steering problems

[charger72]

I have a 74 dodge 4x4 truck t hat I just put a tilt wheel in and its starting to pull back in forth while your driving. I checked all the tie rods, wheel, steering shaft/bushings and they all seem ok.  While i was driving it in town last night it would swerve back in forth and then go normal for awhile then do it again.I switched back to the standard column today and it still does the same thing. What could it be? Could the steering box be bad? If so how can I tell if it is or not? hate to buy a new box if it isnt it.

[Charger_Fan]

Was it just fine before your column swap? If so, it sounds like you may have buggered something up inadvertantly when you did your swap. Take a close look & see if you see the problem...if you can't spot it, take it to an alignment shop & have them figure it out.

Steering isn't something to hatchet together & leave that way. If it breaks on the road, you could not only kill yourself, but also kill someone else. That's not something you want to even mess with.

[charger72]

I checked everything out, even the little rubber bushing between the column and box seems to be pretty good. Even after i just stwitched back to the standard column it still acts like like it does. I noticed that it does it then goes away for a bit then comes back. It feels as if you take the wheel and swerve back and forth real lightly enough for the front end to move around even though your not turning the wheel you can feel it wants to in your hand. Sometimes you do have to correct it when it pulls too much.

[Charger_Fan]

Ok, so it's sounding to me like something's loose. Have a helper turn the wheel, while you look closely at all the related parts. Do it with the tires on the ground & with them off (truck on jack stands).
Hell, it could even be something easy...like loose lug nuts! <---check those!

If you still can't spot the problem, take that sucker to a shop & have them figure out your problem. DON'T let it go, you don't wanna kill yourself or someone else.

[charger72]

as of right now, the truck is sitting since I got a back up truck to use.  I checked the tie rod again and it is very tight, cant move the steering connecting arm any. and i also checked  the ball joints since they are original compared to everything else and they are also tight. Wheel bearing were checked, lug nuts, tires rebalanced, steering rubber bushing. Is there anything else you can think of?

[Charger_Fan]

Is there anything else you can think of?

One lingering question I've got is was it like that before the column swap? If it was, then you've probably just got some worn out parts...if it wasn't like that, then it's something you've left loose, or moved, or mounted differently...something.

But like I said before, have someone in the truck turning the wheel, while you're underneath scoping things out. Quite often, you can spot something that way, when you couldn't before.

[charger72]

Hey chargerfan, I got the box and coupling disc swapped. The boxes seals were toast. and the disc was getting alittle soft. It steers alot better now, but everyone inawhile it still wabbles in the front. Could air in the steering lines cause this?

[Charger_Fan]

Air in the steering lines should cause the pump to groan when you turn the wheel, like it would if it's low on fluid.

I'm glad to hear it's tighter, though.

[Chryco Psycho]

did you disassemble the coupler ? the shoes have to go in 1 way only & will be loose if installed wrong

[charger72]

Chryco, what do you mean by shoes? I did get the coupling disc bolt back onto the groove spot on the shaft just like the original was.

[Chryco Psycho]

the rubber disc coupling really cannot be screwed up , it only goes 1 way , further down on the steering box there is a steel coupler , inside there are a pair of shoes , if you have not disassembled this that cannot be the problem

[charger72]

I think I found the problem. I bled alot of air out of the pump and box and it seems to be fine now.

[Steve P.]

If you turned the steering box more than a half turn during the install of the new column you may have pushed out fluid and sucked air into the box. This would be my guess as to what happened here.

The pump SHOULD bleed itself out by slowly turning the steering wheel from lock to lock, (all the way one way to all the way the other), while the engine is idling. .. Make sure you have enough fluid in the tank.