The steering gear box in this car was new about 7 years ago, and is the BBP box for the late model A body cars. I have never adjusted the lash in it, and it seems maybe it has a bit much play. However, as the old box wore out, I adjusted the lash until it was too tight, and the car would not self center on the highway any longer. I do not wish to make that mistake again. How does one know what is an acceptable amount of play.

I would appreciate any advice you geniuses out there might offer. Don't be modest. You are geniuses after all.

Sam

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The proceedure requires removing the pitman arm and an inch-lb torque wrench. The factory service manual spells it out in detail.

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Joshua

Check for lose or worn frontend parts. Lower ball joints will with just a few thousands of movement to make the steering box feel sloppy.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

There is less than 10K on these front end parts. They are all the best new parts. It has the big drag link, and big pittman and idler. There is not slop. There is more play in the wheel bearings than feels good to me, but they are set up as the manual suggests. Maybe this is the best it can be. It is a real change switching between the Dart and the BMW. It always takes me about 5 minutes to get used to it.

Thanks Joshua. I will read the manual and see if this is something I want to do. I was hoping there was a recommended free play in the wheel I could measure easily.

Sam

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Sam,

It's not a trivial proceedure to get right which is why I didn't even attempt to explain.

One of the reasons I sold my '67 Valiant was due to the steering. I'd already dumped enough money into the car (over $3k into a $1k car) and still had steering that felt like it had a big spring in the linkage. It was also slower than my base SOHC Neon. My E36 M3 cost me only $2k more than I had in the Valiant and is a vastly superior car.

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Joshua

Worst case scenario, you order a rebuilt gearbox from redhead gears in Seattle. I have used several of their units and I like them.

http://www.redheadsteeringgears.com

$256 exchange is not a bad price for a newly rebuilt steering gearbox:

http://www.redheadsteeringgears.com/inv ... ering-gear

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Let me drive it and see how it feels. I am a manual steering freak, and the Dart manual steering is excellent, but I have some experience with power. It will never be as good as a new BMW with PS, no...

If it were me, I would try adding more preload with the worm gear screw and see if it tightens up, and if it starts to not return as you said, back off 1/8 turn and leave it there.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Thanks again for the replies. As stated earlier, this is a a nearly NEW box, not rebuilt. It all has less than 10K on it. Getting the caster set higher definitely made it feel better. I had become used to its wandering ways, and once it got better with alignment, I started thinking maybe it could be improved more. Lou, I will take you up on your offer. I am looking forward to May 17th at Mason Dixon.

You are right about the superior design of the e-36 BMW, which is what I have, but I am pretty sure my Dart is now worth more than the BMW. And, nobody pays any attention to my BMW. The Dart gets lots of looks these days. The Beemer is a great car to squirrel around in, but it will be a long time before it has any specialty car interest.

Sam

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Oh, if you really want to go "all in" there is a Borgerson box adapted from a Jeep that bolts in. Supposed to be way tighter, smaller, lighter than OEM box. $500-700 for kit? I may do this on Christine's 64 Valiant.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I put the Borgeson box in the AZDart when converting it from manual to pwr steering. I really like the feel of the box! I had a few issues and didn't drive the car for several months between manual and pwr steering, so can't offer a feeling about the difference. I also changed the stock steering wheel for one 3 inches smaller, 'cause there was too much ME between the seat and the wheel. I'm still wanting a bit more positive caster for better centering, but I would make the conversion again.

BC

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'64 Dart GT convertible, 64 Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust (the Az Dart) & a sixty THREE Dart 170 2-door post sedan in faded blue and rust. (future project)
Early Dart Disorder (EDD) is real, and I've got it!

Nice to hear a good experience with that box. Mopar Action's article was very nice and it sounded very promising.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

I had to put tubular, adjustable upper control arms on to get caster as high as 6 degrees. I could adjust it to 10 now if I wanted to do so.

Sam

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I would not go above +6 caster. That should work well, and I am confident that is not your problem.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988