I went the shunned route of purchasing a rebuilt power steering box instead of rebuilding it. I went this route because I didn't want to rebuild mine to find out the gear was too worn to be tight without bind. So the new box has less play but still has some. The entire linkage and wheel bearings are new and have no play in them. Steering shaft has no rag joint, it's the style with u joints on either end. So no play before or after the box. How much play is acceptable when felt at the steering wheel? 1.5", 1", 1/2", no play?

 

in a nutshell..
none from steering wheel to box.
with eng running & power steering should feel like None. from steering wheel to pitmen arm.

when sitting in car eng running.
have a buddy shimmy the wheel back and forth about 1 to 2 inchs ea way.. your pitmen arm should be moving 1 to 1 1/2 inch ea way under the car..
= no dead spots/slop free play even just moving the wheel a small amout back and forth you should feel it..less then an inch at steering wheel..

when under car watching always look at your pitmen arm first..then center link..then tie rods. checking for play (should be 0 play)and idler arms also.
anything that goes bump..need fixn

 

I'm sorry, that's unrealistic. This type of recirculating ball steering gear has to have a little play or it's binding. When you set them to proper preload you will have .5-1" of play in the wheel. That's not much. Even rack and pinion steering usually ends up with 1/2" or so play.

If you overtighten the sector shaft, you can make it feel like it has less play in the wheel, but then the car will wander and require constant input from the wheel, not straight cruising.

 

Double post sorry

 

So could this add a bit more sensitivity to steering the car? I ask because if there is a point I can get closer to being able to toss this car immediately into a corner sideways, then I'd like to be able to tune for it. Can this cause excess wear though? I'm looking into a 10:1 aftermarket, but if I can tune it further, let's say, when I'm at the track I can raise the sensitivity, and when I leave add the play back. What do you think?

Also, is there a reason my wheel feels tight just barely holding the wheel against going clockwise. But if I turn clockwise, it's super easy. I will check my steering components after work. thanks.

 

Over tightening keeps the wheel from returning to center. There is too much friction to overcome the natural tendencies to recenter due to the caster.

 

~0.5" of play is what I believe I have in the steering wheel. With the vehicle jacked up and turning/wiggling the wheel that is what I "felt." When driving it returns to center and offers an amount of resistance between the 11 and 1 o'clock position. Everything before and after the box is new and tight and I didn't want to start looking for a solution to something that was not really a problem. Before I installed the box I played with the pitman arm shaft and it felt as other threads and YouTube videos had described.

 

The main complaint I gave heard about the rebuilt units is that they don't set the shaft preloads correctly. It sounds like yours is pretty good, but it's always possible it could be better. Having the power be more on one side rather than the other sounds like an issue with internal seals, but I don't know what exactly.
This type of steering only gets so good, that's the reason there's rack and pinion.

 

Is my post diff? 1 to 2 inch of movement that wheel
and 1 to 1 1/2 under car....is that not .5 (1/2)" under car difference....
with out slop or dead spots.....
just asking....

 

Sorry arctic, just misread your post, was thinking you were saying to look for zero play in the wheel.