Loose steering on 98 Jack

Cant speak for your Jack BUT most steering boxes have a slotted screw & lock nut on the top of the box to take up the slack. Dont overdo it as the box may BIND when left or right of centre. Test it with wheels off ground & no power.
If the drop arm on the bottom of the box which joins onto the trackrod moves from side to side when you rock the wheel but front wheels dont respond you have worn ball joints &/or idler arm bushes which are attached to LH side of chassis.

Robbg,

I have had a '99 Jackaroo since new and am now on my third steering column ! Same problem - easily noticed with car stationary, engine off. Grab steering wheel and turn lightly to left and right produces a sort of knocking. I suggest you crouch down next to the drivers side front wheel and look into the engine compartment over the top of the tyre. Through a small opening, you'll see a corrugated metal tube which is part of the steering column. If you grasp this firmly and apply force vertically up and down, you will feel the knock. Now, lift the bonnet and locate the corrugated metal tube - moving a few inches up the column towards the steering wheel you will see a sort of rubber covered metal coupling, maybe 50 mm diameter x 75 mm long. Now grab that and apply force vertically up and down, and I think the knock is inside !

Holden explained it as a sort of CV joint (it is not the universal joint - that is further down towards the steering box). It doesn't appear to be serviceable, cannot be greased or adjusted and can only be replaced as part of a full column replacement, as it is an intergral part of the assembly.

I wonder how much this looseness contributes to vagueness in the striaght ahead position ? tyre wear ? Although the knocking is not noticeable in normal driving, it is when driving slowly, crawling over rough terrain, kerbs and the like.

Good luck Robbg, I'm very interested to hear if your problem is as I have described.

Solutions please anyone ?

Steve

My 92 Jack had loose steering but they tightened a screw at the top of the steering box and reduced it. Not 100% but he had a hard time getting to it and as he needed an extra set of hands and he was alone. Good enough at the moment though.

Sparkie(IE not Y) ;-)

Yep been through it with a mates jack and mine, measured all the freeplay at the steering box, spot on in limits. Same spot identified on shaft, it is some type of vibration dampner, and gets a bit of slop in it which i am certain is the cause of most of the 'vague' feel. am going to strip it down one day and find a good solution to it, wether it needs plating to build it up, phenolic packers, or maybe getting the insert re-moulded in a higher density material .

Not dangerous to drive - just annoying.

Some of the above symptoms sound remarkably familar..check your welds on the rh front suspension arm..the steering box is bolted directly behind it..my chassis has snapped at this point..td 3.1 Jack/ trooper
Cheers Paul V

Guys, thanks for all the replies. After checking again today, I'm certain the play is in the steering box. I can grab the rubber boot that fits over where the shaft enters the steering box and actually rotate it back and forth. I can't see any adjuster screw on the box.
Rob.

Rob,

Start the engine and let it idle, and with the wheels in the straight ahead position move the wheel lightly left and right. There should be a max of 30mm freeplay at the steering wheel.

If the freeplay exceeds that, then there is an adjusting screw on the top cover of the steering box with a locknut. Loosen the locknut and turn the adjusting screw until the freeplay is within spec. Then re-tighten the locknut to 41Nm.

That should fix it. However, it's a real pain in the posterior to get to the adjusting screw in the first place.

There is a recall on the frontera steering installation. May be something to check with the jack.

www.recalls.gov.au