I have an 01 blazer xtreme. i bought some wheels and after i put them on the truck began wondering. i thought it was uneven tread wear on the tires but now im not so sure. my pump had been going bad for a little while so i decided to replace it. when i replaced it worked for a day and quit. i noticed when i replaced the pump again there was metal shavings in the resivoir. i cleaned it out thoroughly the first time so i believe the metal is coming from the steering gear box. i also adjusted the gearbox when i changed the pump the first time because my steering wheel was feeling "loose". I think i adjusted it too far bc the steering became very stiff so i tried to put it back but there was no change when i adjusted it back to where it was to begin with. would adjusting it too much make the gearbox go bad? would metal shavings in the gearbox be getting into my pump making it go bad? The reason I am asking is cuz im changing my pump out again and i want to know if it sounds like i need to buy a gear box also? and would the bad gear box make my truck wonder(i have to fight with it to keep it in one lane)? because i put different tires on the wheels so that wasnt the problem. Any help would be appreciated.

 

If you tighten your steering box too tight it could gouge the wall of the cylinder inside the steering box. You waould have to have it extremely tight though. A failed pump is a more likely possibility for metal contamination in your steering system.

 

how would you suggest would be the best way to flush the system to get the metal out? and any ideas of why the steering became stiff after i adjusted the gear box and when i put it back it did not loosen back up? if the gear box is bad can it cause wondering?

 

it can be really difficult to get all the shavings out of your steering system, there are a lot of passages in the gear for them to get stuck in. It may be still stiff after you loosened it back off because it galled up on the side of the piston and now is leaking past as well as binding. you may need a new steering gear, but a professional opinion may be in order.

 

1: clean the resovior out as best you can as well as the box, turn them both upside down. put a fuel filter into the return line.
2: the truck will wonder if the sector shaft is too TIGHT

 

OK,chances are you killed the gearbox. that "tensioner" shouldn't be touched, you usually do more harm then good. I bet you have a bad ragjoint. its between the gearbox and steerign column.

 

thanks for the fuel filter idea. i wouldnt have thought of that.

 

I believe i killed it too. i cant believe it though because i have adjusted them before on corvettes and i have always screwed it in til it hit then backed off about a quarter turn when i got one that the steering was loose. and i only drove my truck about 5 miles and when it didnt help i put it back to where it was. does anyone think it was already goin bad before i tightened it and i just finished it off? because it started wondering is why i adjusted it. i have a theory that maybe running the truck with a power steering pump that worked half *** for 8 months put a strain on the gear box and when i tightened it it finished it off. the rag joint is good.