Micaiahfied

I've had my truck for several years and always hated the steering. The truck was custom extended 36" by the first owner so any problems with the steering are compounded. When I got the truck the rear part of the driver's fender was punched in, so the back of that wheel could have been hit in a small wreck. here is the problem.... it takes FOOOORRRRREEEEEVVVVVEEEERRRRRRRR to turn around to the right. the left turns pretty tight. i finally counted...
The wheel will turn...
1 1/4+- turns to the right before it stops (not limited by the little screw)
2+- turns to the left before it stops

please help! I'm sick of this, could the steering gear have jumped a tooth? I don't want to loose steering to the left but really need to gain some to the right. Aslo the truck is at "stock" height, which means that it is about 1/2" from the bump stops

KartRacer

Man, I thought stock ride height was 1/4" from the bumpstops.

What do you mean by extended? I am not sure on your exact situation, but it sounds like one of your links is the wrong length. Have you checked to see if you are getting to the stops? Is it possible that the arm on the box is clocked wrong?

taterfarm

Sounds like your pitman arm is off a set of teeth, the steering box itself has a limit and that is probably what is holding you back. I would drop the pitman arm and turn the steering wheel to the left a bit and try that out.

Micaiahfied

then i would loose some steering to the left though correct? when i say extended, i mean the entire frame was extended... so it's as long as a 4-door truck.

taterfarm

Are you hitting the stops while turning left?

The way I am thinking is that the right turn is hitting the stop inside the steering box while the left turn is hitting the stop on the lower control arm?

if that is so then you shouldnt loose any steering to the left. try it out if you dont like it then it is rea easy to take the arm off for the second time.....or third thats what I hear.

Diesel Junkie

The splines on the sector shaft are keyed so that the pitnam arm can only be put on in 90 degree incraments... basically there is no adjustment there.

YOu have to be hitting a stop in the box on the right turn.

Could be:
The wrong box,
The wrong draglink
The wrong pitnam arm.
Bad adjustment on the drag link.

Some pitnam arms have the angle of the keys in the splines clocked a little bit to compensate for shorter drag links, but I have only seen that in lift kit pitnam arms.

I converted my rig to cross over steering, so I cant remember exactly what the stock stuff looked like.

If everhting is origional, they could be out of adjustment. There should be enough throw in the pitnam arm to get you from stop to stop on the knuckles... Makes me thing that your drag link is adjusted too short... If its adjustable I would say that you should shorten to get more travel.

It is also bad to use the stops in the steering box... If you turn against a stop in the box, then when you roll around a turn and bump a curb you put massive amount of stress on the box and steering links and frame.

the right way to setup a steering box is to:
1 center the tires,
2, with the drag link disconnected, turn the wheel left to right against the stops, counting the number of turns until you find true center of the stops in the box. leave it at true center.
3. Adjust the draglink to fit with steps one and 2 complete.
4. If the steering wheel is not centered at this point, disconnect the steering shaft at the box and turn the wheel straight to re-install.
5. If the wheel is still not straight when driving down the road,,, you can make fine adjustments to the draglink.

Your problem might be that someone disassembled the steering box once in the past, then put it back together with the wheel 180 degreees or more out.. and then lengthened the draglink to compensate.

Power Ram 250 C

My truck is the same way. It can turn on a dime to the left but turning right is a different story. I haven't counted how many turns either direction takes. I just make sure my back up lights work and my mirrors are adjusted.

Micaiahfied

as far as i know the stock drag link is not adjustable.... i guess i'll have to take a closer look tomorrow.

Diesel Junkie

thats right.... I totally forgot the original drag link is not adjustable, that screws everything up.... not many trucks have nonadjustable draglinks. I did my crossover conversion about 6 years ago. I had to with the lift kit.

Now that I am thinking about it, my truck might have had a bit of the same problem back then.

In either case, I would have to recommend a cross over steering conversion. The geometry is way better.

Micaiahfied

i've heard that you loose some steering to the right with a lift... but my truck is at stock, saggy, level... that's why i'm confused. is there a special puller required for the pitman arm?

BBrown

Echoing the symptoms here - stock saggy font end height (I can pick it up to level things out with the front air bags, but this does not affect the steering problem). Short left turn, l-o-n-g right turn! No real play to speak of, just 105k miles. I too am waiting to hear a good solution. (hopeful short of an 800 dollar conversion)
Bob

feveree40

micaiahfied- there are generic pitman arm pullers you can use, but if yours has been on there for a while it cold be tough to get off, I know mine was. You could get an adjustable draglink for somewhere around $200 if i remember correctly. Can't promise that will fix it though.

simplysmn

I would say look into the crossover steering set/up you might have to lift it to make it work but what a difference it made on my crewcab you could turn on a dime and give yourself 9 cents change .

Diesel Junkie

crossover is really not that hard....

Just an arm for the pass side knuckle.. lots of people make these, and they are easy to make yourself.... 3/4"-1" plate. drill 4 holes to match the knuckle, use a hole saw to cut out the center, and put the drop in the cap to take up the space for the spring. A tapered end mill can be use to drill the tie rod end hole.

A draglink is easy to fabricate... get a replacement tie rod for your dana 60 and shorten it.

There are a lot of pitnam arms to choose from in the junk yard.

I had to beef up the box mount at the frame. You can probably do it all for about $50-$100 at the junk yards and scrap metal yards.