steering wheel wont return to center?

7inchstack

7inchstack

diesel dork
Joined
Dec 14, 2008
Messages
513
alright so ill start off by saying i have replaced everything in my front end got it aligned and felt good. i then pulled my motor and the truck sat for a year in a half while it sat i put new ball joints in it. put the truck back together and now the steering wheel wont even try returning to center, like i can turn the wheel and it will just stay in that same spot while driving. i pulled the tie rod of and each knuckle feels tight but not tight enough to cause this (so i think). power steering fluid is good, hoses are good. what could this be?? steering box is about 3 years old but only has maybe 6,000 miles. could my power steering pump be weak? im completely stumped and honestly can barley drive the truck.
 
ryan i put the box it out of petes truck and it did the same thing and was also super easy to turn easy, one finger then wouldnt stop until the other lock... box is not right..
 
mine is hard to turn. my CR i can turn with one finger this thing definitly is hard to turn. i just dont no how it coulda gone bad by sitting? it was fine when i parked it. i pluged the lines and everything.
 
thats the only reason i dont think its the box, because it was fine then once i got it running it was all messed up. and the only thing i changed was ball joints and just putting the pump back on the engine.
 
Did you torque the ball joints, did you get it aligned after doing them? With new ball joints the camber and/or caster may have changed.
 
Might be air in the power steering pump?? Just a guess.

And yeah I would definitely get it aligned again if you put new ball joints in.. Can you see if something is binding/rubbing up on anything.

Also check your vacuum hoses coming off the pump.
 
Like Brett said. My money is on the ball joints. I had the same problem with mine. Pop the tie rod off each spindle and get the wheel off the ground you should be able to turn the spindle pretty easy. If its hard get a new set of ball joints and torque them.
 
i pulled the tie rod off and did that and its not hard. and what you mean torque them? didnt no you could over tighten them?
 
i had the same problem on a truck i just bought. toe in was 3 1/2 inches way off. wherever u turned the wheel it would stay. it would not recenter. might take a look at that. possibly it got out of adjustment when the tie rod ends were pulled off.
 
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I'va had a few Saginaw boxes due this after sitting for a long time. Usually something is not letting the fluid return work properly causing too much pressure in the box forcing the worm and sector gears to bind. Could be a sticky valve on the return line located underneath the line fitting on the box.
 
is there anyway to test the pressure the pump is putting out? or would i have to rig something up inline.

Nick B, thats what i thought, i took it back to the aligntment shop and they said its ok.
 
if you took it to the same shop i did they suck ryan...... pete took this same box there 5 times..lol
 
is there any chance that you stuck the truck on a trailer while it was down, and for some reason put just one chain over the front axle to tie it down? I did this once and when I tightened down the chain it was putting stress on the steering stabilizer and bent it... but not enough to notice... until you tried steering it and it felt hard to steer and would not return to straight. Just a stupid bent stabilizer shock was completely screwing up everything just like you are describing. good luck.
 
would that shop start with a M? and be next to 76 gas in town? ill check the stabilizer. its a possibilty i have trailered it a few times recently.
 
lol ya, just pop the two bolts/nuts off and pull the stabilizer off and see if it helps... quick and easy thing to rule out. good luck ryan
 
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