Power steering gear box

[Ackattack]

My steering is VERY light, I could turn in a parking lot with one finger. On the highway it is slightly unnerving just because it is so light.

I believe my power steering gear box is out off of my 3/4ton parts truck I had. Is there a way to make it firmer? Is the 1/2 ton firmer?

BTW, I'm also using a power steering pump from an LS1 corvette.

[Classic Heartbeat]

The short answer is no. If you want tougher steering then manual is the way to go. Why is it unnerving? If the gear box is in the nutral possition driving strait down the road, it shouldn't be a problem. If you are use to the new power steering where you get the feel of the road, this is just a little different feeling. It is the way all steering was into the 90s. WES

[mdwilf]

First of all, you have a beautiful truck.

It could be that your truck does not have enough "toe in" on the front end alignment - this will produce an extremely "light" feel going down the road - you feel like one flick of the wheel & you can change lanes. Many times if you don't have enough toe in the truck will drive very straight on a perfectly smooth road, but will wander & follow the imperfections & rolls of a normal road. If the toe is right, it'll drive straight & "correct" itself over slight imperfections.

Also, it could be that the newer pump is too much pressure for the older box. Somewhere those specs should be available.

[mclairmo]

I had my steering box and power steering pump built and calibrated together by Lee Manufacturing here in So Cal. They may have been bullsh!tting me but they said that it was best to somehow calibrate them to work together. So, it may be that mdwilf is correct in that your power steering pump is not putting out the correct pressure to work best with your steering box. You may want to speak with Lee Manufacturing or some other steering specialist to see if they can help you out. You may need a different pump or box.

[OhOneWS6]

I used a steering gear out of a 73 & up truck. It's 3.5 lock to lock instead of 4.5 The steering feels much firmer but that could also be attributed to the front end rebuild I did at the same time. I believe it is a combination of both. Before anyone says it, the turning radius is the same as with the 72 gear. It hits the steering stops on both sides.

[Tx Firefighter]

Adjust a couple of more degrees positive caster into the alignment. That will make it steer heavier. I align all of mine this way since I drive so much highway.

[Ackattack]

Now that you guys mention it, I think my alignment have to do with it. When I had it aligned, it was literally the first time I had driven it and just told them to set it to stock (just to get me rolling). Also, I didn't set the ride heighth exactly, and I know as the ride height changes on these trucks, the toe also changes (aka bump steer).

I'm getting new air bag cups to raise it ~1/2" at full dump to avoid the tire rubbing the inner fender, then I'll get it aligned again. I'll also have them dial in as much caster as posible and make sure I know what my ride height is.