Too much steering wheel play

[TrevorPiggott]

The steering in my Bronco has too much "slop". I can turn it more than I like before it will actually begin turning the Bronco. Anyone know how i would go about fixing this?
Thanks ahead of time.
Trevor

[ChaseTruck754]

Before we get too deep into this - have you owned a 90's or so Ford with power steering before? Seems like my stuff (ranger, exploder, expedition, etc.) ALL is overly easy to steer and the steering always felt "soft" to me. Now if you are used to Fords and this is something out of the norm, we can look at a couple things.

[TrevorPiggott]

This is Ryan typing now but this is too much play by far. Trevor has had a 90's explorer and a '90 bronco just before this '89 bronco.
The steering is not just too easy to move but it has way too much slop. For example, I'll drive it straight and i can turn the wheel almost a 1/4 turn to the left or right and the bronco will not turn. If i turn it enough to actually turn, it turns really easy. When driving 40mph keeping it in one lane is too much work than it should be, because when it sways like any car does, to correct it you have to turn the wheel way too much, then to correct it in the other direction, you have to turn the wheel like a 1/3 rotation... if you get what I'm saying.

Does the steering box have an adjuster bolt deal? I'm not sure if this is one of those steering boxes that you can simply "tighten up" or not, and I wouldn't know much on doing so if it does have an adjuster.
I'll check the rag joint but I don't think that's enough to do what it's doing.
The bronco has been driven like this for a year or so and its not that big of an issue but it would be much easier to drive if it was fixed.

[Polarcub]

Not an expert here but I suspect its your steering box. Check your pitman arm too. From what your describing I would think you would be able to feel the slop there with the truck on the ground. Also check your tie rod ends etc.

[philofab]

I actually broke the clamp just below the rag joint on my 82. Have someone turn the wheel left and right and watch for play in components.

[300]

I actually broke the clamp just below the rag joint on my 82. Have someone turn the wheel left and right and watch for play in components.

This is the best advice, look at all of the components as you run the wheel back and forth. Every component from the steering wheel down to the tires can affect the slop. There is an adjustment on the steering box, however it can be tricky to adjust, and it is easy to get it too tight. The sector gear is slightly wedge shaped, and the more you adjust it down with the bolt and lock nut right on top of the box, the tighter it engages the worm gear (or equivalent). The book usually has a specification for how much torque it takes to to turn the steering wheel past center. It is supposed to be tightest when straight ahead. A tiny bit of wear in any of the tie rods, pitman arm, ball joints, rag joint and steering shaft will add to the slop, and big tires and offset wheels will amplify it as well. I can tell you with a straight axle race truck, about 30 miles into a race you can feel new track bar bushings and tie rods go from nice and tight to sloppy. And it gets REALLY sloppy right before the sector shaft breaks!

[Conversekidz]

Does your bronco have a slip joint on the steering shaft? If so you more than likely have a broken bushing in it. Suck part is you cannot buy a replacement piece anymore because ford doesn't make them.

You have two options if it is broken. 1: try and find one in the junk yard, or 2: buy a new steering shaft....name escapes me at the moment but they are listed in the summit catalog, retail for like $240. It also allows you to eliminate the rag joint.

[philofab]

Does your bronco have a slip joint on the steering shaft? If so you more than likely have a broken bushing in it. Suck part is you cannot buy a replacement piece anymore because ford doesn't make them.

You have two options if it is broken. 1: try and find one in the junk yard, or 2: buy a new steering shaft....name escapes me at the moment but they are listed in the summit catalog, retail for like $240. It also allows you to eliminate the rag joint.

An early S-10 joint/shaft is very close. I have swapped F150 shafts into them to clear headers when swapping a V8 in.

[TrevorPiggott]

Alright thanks, I'll check for those things.

I moved the steering wheel throughout the play range and my brother checked to see where the play stopped. The steering shaft moved back and forth the same amount as the wheel turned so I don't think there is any play there. After the steering box nothing moved when the steering wheel was wiggled back and forth so all of the play must be in the steering box it seems.

[baja-chris]

With a fresh steering box and all new steering linkages, I still had a lot of play that was traced to the square slip rod in the steering column on my bronco so we tack weld it in place. Made all the difference. The slip is designed to collapse in a wreck when your frame folds up to keep the steering wheel from crushing your chest but with a fully caged truck this is not likely to happen.

[Prerunbronc]

I used one of these on my old truck
http://broncograveyard.com/bronco.php/i ... oogle.html