Steering STILL sloppy after brand new box!!!!

[Mr. Belvedere II]

Your best to diagnose the real problem before spending any more money...you seem to already mis diagnosed the real issue by having the box restored (not that that is a bad thing ).
As stated by another member there's more components to the steering system. Good luck.

Box was a Duralast part from autozone

 

[69 GTX]

This is why I recommended the Borgsen unit. My friend went through 3 oem boxes before he got one he liked. He didn't want to spend the extra money on Borgsen. He would have been money ahead in the long run if he had!

 

[Bill Monk]

My bet is that you have other parts worn out. A leaking pump won't make your steering sloppy, it just makes a mess. As to the steering wheel being off center, take it back to whoever did it and make them do it right. Centering the wheel is the first step of an alignment.

 

[Shorthorse]

Your best to diagnose the real problem before spending any more money...you seem to already mis diagnosed the real issue by having the box restored (not that that is a bad thing ).
As stated by another member there's more components to the steering system. Good luck.

2X.
As far as taking it back to the same shop that didn't do it right the first time, no way. Consider it a lesson learned. It sounds like they didn't test drive the car or they would have seem the problem with the alignment and they would have noticed that the front end was still sloppy. They just wanted to get it out the door.
Your car is 50 years old. Try to find a place that can deal with older cars. Go to some car shows or cruise-ins, ask around. When you finally go to a shop, ask them about their ability to understand and work on your car. See if you can have a conversation with the actual guy that's going to do the work. Ask questions but more importantly, listen to their answers. Some guys give themselves up quickly.

 

[condor74]

Here are a couple facts.

6 inches of play side to side is completely normal with power steering pump removed. Put the pump back on and your play will disappear.

AutoZone and most other chain store powers steering boxes are not the best quality. Sometimes it takes several to get one to work correctly. Went through this on my truck.

Changing the steering box should not effect your steering center. If it did , then it was assembled wrong. Remove it and get another or reinstall your original.

If you really want to drive with out power steering then get a manual box. There will be little to no play and steering effort will improve.

 

[Fran Blacker]

Fix the PS. Put a good pump on. If I remember you can only put pitman arm on one way unless it was forced on, same with steering wheel. Think they don't have a spline in one spot. Changing to manual steering need a adapter to lengthen column.

 

[condor74]

Fix the PS. Put a good pump on. If I remember you can only put pitman arm on one way unless it was forced on, same with steering wheel. Think they don't have a spline in one spot. Changing to manual steering need a adapter to lengthen column.

You can only put the pitman arm 1 way. If all that was done was the pump and the steering wheel is now off center then the box is assembled wrong. They should warranty the box for free.

 

[67Charger]

You can learn a lot about what needs replacing with a really simple check you can mostly do by yourself. Hook up the power steering pump. With the engine running ("off" is fine with manual steering) and in park, get on your hands and knees and look under (not GET under!) the car at the steering linkage while reaching up and slowly, gently rocking the steering wheel back and forth. Look at all the parts that move or deflect before the tires actually move. Next, from above, reach into the engine compartment and grab the steering shaft right before the coupler. Rotate the shaft back and forth like you are turning the steering wheel. You can see if there is extra play in the coupler and the box itself by comparing input motion to when the pitman begins to move.

On my Challenger, I replaced all the tie rods but still was a bit sloppy in the center. By doing the above, i could see that the pitmal was moving side to side nearly 1/8" before the linkage started to move. It felt fine by hand, but under a load from the steering box, it had slop. I also found the coupler had some play in it too.

 

[AMX364]

It maybe that the real problem has not turned up yet. In my case it was the lower control arm stub shaft mounting in the K-frame. You could not see it until I got pissed off and took it apart till I found something. When static the mount was not visible and no play showed. When driving was hard to stay in your lane, the lower mount was changing locations. It was fixed by welding the area back together and some minor reinforcement at that location, while out also cleaned and welded any areas that might give issues.

Since the OP might have supplied his own part, then the shop may not do warranty repair work.
If the repair shop tried to correct(first time) the steering being off center by changing the tie rods, then that was wrong. If the repair shop only installed your box, and then the wheel was then not straight, then they my have the input shaft clocked wrong.

 

[Cornpatch MO]

2X.
As far as taking it back to the same shop that didn't do it right the first time, no way. Consider it a lesson learned. It sounds like they didn't test drive the car or they would have seem the problem with the alignment and they would have noticed that the front end was still sloppy. They just wanted to get it out the door.
Your car is 50 years old. Try to find a place that can deal with older cars. Go to some car shows or cruise-ins, ask around. When you finally go to a shop, ask them about their ability to understand and work on your car. See if you can have a conversation with the actual guy that's going to do the work. Ask questions but more importantly, listen to their answers. Some guys give themselves up quickly.

Finding someone that can do the job, may be a little hard. In my case, the guy I wanted could not do it with his new fangled equipment. I don't remember now what the problem was. Anyway he sent me to his recommendation, 50 milers away. I was not overly impressed with their knowledge about older cars..............................MO

 

[Cornpatch MO]

You can learn a lot about what needs replacing with a really simple check you can mostly do by yourself. Hook up the power steering pump. With the engine running ("off" is fine with manual steering) and in park, get on your hands and knees and look under (not GET under!) the car at the steering linkage while reaching up and slowly, gently rocking the steering wheel back and forth. Look at all the parts that move or deflect before the tires actually move. Next, from above, reach into the engine compartment and grab the steering shaft right before the coupler. Rotate the shaft back and forth like you are turning the steering wheel. You can see if there is extra play in the coupler and the box itself by comparing input motion to when the pitman begins to move.

On my Challenger, I replaced all the tie rods but still was a bit sloppy in the center. By doing the above, i could see that the pitmal was moving side to side nearly 1/8" before the linkage started to move. It felt fine by hand, but under a load from the steering box, it had slop. I also found the coupler had some play in it too.

Also, don't forget to check the idler arm on the passenger side............................MO

 

[Fran Blacker]

Fix the PS. Put a good pump on. If I remember you can only put pitman arm on one way unless it was forced on, same with steering wheel. Think they don't have a spline in one spot. Changing to manual steering need a adapter to lengthen column.

You just need to follow suggestions in the thread. Need to make sure each part is doing it job. Two problems which I didn't expect were loose steering box,(you changed it) and the front plate that holds strut rod on K frame the weld broke.

 

[Rick Carson]

Have you checked the column coupler for slop, it can cause that exact same result. I've also seen them rebuilt with the shoes put in wrong and cause the same problem

 

[kiwigtx]

I'd put money on a badly worn out Idler arm bushing. It's only rubber, and relies on the bolt for location to the K Member - if that rubber flogs out, you'll get a ton of excess play. Like others have mentioned, you need to get under the car and have an assistant move the steering wheel from side to side, and check every joint and fitting throughout the steering componentry. Good luck.

 

[RamRunner]

How long did you drive the car without the ps pump? I have never done it, but I heard driving a power steering box without the pump can damage one. I had to rebuild my steering a few years ago, I had a tie rod that was coming apart when I thought it was my steering box was sloppy.

 

[Mr. Belvedere II]

Got the power steering pump reservoir gasket replaced and reinstalled the pump today. The play in the wheel is gone, so that's good, but, wow, it's like driving a cream puff. Very assisted and notta lotta feedback i guess I would call it. There is like 0 resistance in the wheel. I remember that it was like that before, but I suppose I hoped a new box would be just a little bit more modern feeling. Oh well.. nice to be able to steer easily anyway.. Firm feel is the eventual goal at this point though

 

[condor74]

It is completely normal to have very little feel in the steering on old Chrysler products. You will get used to it. I like the way they feel .

 

[Kern Dog]

Which pump did you install? If it was the Saginaw unit, you can modify it to REDUCE the amount of pressure the pump puts out. Mopar Action magazine did an article "Pump it down" years back. They added thin washers to the pump and it reduced the 1300 psi down to around 800. The effect was that the over-boosted feeling was gone and the steering had a heavier feel to it. If you add too many washers, the steering gets notchy and hard to steer as if the belt is slipping. Do a google search on Saginaw P/S pump shim trick.

 

[Mr. Belvedere II]

Which pump did you install? If it was the Saginaw unit, you can modify it to REDUCE the amount of pressure the pump puts out. Mopar Action magazine did an article "Pump it down" years back. They added thin washers to the pump and it reduced the 1300 psi down to around 800. The effect was that the over-boosted feeling was gone and the steering had a heavier feel to it. If you add too many washers, the steering gets notchy and hard to steer as if the belt is slipping. Do a google search on Saginaw P/S pump shim trick.

Unfortunately I have a federal pump

 

[Shorthorse]

Like condor74 said, that's normal. I don't think the variable pressure style pump that you may be accustomed to was even available back then. Someone here should know.