Steering box replacement
#1
Steering box replacement
Hey everyone. How difficult is it to replace a steering box on a 98 4x4 Jimmy? What should I expect when I speak to a mechanic? I can get the part from Advance, but I cannot replace it myself. Is it a $1000 job to swap it out? The reason why I need to have it replaced is because there is like 2-3" of play in the steering wheel and it is NOT in the front end or the rag joint and I can't drive this truck a long distance like this. In fact, the steering shaft was already disconnected a few months ago and they found play in the box, confirming it.
#2
I replaced mine myself. The worst part was getting the pitman arm off the centerlink. Took my b-in-law beating on it with a pickle fork and hammer while I was using an air hammer from the bottom.
#3
spray down the lines where they attach to the box soon as you can so they can soak. that was always the biggest problem i ran into was lines braking due to rust. and that pitman arm is a pain. if you have access to a impact, just leave the pitman arm on that gear box and do it on the vise outside the truck
#4
The hardest part for me was disconnecting and connecting the power steering lines to it. (96 Jimmy) For the pitman arm, just use a two jaw puller and a vise. Should only take seconds.
#5
yeah i have done one before and it wasnt too bad to do. if you havent replaced the pitman arm I would just recommend doing that at the same time. Thats what i did and it made it much easier. That way you dont have to fight the old one off.
#6
Ok Thanks for all the tips. I got the box today at Advance. It is a remanufactuered Fenco unit. Is that good? Didn't want to have to deal with 2 way shipping with these gas prices (also with the core). Now I just have to make an appointment to have it replaced locally. The shop I go to is very good and doesn't try to sell me unneeded stuff, so I think they will try to reuse the old pitman arm by default. The old lines look good for over a dozen NY winters, so I don't think they will have problems removing them (I had rusted brake lines in that area that were replaced in September and they didn't have trouble removing them). However, I will spray them before I go to the appointment.
#7
Got the box replaced today. They also replaced the pitman arm because they said there was play in that and 2 ball joints. The steering is tight now with very minimal play (I can't feel any). With the ball joints, I don't know how that is possible because all of them are between 1 and 2.5 years old. But sure enough, there was a bit of play on the right front wheel. It is like a hair, but it is noticeable when I jack it up from the control arm (but I can't feel any when I jack it up from the frame). How is all this possible? Would adding grease at the next oil change help? I always grease them at every oil change.
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