Steering box slop advice

[Jeepjr86]

Hi all,
I have read so many of the posts on here as I’m trying to restore a 97 TJ with 200k miles on it, all stock. You all have been an amazing resource and I really appreciate it.

for my question, I have a new steering shaft but the original steering box. I can turn the shaft 20-25 degrees before the pitman arm does anything at all. I also looked under the Jeep as a friend was turning the steering wheel to see if any links were bad as many of you have suggested and found no odd movement and things looked pretty good (for 200k).

I get an unbelievable vibration at 60 mph. Feels like the whole thing is gonna shake until it falls apart at the seams. I have brand new tires and have gotten them balanced by a shop I trust who specializes in jeeps. I also got it aligned.

would the slop in my steering box cause the insane vibrations because the steering shaft is unable to stabilize the front wheels well?

thank you so much in advance

 

[Steel City 06]

That sounds like a lot of play. Chances are your box needs rebuilt. The backlash can be adjusted, but if adjusted wrong can lead to outright failure of the steering.

The best course of action would be to rebuild or replace the box. Fortunately for you, the 97-02 boxes are much easier to come by than the later models. If you're running large tires you can look into the Durango or PSC boxes for more steering power.

 

[Jeepjr86]

That sounds like a lot of play. Chances are your box needs rebuilt. The backlash can be adjusted, but if adjusted wrong can lead to outright failure of the steering.

The best course of action would be to rebuild or replace the box. Fortunately for you, the 97-02 boxes are much easier to come by than the later models. If you're running large tires you can look into the Durango or PSC boxes for more steering power.

thank you for the advice! I have normal tires so I will probably just get a rebuilt one. I just didn’t want to replace it if it wasn’t worth it.

 

[tworley]

My NAPA reman'd box was $175 last year. Plus a ridiculous core charge. Takes all but an hour to swap it out, pretty easy.

 

[Steel City 06]

Currently installing one now.

Had to get a new pitman because the original wouldn't separate...

 

[WDE]

Takes all but an hour to swap it out, pretty easy.

I had more than an hour just cussing about the pitman arm removal, and then probably another hour cussing the line attachments. Neither was complicated, just a real PITA.