Ok guys I've been mssing with my front end for a while know and today I think I got somewhere. It seems as though my truck has some swaying motion going down the road so I jacked up my truck and started spinning the wheels by hand. I locked in the hubs and stuff and when you spin the tires by hand they turn back and forth all the steering arms have new ball joints and there is no slop in them. The steering arms all turn with the tires and so does the one directly on the steering box. I know on old Chevy trucks you can tighten the steering box is this one the same way? It's a 93 1 ton. If you can tighten the steerign box can anybody explain how or have a alterntive solution or idea of what else it could be? Would a steering stabilizer help at all there are none on there? Thanks guys.

 

You can tighten the steering box, but check the coupler directly above the box first. It's a comon problem that can be fixed with a rebuild kit from the dealer (about $12-15) or a new Borgeson replacement shaft with actual u-joints($175-200). Whatever you do, don't loose track of the steering wheel position in relationto the sterring box. There's a clock spring (do a search) under the steering wheel that only allows a couple of turns in either direction, if you rotate in either direction too far, then crunch, the ribbon cable breakes and you loose your cruise control and possibly your horn.

 

On a 2wd the rebuild kit works well because the shaft comes in almost straight. The 4x4's operate at a much steeper angle, so the Borgeson or a similar setup works better there.

 

What Wanna said! I put the Borgenson in. Love it. Couple points on the adjustment and coupler issues: If this truck steering is similar to the Mopar car boxes I've dealt with (and it looks to be), the adjustment on top of the steering box (hex bolt w/locknut) does not actually "tighten" the box, rather regulates the fluid flow/pressure. This can translate to a tighter feel under power assist, but too much will overwork the pump and could even boil the fluid. You'll know if you get it too tight. The return hose will get very hot and you might even see fluid overflowing out from under the resvoir cap.

The stock steering coupler is a safety issue if it gets bad enough. There was a thread on here awhile back about a guy who had it get so bad the thing actually started locking up and jamming on him. I believe that feature is what they refer to as "intermittent steering."

 

The FSM has a procedure for adjusting the steering gear box, which I find to be quite cumbersome. It invloves disconnecting the pitman arm and using an inch/pound torque wrench.
Boatnik's countryboy method was to loosen the lock nut on top of the gear box and crank down on the adjustment rod a turn. Then with the truck's front wheels off the ground turn the steering wheel all the way to the stop. You should not feel any added drag on the wheel. Try a half turn more and keep adjusting until the steering starts to drag a little then back off a quarter of a turn and lock it down with the lock nut. Start the truck and turn the steering wheel all the way from one side to the other. It should not show any signs of added drag. If it does you are to tight and need to back off a little more. Once you feel you got it right, drive it carefully around the farm to be sure. Go back and check for leaks and you should be OK. If not back it off until it is. The adjustment removes the end play on the vertical shaft. Too tight and it makes driving a little awkward. Too loose and the truck gets a mind of it's own. The old gear box may have a lot of wear in the middle and not much wear at iether end of its travel. That is why I do most of the adjusting with the wheel turned nearly all the way to a stop on either side. If you don't feel comfortable doing the adjustment, don't mess. Take it to a garage and let the professional do it.

 

It said that the gear box must be pointing straigt or box centered!...............
but adj it were there is less ware.....i thing it's a good idea and will try it out, the next box that i adj