Steering Play

[DBcooper]

A while back I put a new steering rack and steeda bumpsteer kit on my 05 GT (along with gt500 control arms/ball joints, ford performance handling pack, and rear upper and lower control arms). Everything suspension-wise was new, and the car felt great.

Last weekend I put a BMR k member and 1&3/4" kooks longtubes on. I didn't have a lot of clearance with the headers, but I moved the engine over until I split the difference between the frame rail on the passenger side and the steering shaft on the driver side. I've probably got 3/8" to spare on each side.

Now I've got about 1/2" of steering play or better. I took the steering shaft off today. All the U joints feel tight. Then I had the wife move the wheel back and forth after putting the shaft back on. There was no visible play in the steering shaft. When I installed the k-member, I tied the steering rack up to the front sway bar. Is it possible I damaged the tie rods or the rack itself when I did this? There can't be 500 miles on it.

 

[Juice]

Check all bolts/nuts. Sounds like something is lose.

 

[DBcooper]

I checked all 3 bolts on the steering shaft. And the pinch bolts on the spindles for the ball joints. Everything seems tight.

Fwiw, when I put my control arms into the new k member the fit was just stupid tight. I didn’t know if I was going to get them pounded in. Is it possible I damaged something in the control arms causing the play?

 

[DBcooper]

Just went down again with the car on jack stands and had the wife wiggle the steering wheel again. The outer tie rods are moving with the steering wheel. I would think that would rule out the steering wheel and steering shaft. Doesn’t make sense to me

 

[07 Boss]

Did you mark the steering shaft before you installed the headers? They have to be clocked a certain way for all the bolts to actually work correctly if my memory serves me. I think the bolt at the little u-joint is the connection I'm referring to. If it's clocked the wrong way it may seem as if the bolt is secure but the connection is not. If I remember correctly the threads are only on one side of that joint. If you put the bolt in that side first the backside will be loose no matter how tight you tighten the bolt. It should slide through the joint and the threads should be on the back side. Does that make sense?

 

[07 Boss]

Did you just undo the center bolt in the steering shaft? Take it out and put it in from the other side.

 

[DBcooper]

Did you just undo the center bolt in the steering shaft? Take it out and put it in from the other side.

There are 3 bolts on the shaft. I took the middle one out and the one closest to the firewall out. I made sure to mark the shaft before removing it. I also took the bottom bolt out and made sure it was oriented correctly.

 

[golkhl]

Did you double check the bolts that hold the steering rack to the k-member?

 

[DBcooper]

Did you double check the bolts that hold the steering rack to the k-member?

yeah I double checked the torque on those. After work today, I may torque the control arms at ride height and see if that makes a difference. I put them on the k member outside of the vehicle

 

[DBcooper]

Retightened the control arms at ride height tonight. Nothing changed. After looking everything over, I guess it’s not technically play. The wheel just turns super easy for about an inch in each direction before tightening up. It doesn’t matter how the wheel is oriented. It does it in different spots. I’m officially stumped

 

[DieHarder]

Just dealt with this issue on my son's car. If you drive down the street/freeway and have any play (steers easily for an inch before tightening up; same thing w/my son's car) something is amiss. Ended up taking it into a shop who determined the lower steering shaft U-joint was bad. Found an NOS unit and put it in and had it aligned. No more play. Still have the upper portion if that turns out be a problem in you case. If you need the lower shaft recommend OEM vice aftermarket. Hard to find but worth it.

 

[DBcooper]

Just dealt with this issue on my son's car. If you drive down the street/freeway and have any play (steers easily for an inch before tightening up; same thing w/my son's car) something is amiss. Ended up taking it into a shop who determined the lower steering shaft U-joint was bad. Found an NOS unit and put it in and had it aligned. No more play. Still have the upper portion if that turns out be a problem in you case. If you need the lower shaft recommend OEM vice aftermarket. Hard to find but worth it.

Thanks a bunch. I’ve got an alignment Friday for the k member. Maybe I’ll pick their brain and go from there. I appreciate the advice

 

[CGGuy09]

Keep us updated!
Super interesting post. I’m learning a ton just but lurking.

 

[DBcooper]

I solved the issue and want to update this post for anybody that might have the same problem in the future.

On the steering shafts top U joint (closest to the firewall), there are only threads on one side of the “U”. The bolt can only go in 2 ways due to a groove in the shaft. I had the bolt flipped 180 degrees and I was only catching threads on the opposite side of the “U” (thank God I didn’t pull the threads or strip the bolt). After turning it around, everything tightened up and felt like a new car again.

I found the answer to this problem on an older post on this forum that I didn’t find the first time I searched. I want to say thank you to everybody that helped me. My next step was to buy a new steering shaft or control arms and possibly tie rod ends etc. And when that didn’t fix it, I’d be off to a front end shop. This forum saved me a lot of money. So thank you. Sincerely. PM me if you ever have any questions. I’d be glad to send pictures so you don’t have to go through the hell I have this past week.

 

[DBcooper]

Did you mark the steering shaft before you installed the headers? They have to be clocked a certain way for all the bolts to actually work correctly if my memory serves me. I think the bolt at the little u-joint is the connection I'm referring to. If it's clocked the wrong way it may seem as if the bolt is secure but the connection is not. If I remember correctly the threads are only on one side of that joint. If you put the bolt in that side first the backside will be loose no matter how tight you tighten the bolt. It should slide through the joint and the threads should be on the back side. Does that make sense?

it does now. It didn’t then. The answer was right in front of me. I didn’t see it. Thank you for trying to help me. You nailed it

 

[DBcooper]

Did you just undo the center bolt in the steering shaft? Take it out and put it in from the other side.

Again, you nailed it and I was too dumb to see it lol

 

[crjackson]

Again, you nailed it and I was too dumb to see it lol

It’s not dumb, it’s just the first time you’ve done this, and I’m sure if you ever did this again, it would be a snap.

 

[07 Boss]

it does now. It didn’t then. The answer was right in front of me. I didn’t see it. Thank you for trying to help me. You nailed it

Again, you nailed it and I was too dumb to see it lol

No problem, I was baffled at first because I thought I was right on the first diagnosis then you said it was all good and I didnt know where to go after that. Glad we got her figured out.

 

[07 Boss]

It’s not dumb, it’s just the first time you’ve done this, and I’m sure if you ever did this again, it would be a snap.

Yeah, if you ask me how I knew this I would tell you a story similar to DB's. lol

 

[golkhl]

This thread will save someone’s day in the future…..