hey guys, i got a prob where my steering is pretty loose. i have about an inch of travel in either direction before the truck starts to actually steer. Is this common? Anyway to tighten this?

also i got an alignment done and it tends to steer to the right, how does a shop mess this up i thought it was all computers? heh

 

Most vehicles will pull right, since the road slopes right slightly. Put your truck in the fast lane and see if it pulls left

Jack up the front end of the truck (Use proper jackstands!) and check for play. Use leverage under the tire to check balljoints, and move it side to side to check for play in the tie-rod ends. If these are fine I'd say it's your steering rack, but others will chime in. Check your steering shaft u-joint for play as well

 

Sounds a lot like tie-rod ends, but as the above poster suggested, you should check all of the above.

 

I didn't have quite that much play, but recently changed tie rod ends, lower BJ's, etc and my steering is now nice and tight...responsive, also had alignment done afterwards. How many miles? Check all that above and let us know.

 

if you just had an alignment then take it back and tell them and let them check it out for free and tell you exactly what the issue is

 

Good suggestion, i'll do that. there is a bit of miles on the truck, im at 110K. i'll let you all know as soon as i get time to get back to the shop

 

Also, when you jack the truck and check for play in them, keep in mind about your hub/wheel bearing assemblies. One of mine was bad and created alot of play in the wheel. So, I changed the BJ's and tie rod ends at the same time.