Hi guys, heres the deal. I bought a reman box from AC Delco
it was for an 86 TA rpo listed were WS7 WS6 F41 FE2 . So I mounted it along with a Moog idler arm. Now my steering wheel feels real loose kinda like a Caddy or something. Its 2 2.5 turns lock to lock. But loose as shet.
I did see a Z on the side of the box. Is this quick ratio box?
And, is it supposed to be loose feeling ?

 

I think I have the same thing happening, does yours feel loose when you are trying to drive straight? Do you have like a dead zone in the middle?

I suspect that I did not properly center the box when I put it together, as I know there is a 'tight spot' by design when the box is centered.

Any other ideas?

 

Well, I just tried to adjust the darn box, Ibrought the adjuster down till it bottomedout, and tried to steer. it felt the same.
so I loosened it out, and it felt the same.
Some thing is wrong. I decided to leave it where it was, and drive home,I would turn the wheel the car would lurch to the side and stay there, no return on wheel.

I drove and adjusted I got it to return alittle, but Yeah I do feel somewhat of a dead spot in the middle, and its real loose.

 

--------double post whoops

 

I'm also battling a steering problem in my 89 IROC. I suspect the either the steering box is bad or a piece the linkage is messed up. It feels like the turning radius when turning right is way different from turning left. The previous owner just replaced the centerlink, and I had an alignment done. I haven't measured yet, but dont see anything obvious from under the car. If the steering box is bad, I'm planning to replace it with a new box. Its around $350 I think.

 

thats sounds like the alingment might of been done by a blind man.
I'm glad I got my box at cost 199 woot

 

That happened to me when i put my new steering box in the TA, used to be firm steering then put in a reman. box and steered like a caprice?!?!?! Same ratio, just no steering effort required (don't like that), but i put in my new wonderbar and it tighted up, it's ok now, it's back to normal (if you can call steering with a 18 year old steering box normal).

 

oh, and that adjustment in the top cover adjusts the worm gear depth, i wouldn't touch it, they usually preset it from the factory to be correct.

 

85TransAm406, do you have any suggestions as to tightening up the steering? Besides the wonderbar, cause I think it was ok before I swapped boxes. Do you think that remanufactured boxes are maybe loose?

Thanks.

 

When they are rebuilt, there is no telling what tension steering valve they put in it. When they get a lot of cores, most times they don't know what they came out of, they just know it's a model 800 box, etc (I know someone who runs a core supply business). They just half-a$$ try to match the number to the application and send it on it's way. What came out of it probably went back in.
BTW, standard 15" wheel cars came with less steering tension than a 16" wheel car, or "performance suspension w/16" wheels". I've got the interchange #s somewhere with the exact steering tension somewhere. I'm just gonna re-do my box with a higher tension steering valve (torsion-bar thingy) to get my effort where i want it. I'm also gonna rebuild my pump to get some more flow out of it. I'm sure the wonderbar didn't fix my problem, which was the wrong steering box. It just fixed another problem, which was the frame flexing. I can't wait to get that fixed. Gotta get the tranny in though...Also, i put solid tie-rod sleeves in my car and it made a noticeable difference in my steering tightness, a pretty good result for my $50 IMO.

 

so wheres the "torsion bar thingy"? I assume its under that top cap. Is that easy to swap out and where would I get one.
I called the ap store and said the box is defective, since it bind up when I adjust down. Also, Im goin to take her to GM to get a real alingment, so they can adjust the idler arm and such. Hope they dont rape me.

 

Oh, Gm will have you bent over with your pants at your ankles in no time. You just wait!!

 

here's a pic of the torsion bar, a 22 lb-in caprice bar and a 35 lb aftermarket. A stock f-car bar with 15" wheels is 28 lb-in, and with 16" wheels it's 32 lb-in. sorry, no scanner, so just a pic of the article i had with my digital camera.

 

Does Lee's have a Website? Can't find it. Do you have some contact info? TIA.

 

Lee Power Steering
11661 Penleton St
Sun Valley, CA 91352-2502
818/768-0371

I also have the rest of the article, pretty good info IMO, I can e-mail it to you, PM me

 

can ya email me the article, thanx
packaos@yahoo.com

 

Mine needs a new steering box also but with every1 havin problems it kinda makes me hesitate.

 

Well they might not be properly adjusted: depending on the specifications for your particular steering system, there should be a certain amount of rotating torque 1/4 of a turn from the centre, and theres a specification for worm gear pre - load, (also a rotating torque measurement) that are normally in maufactuerer's specs somewheres. I'd say more than likely your problems are caused by your steering setups being out of adjustment, and as such it would probably be a good call to try to find a manual for your setup, and check it out.

and for the record both of those adjustments take absolutely no time at all, once you have them figured out....

 

mine just doesnt adjust, I tighten it and it feels the same as when its unadjusted. Im gettin a replacement for this defective one i have.

 

Um, yeah...
Anyway, most boxes come pre-set from the factory, and i checked mine anyway. My on-center preload was 15 lb-in and the flat-to-flat tension was 11 lb-in. The problem is more than likely what i mentioned above, mixed parts/cores at the remanufacturing plant. Only way to know for sure is to rebuild the one that came out of the car and put it back in, or use the Hollander interchange #s to get one from the junkyard. You can't tell what it what by looking at the box.
Anyway, my pump is hopped up to 1450 PSI and flows 2.75 GPH, as opposed to a stock 2.2-2.5. The box is the problem. Just haven't gotten around to finding my own core to rebuild one and swap. BTW all measurements are verified with a power steering pressure guage. I've rebuilt a box or 2.