Precise1 Posted April 20, 2005 Share Posted April 20, 2005 Ok, so I crashed the Pathy 3 months ago and after much ordeal, it been on the road for 3 weeks. The body shops did some frame pulling; too much with bent components by the first, replace components and fix by the second. What that means is that things are very close, but no longer "stock". Still needs some attention, but all little things EXCEPT for the steering... It has a little wander on the freeway, especially with a cross wind. Follows the road type feel but does not pull either way, and not randomly, but chatters and wiggles when either tire hits a pot hole or when cornering moderately hard. This tells me things are moving in unison... I got under today, and pushed pried, inspected, wiggled, etc. The CA and compression rod bushings look crappy but couldn't get them to budge under pry bar abuse (will change them out this summer though). The tie rod ends, idler arm and pitman arm are all reasonably solid with no lateral or vertical play noticable. What I did find was strange to me; with the tires straight there was very little play, period. With the tires cranked either direction (slightly worse in the passenger direction) there was slop in the steering box system, ie the tires would move some in unison without the steering shaft turning (with a barely audible "clonk" coming from the box). What I surmise is that the steering box/steering arm shaft is damaged/bent from when they had the truck chained down, and were torquing the front frame ears around. Maybe it is as simple as a smashed worm gear ? Not to sure about that, but I turned it in 1/3 turn (freewheeling... I'm used to some feeling of contact) and will see tomorrow, but it didn't seem to make much of a difference. I've never dissected/rebuilt a steering box and the manual is useless. My questions are has anyone ever experienced something like this ? Anyone ever replace their steering box/arm; it doesn't seeem that hard (I plan on doing both for good luck unless the arm passes inspection) but do's and dont's are appreciated. Anyone ever rebuild their steering box ? You get the picture... Help and input appreciated. Thanks ! Bernard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88pathoffroad Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 I had to swap out my old steering box...it started leaking like a seive, no exaggeration. The swap's pretty direct, unbolt, take off, replace...if you do end up replacing it, make sure you get one that's an exact match from a near-same-year vehicle, cause the steering boxes are different between 89-90-93, I do believe. I have schematics of how the 87-89 steering box works, you can find more here: http://www.Nissan-techinfo.com/Nissan/refg...thfinder/ST.pdf Page 18 is the beginning of the steering box info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diesel Boy Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 Just out of interest for you, it is normal to have more free play in the steering box with the wheels turned than with them straight ahead. Not a whole lot more though. I would get your wheel alignment redone, they may have messed it up when they set it after your crash. Following/wandering over the road is a sure sign the camber is out, probably on the negative side. Get that checked before you do any replacing of parts i reckon!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Pickles Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 I'd second the alignment issue, and suggest having it done before replacing probably spendy parts. After a decent front end crash, suspension parts can be thrown way out of whack. But in any case, if you go that route, see if they will warranty the alignment. Some shops locally will do so. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Getalilmudonthetires Posted April 21, 2005 Share Posted April 21, 2005 I dont know very much about pathfinders just got mine but i had a mechanic look at my front end cuase it has a little play nad he told me it was the center link in the steering but im not tosure if thats any help to ya good luck hope ya find ur fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted April 21, 2005 Author Share Posted April 21, 2005 Thanks for the near same year info and schematic link 88, I didn't remember to look there... I also didn't know that there is usually more play with the tires cranked, I never noticed that on any vehicle before; is seems like more than would be normal though. Turning in the worm gear helped some, but didn't take care of it completely. Yes, I had it aligned a few weeks back but it was at a convenient chain store and I didn't get that warm, fuzzy feeling that they did a good job. I'll have to search around for a good independant shop, I always have better luck with them... Thanks for the input guys ! B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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