excessive play in steering
 

yep i am a fng ...didn't see the all things full size k5 until after i did posted this elsewhere

1983 k5 blazer

the steering is very sloppy on my truck. has 3" - 4" free play at the steering wheel. curves/turns can be really bad.

i think it can be adjusted by loosening the nut on top of the steering gearbox...but i'm not sure.

it does have a dampner shock installed.

anybody know the proper way to tighten the steering?

That nut up top has nothing to do with adjusting play its for making the steering tighter, as in harder to turn the wheel. See what's loose have the truck running lay under the front and have someone move the wheel around. There's rarely ever a easy fix where you can just turn a bolt

nothing loose externally. we've checked.

the nut i'm referring to is a lock nut on a threaded stud coming out of the top of box. not a nut holding the cover on and it doesn't actually make an adjustment. i was told to loosen it, index the stud and then make very small adjustments until i get it how i want it and then tighten the nut back. the index mark is in case no noticeable improvement is made then put it back to where it was.

i would like to confirm this with somebody else before i actually try it.

yep know exactly what your talking about. you have to put a allen head into the top and then a wrench on the outside to turn it. i didnt really go into detail cause i was on my phone. ive done it on a few trucks. seems when ever i buy a 1ton or suburban that nut is kinda tight makes the steering tighter as in tighter to turn.

for example if your turning a corner and you can turn the wheel with one finger if you tighten that nut it ill make it so you have to use your whole hand. it doesnt take out the slop in the gear box. which actually sucks cause then the wheel doesnt return to center. so you have to turn into the turn and turn out of the turn too

if your steering shaft going into the gear box is turning a bunch and its not turning the pitman arm your gear box is trashed. junk yard is full of them.

also another thing you can check is make sure your frame isnt cracked by the gear box or came loose. the k5 blazers tend to bust the frame. ive had 2 trucks out of the 5 i owned do it to me.

makes sense. i'll check the frame and the salvage yards.

thanks