Box and pitman arm are in. But now I have a LEAK! It’s at the low pressure line of all places on top of the box. I cranked both down pretty tight and don’t think I should go further. The high pressure side is bone dry.

I did not see any o rings or seals when I originally took the lines off I was careful of that unless I missed something. Put it on the same way. Anyone have experience with this?

Edit: O’reillys has a line kit in stock.

23602827

for anyone that wants the part number. It’s got a worm clamp to replace the crimp clamps and a new end/o-ring. I’m sure my o ring is just shot and not ready for round 2.

 

Gavin, as you already know the return line has very little pressure on it, but the metal line that screws into the steering does have an "O" Ring on the and as its tightned compresses the o-ring to make sure there is a good seal. Lots of time I have seen it where the o ring is lost and a prior owner just cranks it down so tight it distorted the metal line. When that happens no matter what you do even if you use a new O ring it usually won't seal. Since you have a brand new steering box going with a new return line connector would be a good Idea as you know for sure the threads are good and the part is not distorted.

 

I wish I had saved the old line. You could see the bottom was broke. With the new one, I was baffled with how hard you actually have to tighten them. I made sure it wasnt crossthread, tightened it pretty tight and it poured all the fluid out as soon as I started the truck. Wrenched it down even more and it still leaked, but eventually I got it to where I don't think it's leaking anymore.

Also, I had to cut a wrench in half because with the steering shaft in the way, there is not enough room for anything. The steering shaft design is super weird. The metal is bent in an accordion style in two places(my guess for if you get in a wreck) and it DOES NOT telescope. I tried for so long to get the shaft off, and eventually just had to drop the box and wiggle it onto the new one before installing. With all the prying I did, I collapsed the accordions, and it wouldnt fully seat on the new box. Took about an hour of pulling and prying to get it back to the original length.

On top of that, the pitman arm came loose, the nut didn't back off any, but it was loose on the splines. Went and bought a massive crescent wrench and got it as tight as possible.

Everything is nice and tight now. There's probably 3/4 inch of play in the wheel, but it's all lash in the box which I guess is normal, and hardly noticeable. The power steering is about twice as stiff, but I think I'll leave it, It feels like a more modern truck that way. Just have to get it aligned now. The steering is counterclockwise about 30 degrees. I also read that after getting the wheel aligned, that 3/4 inch of play will be reduced.

 

I am very surprised about the return line, It only take about 20lbs of torque to compress the O ring and seal the return line. Any more then that causes deformation of the line itself. When working with steering box lines a set of crows feet wrench make the job of dealing with the line much easier, a standard set of wrenches just don't work with all the clutter that is in the way.

Also, not that it helps much now if you pull the immediate steering shaft bolt at the top you can then remove the bolt on the spline where it attaches to the steering box and pop the spline off with a pickle fork. Just did one a few weeks back on a friends Avalanche.

One thing you mentioned that is concerning is the pitman arm. The correct pitman arm has 3 raised pads s and is tapered (kind of like cone shapped) and fits snug on the steering box shaft, it should not move up and down. If it does it will affect the steering geometry and could cause all kinds of crazy thing, bad alignment hard steering excessive play and so on. I decided to check my parts stash to grab some addl info. If you need a pitman arm here are some pics of those 3 raised splines and you can see the conical shape were the steering box shaft goes in. The specific Moog part number K6654 is an Heavy Duty part and the Idler arms are K6723 and K6535HD, all made in the USA

 

I talked to redhead yesterday, but forgot to mention the pitman arm. They told me though to check for play in the column, and sure enough, the two torx screws behind the wheel had come loose again. Now there is no play at all. They also said that after 500-1000 miles, the steering gear may break in and become easier to steer.

I took it to get aligned, and after driving all day, I got home and checked the pitman arm. It was loose again. Nut didn't move at all. Paint marker was perfectly in line. Tightened it a few turns. This time with a couple of hitch extensions connected together on the end of the wrench giving me about 3.5-4ft and pulled as hard as I could. Its gotta be more than 250ft lbs at this point. And honestly. If the nut isn't backing off, I'm gonna just not mess with it. I dont want to f with the alignment anymore. And the nut on the old pitman arm was only half on for like 6 years and hardly tight, so whatever. Maybe I'll do a Jam nut just to be sure.

 

Again, the pitman arm should not be moving and if it is that's a problem. It moving will negatively effect the tow/alignment. It will also affect the centering of the steering rack plus make your steering wheel be off center and can cause hard steering as well.

Its good you found the loose torx screws, every little bit helps when fixing excessive play in steering.

 

Damn its been a long day Idk why I said I'll leave it. That would be dumb. Ill give it a few days and check again.

 

You only need 184ft lbs to properly secure.

 

Ha! Tell that to the pitman arm. Don’t think it was enough.