People throw aftermarket stuff like that at a problem in an act of desperation, but it just masks the real problem (you hope).

Ask yourself if the truck drove better/tighter off the dealership lot. And, are there other 2nd Gens running around withOUT the brace but considerably tighter steering? If the answer to either is yes, then ask why?? If the answer is that the frame now flexes considerably more (highly unlikely), then, yeah, an aftermarket brace is the answer.

Otherwise, get the steering as tight as it should be even without a brace. THEN, consider aftermarket fixes from a place of "it's as good as one could expect OEM to be."

I see this constantly with Wrangler JLs right now -- guys are trying to fix sloppy boxes with steering box braces, new tie rods, new track bars, $350 steering stabs....even dancing around the vehicle by firelight in a tribal fashion whilst smudging it with sage. None of it makes any sense when the next JL drives quite well. That is, it's less of a design defect and more of a QC defect.

Once people have dropped that kind of $$$ on aftermarket goodies it becomes essentially The Emporer's New Clothes: very few will ALLOW themselves to admit it was at best a Bandaid, at worst a waste.

 

What do you suggest then ? Lol re do my whole front end again ?🤣 I know my pitman arm joint is toast and that has to be replaced so I'm going to do that. If a steering brace will even take off a inch of slop then I'd be happy . I just feel like these trucks were a terrible design and it will never be perfect but every little bit helps.

 

i dont do any off roading on purpose but there might be a time where I need to crawl around in 4wd. I've seen the DOR braces and there nice but I agree with the exchange and shipping 400 bucks is to much for me , I think I might try the 100 dollar one on Amazon. Get a new pitman arm and see how it is. If it even takes a inch out of the slop I'd be happy. Every inch counts.

 

I suggest finding the actual cause of the problem and addressing it. Climb under the truck with a helper rocking the wheel and confirm it's definitely not tie rod, drag link or track bar. Then confirm it's not the steering shaft from firewall to box. Also hold the steering shaft and make sure it's not in the column itself when the wheel is rocked (unlikely but easy to check).

If you rule out all of that you should be able to see it's in the gear: the input should turn "some" but that doesn't translate to movement of the sector shaft. Then, it's your steering gear. So I'd put your $$ there with a Blue Top or similar

 

The dinky little steering shaft does kind of move a bit if you grab it and pull. There is slop in pitman arm joint its toast...from the big tires being pulled around. That's why I was considering a brace aswell to help with the weight of the bigger tires , I feel like these 33s are just gonna constantly cause me grief with the front end and steering box. Blue top box is a cheaper red head ? Lol.

 

So should I not try tightening up the box ? Or the damage is done

 

Get under the truck with the key on(so you can move the steering shaft from underneath). You then can see if there is slop in the steering gear or elsewhere. Since you know of one worn part there may be others. Keep in mind when adjusting the steering gear you don't want to adjust it with the wheel in the center. This is where most of the wear is on the gears inside, If you adjust it in the middle it will bind when turning lock to lock. Another thing to consider is that they do not replace or regrind the worn gears in "rebuilt" boxes. This subject was brought up on another post that's why people have found they still have slop with rebuilt boxes.

 

Ya I might not touch it then. I just can't belive how fast the front end got chewed up. The truck is not a daily driver, I probably have 40xxx km on the front end and couple boots are already toast..my big tires are part of the problem I imagine hence why I thought a steering brace may help me out a bit

 

Have the same issue. The truck drives like a hay wagon. It will head off in another direction at a whim. Sometimes I wonder if it saw a hot mate and is looking to mingle... I tried a new OEM steering box and steering box brace with zero improvement. I don't have time to mess with it, and I cannot find anyone competent to fix it near the farm. If you find a fix that works for yours, I will have a wrench monkey do the same for mine.

 

If changing the box didn't help at all, then it's likely your problem lies elsewhere.... Need to inspect the steering, from the wheel, out to the tires, and see where the slop is.