1st Gen Durango 1998 - 2003 Durango's

srch4me is back in the seat

Thread Tools
 
Search this Thread
 
  #1  
Old 09-13-2012, 01:06 AM
srch4me's Avatar
srch4me
srch4me is offline
All Star
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Richland, Washington
Posts: 968
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default srch4me is back in the seat

My baby is back up and running now. I only have one issue. The gearbox was rebuilt by rockauto but the steering is still loose. Is that just normal or should it be pretty tight?


Posted from Dodgeforum.com App for Android
 
  #2  
Old 09-13-2012, 06:21 AM
Duranged408's Avatar
Duranged408
Duranged408 is offline
Record Breaker
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Upstate Ny
Posts: 1,163
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Rebuilt as in reman?
Loose is a small description, have someone watch the box for you when turning to see if the play is in the joints, but if their tight and theirs slop in the wheel it may be a bad box. Sometimes the feeling of a new box is awkward too, 100% diff from a warn.
 
  #3  
Old 09-13-2012, 12:27 PM
srch4me's Avatar
srch4me
srch4me is offline
All Star
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Richland, Washington
Posts: 968
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Originally Posted by Duranged408
Rebuilt as in reman?
Loose is a small description, have someone watch the box for you when turning to see if the play is in the joints, but if their tight and theirs slop in the wheel it may be a bad box. Sometimes the feeling of a new box is awkward too, 100% diff from a warn.
Yes. I remaned.. It was supposed to come back like new. The slop is in the box. It's tight in turns but going straight down the road you Continually have to move the wheel back and forth. It just seems like the fact that when I turn the steering wheel the shaft that goes into the box turns a bit before the tires do


Posted from Dodgeforum.com App for Android
 
  #4  
Old 09-13-2012, 01:43 PM
Sooper's Avatar
Sooper
Sooper is offline
Captain
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Central Missouri
Posts: 725
Likes: 0
Received 2 Likes on 2 Posts
Default

Originally Posted by srch4me
Yes. I remaned.. It was supposed to come back like new. The slop is in the box. It's tight in turns but going straight down the road you Continually have to move the wheel back and forth. It just seems like the fact that when I turn the steering wheel the shaft that goes into the box turns a bit before the tires do


Posted from Dodgeforum.com App for Android

Put a friend under the Durango and have him watch the box's input and output shaft. First, compare when the input moves to the output. If there is a delay in response then yes the box might need to go back. If there is no delay, check output shaft movement vs wheel movement. Typically a suspension component fails and it's hard to detect visually unless you're very specifically looking for it and someone else watching for you can help greatly.
 
  #5  
Old 09-13-2012, 09:17 PM
adukart's Avatar
adukart
adukart is offline
Record Breaker
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bismarck, ND
Posts: 2,309
Received 27 Likes on 23 Posts
Default

Glad to hear your D is back in action. You can tighten the box up too........
 
  #6  
Old 09-13-2012, 11:27 PM
Duranged408's Avatar
Duranged408
Duranged408 is offline
Record Breaker
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Upstate Ny
Posts: 1,163
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Maybe its not the box and just the installer
J/k, how was it bleeding?
 
  #7  
Old 09-14-2012, 12:18 AM
srch4me's Avatar
srch4me
srch4me is offline
All Star
Thread Starter
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Richland, Washington
Posts: 968
Likes: 0
Received 1 Like on 1 Post
Default

Originally Posted by Duranged408
Maybe its not the box and just the installer
J/k, how was it bleeding?
Bleeding went perfect. no issues there. From what I can tell watching the input moves before the output does. Adukart how do you tighten the box? I might replace the sector shaft and see if that helps


Posted from Dodgeforum.com App for Android
 
  #8  
Old 09-14-2012, 10:13 AM
that_guy's Avatar
that_guy
that_guy is offline
Champion
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Pittsburgh, PA or Columbia, SC
Posts: 4,098
Received 44 Likes on 43 Posts
Default

I'm interested about tightening the box too. My steering is just like you said yours is (albeit with the original box), a bit sloppy in a straight line, but tight while turning
 
  #9  
Old 09-14-2012, 05:03 PM
adukart's Avatar
adukart
adukart is offline
Record Breaker
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Bismarck, ND
Posts: 2,309
Received 27 Likes on 23 Posts
Default

There is an adjustment nut on top of the steering box, it has a lock nut on top of it. I don't remember the size but its around that 10-14mm size iirc. Doing this helps take up the slack you may be feeling in the steering wheel. Only do about 1/2 a turn at first, clockwise like you are torquing down a bolt, and go from there. If you tighten it to much your steering will feel quite heavy. Remember this is for the older D's with steering boxes and not rack&pinion like the 01-03.
 
  #10  
Old 09-14-2012, 06:56 PM
that_guy's Avatar
that_guy
that_guy is offline
Champion
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Pittsburgh, PA or Columbia, SC
Posts: 4,098
Received 44 Likes on 43 Posts
Default

I just tightened mine a some. On mine the lock nut was 16mm (about 5/8in) and the inner shaft was a Torx-30. I tightened it a little over 1 whole turn with a bit driver (didn't really feel any resistance). It definitely feels tighter now, only about half as much play as there was before. I didn't tighten it any more because I wasn't sure if it would be ok to go further? Is it alright to tighten it more I should I just leave it alone?
 


Quick Reply: srch4me is back in the seat



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 04:26 AM.