[micifus]

Has any one bother to try adjusting there steering box to fix some of the steering slop? I read here a while ago it can be done but has any one actuly tired it with sucess? I have been thinking about taking those 4 acess bolts off the top of it to check it out and see what it looks like inside or is that a bad idea?

BTW all TREs are new.

[ZJMAN]

With care, it is possible to adjust the Allen screw in the top of the box. With the steering centered and holding the Allen screw, loosen the lock nut, tighten the Allen screw about 1/8th of a turn, holding the Allen screw in possition, tighten down the lock nut. You may find that you have to make the adjustment 2 or 3 times to get the feel you want. Tightening the Allen screw too much will cause the steering gear to bind at centre, requiring that you back the screw off 1/8th turn.

[micifus]

Ok ill give that a try, with 170k miles on it I think it is a lost cause. What does tighting the screw do? have you done it? what results did you get from it?

[skain8]

i tightened mine a hair on my wj and it made a world of difference. i was actually surprised how much it improved the steering feel. cured my slight bumpsteer problem more than any brand ss.

just be sure that you don't overtighten it.

[micifus]

Ill comence the PB soaking when I get home I have a feeling its going to take a lot.

[Turbonut]

Never needed to adjust the box on any of our Jeeps, XJ, ZJ, WJ, but I drove my daughter's Hemi Grand with 22,000 miles and it was extremely sloppy. Hadn't driven the Jeep since the night she picked it up, but it certainly had quite a bit of play in the wheel. She took it in and they did the adjustment and back to normal once again.

Do it in steps of maybe 1/8" turn at a time. When you turn the adjusting screw, you are moving the pitman shaft up in relation to the case. The shaft has a beveled gear on it and you are moving this gear closer to complete mesh with the worm shaft. Complete mesh is what you don't want to happen. There needs to be some play between the two.

[Redbob]

Originally Posted by ZJMAN

Tightening the Allen screw too much will cause the steering gear to bind at centre, requiring that you back the screw off 1/8th turn.

This is badly wrong!
The steering wears more in the center, so after you make a (SMALL!) adjustment, check it out from stop to stop left and right: if it's over-tightened, it will bind up at the ends of the travel.
Don't tighten more than a quarter turn at a time without checking from stop to stop.

BTW,. this should be done with both front wheels off the ground.

Done correctly, this can make a world of difference in your steering feel.

[kjopen]

I did mine months ago and boy did it make a difference. You must make small adjustments as mentioned already - don't rush it, it's a very easy and quick adjustment so take the slack up gently and drive a few miles after each adjustment and make sure when driving 'straight' that the steering returns to centre after a turn is made and has no stiffness - otherwise you have made the adjustment too far.

[NoOne2]

daughter's Hemi Grand with 22,000 miles and it was extremely sloppy. Hadn't driven the Jeep since the night she picked it up, but it certainly had quite a bit of play in the wheel. She took it in and they did the adjustment and back to normal once again.

Actually the WK is IFS so there is no steering box or adjustment like that. They had to have done something else.

[gomes512]

I did my adjustment with wheels on the ground... worked. I just tightned the locknut and started the Jeep to see how it felt every 1/8 turn or so. Don't want to have less then 3/4 inch play in the wheel since there will be complete meshing inside which ultimatly will lead to premature failure.

I also found that if the locknut is not tightned down when starting the Jeep the fluid will leak, although not at a quick rate.

[ZJMAN]

Originally Posted by Redbob

This is badly wrong!
The steering wears more in the center, so after you make a (SMALL!) adjustment, check it out from stop to stop left and right: if it's over-tightened, it will bind up at the ends of the travel.
Don't tighten more than a quarter turn at a time without checking from stop to stop.

BTW,. this should be done with both front wheels off the ground.

Done correctly, this can make a world of difference in your steering feel.

Actually the steering boxes on every Jeep that I have owned,including this ZJ, and 3 XJs as well as 5 Dodge trucks and many Mopar cars, have all responded favourably to the method that I described. The tight spot has always been the centre. They all required adjustment right from the factory, for my liking and usually again at about 150,000 KMs or so. Many I owned for up to 500,000KMs.
I think that I stressed care must be taken not to tighten the Allen screw too much.

[micifus]

so that locking nut hasto be backed off and much as you want that allen to screw in?. I would think by looseing the nut you would loosent the allen unless you hold it in place.

[ZJMAN]

Correct, Hold the Allen screw when losening and tightening the lock nut.

[JayIV]

How did this work out for you?

I recently (3 or 4 months ago) installed a new steering gear box and made no adjustments out of the packaging. I just installed it and ran it and thought it fine. However, I'm realizing now that I could benefit from a small adjustment...

[micifus]

Yeah I did it today, I put it down as tight as it would go, and it made a little bit of difference. Was it a WOW that is amazing difference.. no but what ever, I will most likely end up replacing the steering box at some point.