Last weekend while wheeling, I got in an off camber spot and noticed the wheel was very difficult to turn left. It was like usual locker resistance. I thought nothing of it and got back to flat ground to notice it get better after turning off the locker. I was able to drive home fine.
Fsst forward to the next weekend I was going to run some errands in the rig and noticed I couldn't turn left. It was so difficult to turn past straight that no amount of force would allow the steering wheel to turn. The weird part was that turning right was fine. Even backing up it seemed that the wheel wanted to go further to the right than usual. The wheel almost forces itself to the right.
Once I started down the driveway (gravel / dirt drive) I hit a bump and the steering wheel could turn left again but very sparatic steering after that. It was unsafe to get on the road. Eventually the left turn issue comes back.
To turn around I had to stop, turn all the way right, reverse, turn back straight, and repeat until I was facing the direction I wanted to go.
I put the front on jack stands and tested the steering back and forth and with no weight on the truck it would steer fine lock to lock.
I can see the PS pump circulating fluid when removing the cap and it makes no whining noises.
I figured trunnion bearings were the issue so I tore the knuckle apart to find the bearings were not broken but not easy to turn. I also noticed that the inner axle seal had a tear in it so there was gear oil and grease mix in the knuckle. The only other thing I can think that might be related is that I turned the adjustment screw on the steering box 1/4 turn to remove steering wheel slop prior to running errands.
Can anyone help here? I'm currently replacing the trunnion bearings and have ordered a new steering box. Is there anything else I could be missing? Thanks in advance!
Truck is 1994 with 313k miles on it. 37" tires.
Fsst forward to the next weekend I was going to run some errands in the rig and noticed I couldn't turn left. It was so difficult to turn past straight that no amount of force would allow the steering wheel to turn. The weird part was that turning right was fine. Even backing up it seemed that the wheel wanted to go further to the right than usual. The wheel almost forces itself to the right.
Once I started down the driveway (gravel / dirt drive) I hit a bump and the steering wheel could turn left again but very sparatic steering after that. It was unsafe to get on the road. Eventually the left turn issue comes back.
To turn around I had to stop, turn all the way right, reverse, turn back straight, and repeat until I was facing the direction I wanted to go.
I put the front on jack stands and tested the steering back and forth and with no weight on the truck it would steer fine lock to lock.
I can see the PS pump circulating fluid when removing the cap and it makes no whining noises.
I figured trunnion bearings were the issue so I tore the knuckle apart to find the bearings were not broken but not easy to turn. I also noticed that the inner axle seal had a tear in it so there was gear oil and grease mix in the knuckle. The only other thing I can think that might be related is that I turned the adjustment screw on the steering box 1/4 turn to remove steering wheel slop prior to running errands.
Can anyone help here? I'm currently replacing the trunnion bearings and have ordered a new steering box. Is there anything else I could be missing? Thanks in advance!
Truck is 1994 with 313k miles on it. 37" tires.
