Hello, mudders,
long time did not ask a question here but I am at the end now. I have done following:
* replaced the power steering box which was already leaking with rebuild one from West Texas offroad (with upgraded pitman arm)
* replaced the power steering pump which was heavily leaking
* replaced the high pressure power steering hose
After doing all the work there is a huge amount of steering play, it takes significant amount of movement before the cruiser steers either to left or right. What I probably have done not right was that prior to installing the steering box I did not verify that it is centered (emailed WTO and they said that it comes already centered). As the shaft is tighter when going straight it might be that the box is not centered and there is a bit of play. I tried the following procedure when fitting a new rebuild box:
* centered the steering wheel and marked the position of the shaft
* removed all the bolts holding the steering box to the frame except the lower left one which would be used as pivot point
* removed the two bolts on the u-joint of the steering shaft and removed the shaft from the input of the steering box
* removed the steering box
* installed a new one the same way as the old one was removed
* installed the steering rod to pitman arm and torqued the big nut on the pitman arm
After doing this the wheel was offset to the right side in about 30 degrees, went for alignment where they centered the wheel. Unfortunately, the play in the system is so big that it is pretty dangerous to maneuver the cruiser on the highway.
What would you suggest:
* I still need to see if there is some play in the tie rods (already have the OEM replacement)
* Shall I remove the steering shaft and tie rod and try to center the steering box without removing it from the frame
* There is a huge amount of play on the shaft as the rubber gasket in the firewall is completely gone (already have a replacement)
Otherwise, the car goes pretty straightforward, it just takes a bit of movement on the steering wheel to get the car moving in either direction.
long time did not ask a question here but I am at the end now. I have done following:
* replaced the power steering box which was already leaking with rebuild one from West Texas offroad (with upgraded pitman arm)
* replaced the power steering pump which was heavily leaking
* replaced the high pressure power steering hose
After doing all the work there is a huge amount of steering play, it takes significant amount of movement before the cruiser steers either to left or right. What I probably have done not right was that prior to installing the steering box I did not verify that it is centered (emailed WTO and they said that it comes already centered). As the shaft is tighter when going straight it might be that the box is not centered and there is a bit of play. I tried the following procedure when fitting a new rebuild box:
* centered the steering wheel and marked the position of the shaft
* removed all the bolts holding the steering box to the frame except the lower left one which would be used as pivot point
* removed the two bolts on the u-joint of the steering shaft and removed the shaft from the input of the steering box
* removed the steering box
* installed a new one the same way as the old one was removed
* installed the steering rod to pitman arm and torqued the big nut on the pitman arm
After doing this the wheel was offset to the right side in about 30 degrees, went for alignment where they centered the wheel. Unfortunately, the play in the system is so big that it is pretty dangerous to maneuver the cruiser on the highway.
What would you suggest:
* I still need to see if there is some play in the tie rods (already have the OEM replacement)
* Shall I remove the steering shaft and tie rod and try to center the steering box without removing it from the frame
* There is a huge amount of play on the shaft as the rubber gasket in the firewall is completely gone (already have a replacement)
Otherwise, the car goes pretty straightforward, it just takes a bit of movement on the steering wheel to get the car moving in either direction.