Steering play upgrade

[Kyle123]

Hey has anyone done a steering upgrade and a steering wheel upgrade if so how / what thanks I have play in my steering 1987 k10 shorty

 

[theblindchicken]

Depends on where the play is actually coming from.

It may be slack in the steering box gears, the rag joint may be worn out on the steering shaft, any number of the tie rods/ball joints could be worn. Gotta go through it all to check for what may be worn out and narrow it down to the actual problem. Then you'd have a list of what needs to be maintenanced, repaired, or replaced.

 

[Skweegle89]

Theres a write up here somewhere on swapping your current steering shaft and rag joint to a heavier splined shaft out of a jeep cherokee.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Yeah, I'd do the Cherokee shaft swap. 1984-96 are the years that work. You'll need the hardware from the Jeep shaft, and you'll need a little propane torch to heat it up and compress it at the joint so it'll fit between the steering shaft and the Saginaw box, but that's about it.

 

[xylorex]

I would check for play in the steering gearbox, especially if you have oversize tires.

I've also had issues with the steering box to frame bolts loosening. It doesnt take much to cause slop, make sure they are tight as hell.

make sure the arm on the steering box is super tight.

Like the other guys said, check the ball joints and other linkage components.

 

[highdesertrange]

find the play and fix it. have someone in the cab with the truck running. have them turn the steering wheel back and forth a little more then the play. while you inspect for play. with a truck that old you might have several areas of play. fix them. highdesertranger

 

[Honky Kong jr]

Yeah, I'd do the Cherokee shaft swap. 1984-96 are the years that work. You'll need the hardware from the Jeep shaft, and you'll need a little propane torch to heat it up and compress it at the joint so it'll fit between the steering shaft and the Saginaw box, but that's about it.

Did it on mine and took a lot of slop out. DO NOT BREATHE THE **** WHEN YOU HEAT THE SHAFT UP IT IS WICKED NASTY!!!!

 

[Mike7ftr]

I just did the xj steering shaft swap. It cost me $115.00 for a new one. Just cuz you heat that thing up to get it to move doesn't mean it's gunna be a piece of cake. I actually had to shorten mine to get it to fit. Done in less than a hour.

 

[1987 GMC Jimmy]

Oh, wow. While I did get one bad apple of those from the junkyard, all the others (around six) were a-okay. I will say if you can pull it all the way apart at the joint where it's in two pieces, leave it where you found it.