steering problems

[Farmboy]

Ok, so I got my new leaf springs put under the front of my truck... Have one problem though. The steering is messed up. I can get it to turn almost all the way to the right but I can't get it to turn left at all. actually it won't even go all the way straight. is there some way that I messed up the indexing of the pitman arm or something. It steered fine before I took it to the frame shop, and I didn't check it when I got it home... I just backed it straight in the garage off the trailer. So I am thinking I screwed something up when I was putting the leaf springs on. Any suggestions?

[Ace]

Has the pitman arm been removed?

[burnt_servo]

isn't the pitman arm " keyed " with a really wide spline to the shaft ?

what about the bracket , or frame holding the steering box being broken ?

[IowaCummins]

isn't the pitman arm " keyed " with a really wide spline to the shaft ?

what about the bracket , or frame holding the steering box being broken ?

if i remember right its splines all teh way around but four splines are different so that you can posision it in four different ways so i would try putting the wheels straight then find the middle of your turing revoulutions adn then puit it back on. thats what i would do

[Ace]

if i remember right its splines all teh way around but four splines are different so that you can posision it in four different ways...

Yep, that's the deal, so I suppose if you somehow managed to put it back together 90 degrees off you might see the behavior Farmboy is describing.

I'd be going back there with a baseball bat if the frame shop that was working on it actually accomplished that trick without even checking it before returning the truck.

[Farmboy]

I don't belive that they took it apart, but they might have. I will look and see if it looks like they took it off. I wanted to take it apart to see what kind of movement I get with out the wheels hooked to it.... now just for some more time to work on it

[PToombs]

I wonder if somebody clocked it before. I did a little figuring on it, and it sounds like when it was lifted, it pulled the wheels to the right. To compensate the wheel had to be turned left to be straight, which is where you are at. And the gearbox is all the way left now.
How much did the front come up? It had to come up a long ways for that to happen.

[Farmboy]

The new "stock" springs only lifted it up about an inch or so. So i don't think that would be the issue.

[PToombs]

Right, shouldn't bother that much!

[Ace]

Without addressing the geometry (drop pitman), an inch of lift equals about 30 degrees of steering wheel arc, by my estimation....

[Farmboy]

Well I am going to tear into the steering box tonight and see what I find. Any advice on what to watch out for as I go in?

[Ace]

You will probably know right away whether or not they had the draglink/pitman off. It will either come apart easily, or it won't.

[Farmboy]

Well, I started by taking the top of the steering box off and found out that the pinion gear (which has three teeth) was broke. The center tooth broke off in the accident and either the trip to the frame shop or the jolting on the frame machine made the piece of gear drop down and bind everything up. Took a magnet and pulled the chunk out of there and everything turned nice and free. So I am going to go to the local Pull-A-Part and get another steering box. They only want like 30 bucks for one. By the way they definatly did not have my pitman arm apart from the drag link. EVERYTHING was rusted fast!!!!

[Ace]

Well, that sure explains that, then!

[PToombs]

Yup, that'll do it!