> The book says that the first thing to do is to take all of the end play
> out of the shaft with the worm on it by adjusting the shims between the
> cover plate and the box. I don't recall right now if there should be any
> preload or not.
The book says a slight amount of pre-load is permissible, but the goal is
zero clearance. IMO it's worth buying a cheap dial indicator to measure the
end float with.
> Only after removing this end play is it ok to adjust the
> engagement of the pin with the worm.
In addition to that, the pin should be backed off while making the end float
adjustment.
> Another source of play in the
> steering is the idler arm on the opposite side of the car from the box.
> The arm and the bore it fits in can wear and cause slop. There's also
> some give in the rubber silentbloc bushings in the crosslink.
Another major (IMO) source of slop is the bushing inside the steering box.
Replacing it made a major difference in my car (after I'd done all the easy
stuff). In fact, a friend of mine has been modifying the boxes to take a
second bushing above the original one, which seems like a very good idea and
is gaining popularity around here. I'll do it to mine, next time I have it
apart.
> I don't
> any yet but there are a few places that sell bronze or brass replacement
> bushings for the silentblocs.
I got mine at BFE. As Ken warned me, they did need some minor modifications
to fit correctly, one of them needed a shim to remove vertical play while
the other had to be relieved a bit.
> I've heard that it can help tighten up the
> steering but also feeds more of the road shock back into the steering
> wheel.
I was mostly just interested in something that didn't have to be replaced
every few years. Didn't really notice any difference in shock or vibration
at the wheel, but YMMV.
Randall
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