Hi there, I have an 83' F150 and for as long as i've had it (about 2 years) it's had a lot of play in the steering. Now i'm guessing all the slop is due to a worn out steering box since there's no play from the steering wheel to the box. However, i was told that there's no problem at all, that old cars and trucks are supposed to have a bunch of play in the steering. Now my questions to you are A: is he right? and B: if not, would a new steering box fix the problem? I'm pretty sure the answers are NO and YES, but thought it would be best to check here before spending $150 on a new box and find out it didn't work.

 

Your steering gear box is adjustable,its pretty easy to get rid of the
excess slack. When you look down at the top of the gear box,you
will see a slotted bolt sticking out of the top. This bolt is locked in place
by a jamb nut. Befor any adjustment can be made,you have to jack the
front end high enough that both wheels are off the ground,use jack
stands for safety sake.

Using a large flat screw driver,hold the slotted bolt while backing off the
jamb nut. Screw the slotted bolt in (clockwise) a quarter turn, rock the
steering wheel back and forth to see how much slack you've removed.
Continue adjusting and rocking the steering wheel until excess slack
is gone.

WARNING: Do not remove all slack,you need to leave a little in the
system.

WARNING: Do not have engine running,it is best to do this with the
engine off.

Once you have the steering adjusted,hold the slotted bolt in place
and retighten the jamb nut. Check your steering again befor you drop
the front end back on the ground,in case the adjustment changed
when the jamb nut was tightened.

 

I tightened that screw today and WOW! Feels like i'm driving a new truck! Thanks for savin me a few hundred bucks!

 

Saving money is a good thing,but the feeling of satisfaction you get when
you can fix your truck is priceless.

 

my 86 has a lot of slop in the steering also... will this method work on my 86?

 

You bet,be sure leave a little slack in the system. You can damage the
geers if you screw the adjusting screw in too tight.

 

Just something i'd like to share about the tightening thing that i discovered myself is that if your driving and turn the wheel and the wheel doesn't return back to center when let go, it's tooo tight. Had to adjust it 3 times before i got it just right.

 

would it also work for a '57 ford with no power steering? jw before i try.

 

I also have the same issue with my 86 and I'm going to try this and I'll let you know.

 

My local line up shop says they charge just $25 for the adjustment.
Guess I won't pay Ford to do it.