86 K10 Steering Gearbox

[crazy4offroad]

You can try 1/2 a can (coffee can size) of airsoft BBs in each tire, they will help balance it at speeds of 30 or so and up. And with 10" lift you should be looking at the steering setup and see if you need some parts there. Take a few pics of the steering arm, draglink and pitman arm and post em up, we should be able to tell you if it's stock equipment.

 

[travisgreeley]

Here are some pics, finally got her back from the shop a month later. One issue i am having is the steering... I can steer all the way in one direction, and only like 1 turn in the other. The shop told me that an alignment shop could fix it, but can i do anything in the meantime to midi gate this, there is also some slop in the top of the wheel.

 

[crazy4offroad]

With that much lift if it has the stock steering box/draglink setup what you're describing is common. Your draglink probably looks like it is at a 45 degree angle. It needs to be as parallel to the ground as possible. Your options are:
4" raised steering arm
4" drop draglink
4" drop pitman arm

or

2wd steering box
crossover steering system

1st option would work good if you plan to ride it mostly on the road and not wheel it too hard. Also works best with 1/2 ton front axle which I assume that's what you got on your K10, a 10-bolt corporate front.

2nd option is pretty expensive but corrects your steering geometry and is much better offroad. However with a 10-bolt front you would have to have the passenger side knuckle top machined and drilled for a crossover steering arm, or you would have to buy a passenger side steering arm knuckle already machined for the steering arm.
Offroad design sells a bunch of the cossover steering parts, including the steering knuckle:
http://offroaddesign.com/catalog/Dana44crossover.htm

National Tire & Wheel sells the other steering parts if you wanna go that route:
http://www.ntwonline.com/Chevrolet-and-GMC-Steering-Arms-and-Components.html
I see they have the 8" steering arm but it is pretty expensive. Hope this helps!

 

[travisgreeley]

Yea, the power steering drained out today while driving,(man is it hard to turn 40's without power steering) It looks like it was just the nut on the back of the pump. However i should be able to drive with this stock setup right? Just have some slop until i can afford to get the crossover kit? I appreciate all of your help so far.

 

[crazy4offroad]

I would hate to have to drive it with limited steering in one direction but you should be able to get by. Can you get a pic of your drag link angle? Or verify it looks really angled instead of flat? Crossover steering, knuckle and all, you might end up having $800-$900 in it. with the steering arm and pitman arm you might have $250-$350 in it. Just a matter of how bad it gets and what you need to get by. By the way there shouldn't be any slop. I saw you mention one of the wheels is loose, you better fix that soon before somebody gets hurt. More than likely a bad wheel bearing, or possibly a ball joint.

 

[79K10]

yea, i bought it for 4500. It is lifted 10" and it is on 40"s.

Sounds a little high, how's the rest of the drive train and interior?

 

[travisgreeley]

Right now i am battling with a nut on the back of the power steering pump, it keeps coming loose, i tighten it as much as i can due to limited clearance and it came loose agin today after 2 min of driving. I don't know why it won't stay in, also a weird sound was happening after i refilled the steering reservoir. It was like a grinding, but not really, and it stopped as soon as the pump was out of fluid, do you think my gearbox is going/gone?

 

[crazy4offroad]

Does the nut have an allenhead screw in the top of it? If it does this is used to take the slop out of the steering box. You tighten the allen screw down, then back it up a little, then tighten the jamb nut down. If the power steering system bled completely out it takes a while to bleed all the air out. You have to work the wheel back & forth slowly, gradually building up to full steering lock to steering lock turning, and checking the fluid/topping it off as you go.

 

[travisgreeley]

Oh i didn't see the allen thanks i will try that tomorrow when it is light out.

 

[travisgreeley]

What does a failed power steering pump sound like? I finally got the nut to stay, but there is a weird grindingish sound when i turn the wheel wither direction. As of now it still turns, but is my pump bad, or is it just something i never noticed before because of the whine of the tires. My neighbor said the pump might have burned out when the power steering fluid drained out while i was driving home... Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[travisgreeley]

or is it just because there are air bubbles in the pump, and will the noise go away when the pump has lost all of the air bubbles?

 

[crazy4offroad]

Sounds like the air bubbles still have to work out, keep an eye on your fluid level in the meantime. Also make sure you dont have that allen screw too tight. The other end looks like a "V" that rides in a groove, too tight and it will cause unnecessary wear on the steering box and added stress on the pump.

 

[travisgreeley]

So i replaced the pump and the noise went away, however now it only feels like there is power steering for a single turn in either direction. I think i may not have worked out all of the air bubbles, but she is ridiculously hard to turn after about a single turn in either direction.... HELP?

 

[crazy4offroad]

Re-check the allen screw, it sounds like you have it too tight.

 

[travisgreeley]

i couldn't find any allen. We completely replace the pump, and o rings in the lines, but still difficult to turn at more than one turn, i think that i just didn;t get all of the air bubbles out.