Sloppy Steering (1 Viewer)

[neilhernandez92]

Noob here, my 72 FJ40 has about 2" of play in the steering wheel. Meaning I can turn the wheel about 2" before the tires actually rotate. On the road you can imagine this could be terrifying! It has power steering but not sure where or what it came off of but works well. I know there's a screw on the power steering pump you can turn to tighten the steering but I thought that just makes the wheel stiffer, not necessarily fix the issue. Anyone have any fixes or ideas that actually worked well for you? TIA

 

[kckfj40]

Get yourself a helper to turn the wheel while you look at the entire steering linkage. It could be any item(s) like a bad tie rod(s), the drag link, the center arm, etc. You need to identify where the play is first before you can solve it. My steering is pretty tight but I've also replaced all the joints, rebuilt the center arm and installed a new rag joint on the column. After I did all that I then adjusted the steering box. Before all of this it wandered all over the place. Tracks very nicely now.

 

[rainingagain]

Get yourself a helper to turn the wheel while you look at the entire steering linkage. It could be any item(s) like a bad tie rod(s), the drag link, the center arm, etc. You need to identify where the play is first before you can solve it. My steering is pretty tight but I've also replaced all the joints, rebuilt the center arm and installed a new rag joint on the column. After I did all that I then adjusted the steering box. Before all of this it wandered all over the place. Tracks very nicely now.

This right here. Do it with the wheels on the ground. Get a buddy/kid/wife to run the wheel back and forth through that 2 inches of play while you stare at the steering components. You'll see pretty quickly what is loose with that much play in the wheel.

Edit: in case it's not obvious, engine off also.

 

[bhsdriller]

got any pics of the power steering setup they used?

 

[neilhernandez92]

got any pics of the power steering setup they used?

It's in the shop as we speak getting a new transfer case, but as soon as I get it back, i'll shoot some pics.