replaced the whole front end and in the end it was the rag joint.

We seem to have two problem conversations going on at once. Don't know if either one has been solved.
amf133 has a 1981 Vette with a Tilt & Telescoping strg column (All Vettes after 1978 had T&T steering columns.

gbarmore has a Vette of unknown year. Might have a standard (non-adjustable) column or maybe a T&T.

Regardless of the type of steering column, both types have the same lower bearing (reaching out into the engine compartment.) If that bearing is deteriorated there could be a bit of motion side to side (or up and down) at that sight which could translate to lost motion at the steering wheel.

Regardless of the type of steering column, they both have a two piece steering shaft (up inside the column jacket) that should have injected plastic to hold it to the correct length. If the plastic is sheared there could be a slight amount of play in that area. (But I doubt that this is the cause of the problem.)

The steering gear and/or the flexible coupling that attaches the steering column to the gear could be a major cause of looseness. You should be able to carefully inspect the flex coupling as someone rocks the steering wheel back and forth.

There are two general areas where the steering gear can cause looseness problems.
1. The sector shaft to ball nut interface inside the gear box. There is a screw and locknut sticking out from the top cover on the gear. The teeth on the sector shaft were cut on a slight angle. So a slight amount of wear can be adjusted out of that connection by turning the screw. You should have at least three full threads showing on the screw (above the locknut.) If the end of the screw is down inside the lock nut, there is no longer any adjustment available and the gear needs to be rebuilt with new part(s).
2. Another area would be the bushings that hold the sector shaft in the barrel of the steering gear housing. You could inspect for actual side to side motion of the sector shaft when someone rocks the steering wheel. Side to side motion of the sector shaft will translate to lost motion at the steering wheel. Needless to say a rebuild with new steering gear bushings would be in order.

There was a comment above on someone that rebuilds steering gears. If the problem is suspected to be in the steering gear, - heed the advice.

Jim

I have a stock, completely rebuilt , 81 steering box, piston and lines I can let you have cheap if interested.

Jim, long time since this came up for me but I am finally getting the steering column back in my car. I have installed a new Borgeson system, and everything works great except that I still have steering slop somewhere IN THE COLUMN. I know people are going to say it's the rag joint, steering box, etc but I can assure you it is not. It is in the column itself as verified when it was out of the car. I can turn the steering wheel about a 1/2 inch (measured at the outer circumference of the steering wheel) before the bottom shaft (rag joint end) moves at all. Not knowing what the column looks like inside, and what it is comprised of mechanically, I cannot say why this is. You mentioned above about an injected plastic assembly and I am wondering what that looks like. Are there any diagrams out there that might illustrate this? Is this a serviceable part? Frustrating to have an entire new steering system, tie rods, idler, etc and still have slop. Appreciate any advice or resources you know of to help!! :cheers:

Greg