I have had the front end of my 85 iroc done and it still seems a little loose. Mechanic said it was steering gear box? and that it is worn and that is where the play is. Is there anyway to tighten it up without buying a new unit/ how bad would it need to be before you bought one

thanks, Tom

 

I would check the joints on the centerlink and tie-rod ends as well as the ragjoint before I assumed any slop was due to the steering box.

You *may* be able to get away with tightening the worm bearing preload on the steering box to get rid of slop, but beware: if you overdo it, you can and will destroy the gear. This is the little adjustment on top of the gearbox. You loosen the 5/8" jam nut, and use a 3/8" Allen wrench to adjust the preload.

 

How do you know how much to tighten? My slop is a few degrees in either direction. I just had an alignment done, and it's still not quite right, and I think that this is at fault because the steering wheel may look centered but really isn't.