Steering question

Hey everyone, so I am about to go outside and do an alignment right now and I wanted to ask before hand. I am sure this has been beaten to death but when I look it up I find steering wheel correction, but I am looking to see if there is a way to tighten the steering. Currently there is some play in my steering wheel and I was wondering if anyone could tell me quick and dirty if I can tighten it back up? Thanks in advance. :usa:

You don't want to mess with the adjuster on the steering box. Go through and check to make sure there is no play in ANY of your joints

toxicwaste29 said:

You don't want to mess with the adjuster on the steering box. Go through and check to make sure there is no play in ANY of your joints

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Dually noted, thank you for the quick reply.

toxicwaste29 said:

You don't want to mess with the adjuster on the steering box. Go through and check to make sure there is no play in ANY of your joints

Click to expand...

What if it's not the joints themselves? I recently have put a EVO flip kit on my jeep and everything seems okay but my steering wheel still is not tight what would you recommend?

Edit: Figured out my own question

Tylersilverjku said:

What if it's not the joints themselves? I recently have put a EVO flip kit on my jeep and everything seems okay but my steering wheel still is not tight what would you recommend?

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If you are sure its the steering box then you can either
-replace it reman (parts store remanufactured typically suck and have just as much play.. they just paint and seals it seems.. its a crap shoot)
-new box $$ <--best IMO
-adjust it (not recommended and really a worn part coverup)
-rebuild it with seals and hard parts (if you can find the parts)

adjusting it a bit can be done but needs to be done outside the vehicle/drained,etc.. and you need a small torque dial to adjust both the bearing preload and sector adjustment but thats typically just covering up the fact that the parts are worn already.. Just a sector shaft adjustment as many talk about is not sufficient.

With engine running and trans in park, have someone cycle your steering back and forth. If there is play anywhere, you will see it. Check steering shaft joints too, but primarily tie rod ends, drag link, track bar bushings. Any play at all is not good. Even 1/32" of visual play in a part will lead to sloppy steering.

Another thing to check is when your steering input into the steering box turns, your output shaft/pitman arm should move too. If there is a delay between the two, then yes it's a box issue. If it really comes down to that, I can tell you how to adjust it, but it's very uncommon and unlikely your issue. I did mine less than a year ago (WJ) but it has 150000 miles on it. I maybe adjusted the set screw 1/16", doesn't take much. If you mess up your box, it can be unsafe and expensive, FYI.