Steering box on 98 TJ

Can the steering box on a 98 TJ be adjusted for looseness? My friends TJ has about 4+ inches of steering wheel play, sloppy manners (wanders) traveling down the road, and when you look at the output shaft (where the pitman arm attaches) while someone turns the steering wheel, it seems to move laterally as much as it rotates.

Sooo, I said I would try to find out if the steering has any adjustments for slop/play/looseness.

TIA

...

Reply to
noneyabusiness
Loading thread data ...

Reply to
L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

Sounds like another problem... if the output shaft moves anyway but in a circle, the gear box is toast. I have never seen one fail in that fashion, look closely again. More likely, with that much play, the problem would be tie rods and/or ball joints. Four inches is excessive on a 98... park it till you fix the problem.

Reply to
JimG

Hi Bill,

I don't think that adjustment will compensate for lateral movement at the output shaft.

JimG

Reply to
JimG

btw... good pdf Bill...

JimG

Reply to
JimG

Thanks. It looks a bit more complicated than I thought it would be. :( He does have one bad tie rod ball joint, so he'll probably replace that first and see if the steering feels any better before having the box looked at.

...

Reply to
noneyabusiness

Reply to
L.W.( ßill ) Hughes III

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.