Worth the money? I'm planning on putting it on my 1991 Z28 and want to know if it will help as the stuff there is stock 19 year old parts now

Thanks

 

Yes. Yes.

JamesC

 

Yes and also buy replacement lower Ball Joints.

 

great thanks...

 

do they still offer it in a kit? i did not see it recently on their site as a kit.

 

Yes,
I installed the kit on my car about a year ago and it is great.

 

The kit shows, but apparently it can't be ordered.

JamesC

 

Just had one put in yesterday, but I bought it about a year ago... new Spohn A Arms, new Moog Springs, poly bushings for sway bars and motor mounts Just had it aligned yesterday too, I'm so glad now that the steering wheel is straight!

So far so good, my steering was horribly used up... 91 car with 150k miles... gotta go Friday to get the 2 steering box adjustments set & done (preload on gears and over center adjustment) to make it like new

Call Spohn and see why the kit is not for sale?

Rafael

 

What do you mean by the 2 adjustment. I have done what I believe is the pr-load adjustment on top of the steering box. I am interested to know what the second adjustment is. My formula is also close to 150K and my steering box may need that same adjustment.

 

I found this info for GM steering boxes, not 100% sure it applies to ours, but I gave the info to my mechanic...

Removing slop in the GM steering box

Part One


Does your car wander across truck grooves in the road, but didn't used to? Does the steering wheel have a lot of travel before your car begins turning? Generally feel numb on center?
Having a car with over 100K on it assures you that you'll have some chassis parts to replace and some steering "slop" to take care of. Idler arm, drag link, tie rods, ball joints, steering box, shocks, springs, bushings all could use replacing when they're high mileage.
The stock steering box on your g-body has an adjustment that is free, takes very little time to do and requires minimal tools. This adjustment removes slop in the preload of the gears in the steering box.
Tools

1. 3/16" allen wrench
2. 5/8" box end wrench
3. lubricating oil

Procedure

1. use oil to lubricate threads of locknut and adjustment plug (right on top, can't miss it)
2. raise the front end of the car so both front wheels are off the ground
3. put the box end wrench on the locknut
4. use allen wrench to hold the adjustment plug at the top of the box
5. holding the allen wrench stationary, loosen the locknut with the box end wrench several turns
6. turn the adjustment plug clockwise until snug to remove slack, then back it out 90 degrees.
7. holding the allen wrench stationary, tighten the locknut, remove wrenches
8. start car, run steering wheel through full rotation, checking for binding
9. if binding, repeat steps 3-8, backing out adjustment plug slightly more
10. lower car from jack (stands) drive car, note improvement!

I was AMAZED at how much slop this took out of the front end of my 131K '86 Monte Carlo SS (factory quick ratio box). I seriously doubt it had ever been done by prior owners.
I had recently put new upper ball joints, inner & outer tie rods with billet tie rod sleeves, 235/60 tires on stock 15x7" wheels, and have much more in store, but this made the biggest difference. Hope it helps someone.
Part Two:


Well, after swapping the steering box twice in 4 days, I can tell you how to do it Not that bad a job really. The hardest part seems to be getting the center link to let go of the pitman arm.
I did learn some useful tricks while I had the stock LS (like slow) steering box out. There are two adjustments you can make to a GM box. One is the thrust bearing preload and the other is the pitman shaft "over center" sector adjustment. I set both of these with the box clamped in a vise. I have tried the "over center" adjustment many times when the box was in the car, but after doing it out of the car, I can see why the service manual says that it must be done on the bench. The previous adjustment turned out to be way to tight, even though it was set with more than a quarter turn that is sometimes recommended.
After I did the following adjustments, I couldn't believe how much better the steering felt. All of the slop and stickiness(?) on center was gone. It felt like a brand new box. Hmmm. I recommend these procedures for any used box and would go so far to say that it would be worthwhile to remove your steering box just to re-set it up. The results are worth the time and trouble.
Make sure to get as much fluid out of the box before attempting these adjustments!

1. Adjust thrust bearing preload. This adjustment sets the bearing preload for the worm gear shaft that the steering wheel turns. At the rear of the box there is a large lock nut with three slots. This holds the adjuster plug in position. Loosen this and remove. Using a spanner wrench or suitable tool (I used a large set of needle nose pliers!), turn the adjusting plug to tighten it. The correct torque is 20 ft. lbs. The point is to snug up the bearings, removing any clearances. Now, mark the position of the adjustment plug and also mark the housing in the same spot. Measure back counterclockwise 1/2" on the housing from your mark. Turn (loosen) the adjuster plug back until the mark on it lines up with the second mark on the housing. Reinstall the lock nut while making sure the adjuster plug does not move. Finished!
2. Pitman shaft "over center" adjustment. This can be done on the car, but I don't recommend doing it that way anymore. The loads of the other parts of the steering system and the position of the box in the car make it impossible to "feel" the way it should be setup. Loosen the lock nut on top of the box while holding the adjusting screw. Back off the lock nut a few turns. Put a small adjustable wrench on the input shaft, making sure that the box is in its straight ahead position (flat on shaft is horizontal, pitman arm almost inline with box). Rotate the input shaft back and forth slowly while also slowly turning the screw on top in, until you can feel that the box gets a little stiffer as is goes thru the straight ahead position. The trick is to get it so that you can just barely turn the shaft with your fingers. The on center torque only affects the box through about 30-40 degrees of motion. The box should turn easliy with your fingers outside of this range. The correct torque to turn the shaft over-center is 6 to 10 inch pounds, not even one foot pound! The point is to get the over-center adjustment just right. Try it several times before you do call it done. Fininshed

After you do these adjustments and put the box in the car, you will notice that the steering feels like new again. No play, no slop, and lots of road feel. If the "over center" adjustment is even slightly too tight, the steering will feel 'numb' on center and not want to return to center after a turn. I was amazed.
__________________

 

Thanks for the reply,
I suppose I have done the on center adjustment in my car and it seems a lot better. I need to do try the thrust bearing preload adjustment.
I didn't take the steering box out when I did the on center adjustment. Needless to say, it took me a few tries before I got it to feel right, where it was tight, but without any binding.

 

I contacted Spohn and they the kit was off the website as they were out of the idler arms. They should be in stock in a week or so and the kit will be back on the site.

 

I bought the Spohn Kit about a year ago and at the time it was a very good buy.

 

its back on the site now

 

not sure if it's still applicable today, but it was yesterday's deal of the day when i was browsing.....

 

Would this work well with a ls1 setup or should I get something better?

 

What better.....