This might be a dumb question, im not really sure but my gsl se doesnt have power steering anymore and the wheel has about an inch and half of play in it before it starts to turn either way. Im wondering if this was because the power steering was removed and if I can get rid of that play without putting p/s back in ?

 

look at all of the front steering assembly. most likley the idler arm has play, get it up on some ramps and have an assistant turn the wheel back and forth and look for play in the steering gear assembly, you will find the loose of worn part. this needs to be done with the wheels loaded(IE car on ramps), a simple back and forth of the wheel and look for parts that are not moving with the assembly, sloppy parts and popping noises are the sigh of worn parts

 

^Agreed, thats a good place to start. One thing to keep in mind though is the steering boxes on the FB's are notorious for having at least some play in them, that typically cannot be adjusted out. Replacing the rest of the steering if its worn is a good idea either way though.

 

alright cool. probably dig into that tonight. I figured there would be a little play but it has quite a bit.

 

Yeah some of the FB's I've driven had a few inches of play either way in the wheel, definatly not what you want. The one in my car is in decent shape, less than 1 inch of play total is about what you should expect.
If you are going to replace the tie rods and idler/pitman arm look into the MOOG idler arm, it is stronger than the stock one. Rockauto.com sells it cheaper than other sites as well.

 

welcome to the wonderful world of loose FB steering..

 

I've got the same issue... I had the passenger front jacked up the other day and noticed I could rotate the wheel about 20 degrees in either direction. The shock even rotates when I do it. Wondersteeeeer! The idler arm is shot so I'll be replacing it with the Moog unit.

 

haha. yeah i love simplicity of the FB but now i have a bigger issue.. Its has a holley 390 and I cant get that thing tuned in to save my life. Its running very sluggish and if i stomp the gas it cuts out and damn near shuts off

 

Aaaagggghhh that friggin' bolt on the idler arm will not come out!! /vent. The cotter pin and castle nut came off no problem, but no amount of hammering can knock it loose. I don't have a torch, unfortunately. Any ideas?

Edit: After searching I see most people use a pickle fork, which I don't have. So hopefully somewhere that has one will be open tomorrow because I really want to run the Dragon minus the steering play this weekend.

 

You can usually borrow a pickle fork from autozone (open on the 4th I'm sure) or one of those other parts stores but be warned, that still might not do it, those things really stick in there.

Be sure to use a good heavy hammer (I like a 3 lb sledge) and it would be helpful if you could put a little propane torch heat to the seat just before you give it a whack.

 

Autozone FTW! They had a pickle fork for 10 bucks in the store. They also had the first gen Haynes manual on the shelf, so naturally I snatched that up. As soon as the rain lets up I'll give it another go. Thanks for the advice.

 

My old FB had about 1" 1/2 of play in each direction, my current one only has about 1/4-1/2" in each direction, been too lazy to look into it myself.

 

Bump. Mine has a little over 1" play in the steering wheel, even with a rebuilt steering box. Will power steering completely get rid of the play? I've almost finished putting together the parts I need to install power steering.

 

It's been said but I figured I'd put in my 2 cents since my experience is a bit different. I've the OEM idler arm not the moog unit and the unit itself is perfectly fine and good. The problem is the bloody bushings keep vaporizing! (Though I suspect that's due to my broken heatshield on the exhaust manifold or perhaps the pressure put on them by my incredibly stiff shocks.) Anyways. . . . point is, I had a similar problem with the wheel play but after discovering it was the idler arm and replacing the bushing I had basically no play whatsoever. If you don't have ramps or a friend to turn the wheel, it's easy enough to check using the standard car jack. Lift the front right side and try to shake the wheel back and forth by hand while watching the idler arm. It will by VERY obvious if you have a problem.

New bushings cost $4 a piece at Rock Auto.

Edit: FYI: I don't know that it matters, but my car never had power steering stock. I don't believe it makes any difference though between one that never had it and one that was taken off.

 

In addition to having a steering box rebuilt and installed, I previously replaced the idler arm with a Moog unit, including new bushings and still have play. I'll take a vid today and post it up.

 

Are you replacing the idler arm or rebuilding it? I rebuilt one once and it didn't last too long. I ended up buying a brand new one so whenever I've had to replace it, I always get a new one; they're not that expensive.

You can also adjust the lash on the steering box. If you look down on the box, there should be what looks like a stud with a slot for a screwdriver as well as a nut locking it in place sticking out of the top. I've seen some FBs that have a little brass cap over the lash adjuster, it's easy to pry off if yours has one.

To adjust it, loosen the lock nut and turn the slotted stud counter-clockwise while working the steering wheel back and forth. You can do this by yourself by just reaching in and moving the wheel. Once you've got the lash adjuster as far as it will go counter-clockwise (don't use a lot of force, a regular screwdriver is enough), tighten the lock or jam nut.

I've done this on every 1st gen I've owned but the one I've had for twenty years won't let me tighten it to much or the jam nut comes loose and the lash adjustment moves and the steering gets more play as you drive. To get around this, I tighten the lash stud but don't put much effort into it and then once the jam nut is tight, it stays tight although the tradeoff is a little more play.

 

http://youtu.be/FFjqQ7XR1DU?hd=1

 

Anyone see the video? Thoughts?

 

^That's about how much play my stock wheel has, maybe I'll take a video and post it up for you here. There may be something else you can adjust or replace..

 

Damn. Plagued forever.

 

I just did the MOOG idler arm this past weekend and both tie rod ends (MOOG as well). The MOOG pitman arm was out of stock at Rockauto so I price matched it at my local Advance auto parts and it should be here this week. To my point...my wheel was getting stupid amounts of freeplay when I bought it 2 weeks ago. Without replacing the pitman arm (yet), it's like a new car with just the idler and tie rod ends. That said, every single first gen I've ever owned had some free play in the steering. It's quite contrary to my '79 Z car. It's also manual steering and it's been spot on for the 16 years I've owned it.

 

I'm in the process of converting over to power steering. Have almost everything except the pump and bracket. Hoping that will make a big difference in.

 

That video shows about how much play I have as well. If you're going fast enough you won't even notice it.

Once while racing at Road Atlanta the steering box sector gear broke and I had 180 degrees or more of play. You talk about scary! I started thinking about my wife and kids and what I have done with my life and then decided to pull into the pits.

 

Scary is right. Good thing nothing happened and you were able to pull over to the pits. For some reason, I never really noticed the play in these 7's in my previous FB (stock steering wheel). Ever since I started using aftermarket smaller steering wheels is when I really noticed it. The play in mine was worse, but after replacing the idler arm and installing a new steering box, it got better, but still an annoyance personally. Guess that's just what we have to deal with on these cars.

 

I raced a CCS race on my old FZR600 back in the 90's there..remember gravity cavity? ****-your-pants scary on a bike.