1996 Chevrolet Silverado Excessive steering wheel play

JERWIN48

MEMBER
1996 CHEVROLET SILVERADO
180,000 MILES

I had excessive steering wheel play and I was told that my steering box and pitman arm need replaced. Is it possible to upgrade the steering box for better performance and handling? I heard that changing the standard box ratio to a quick ratio would cause fatigue on the frame and possibly lead to cracking. Is this correct? What if I wanted to put larger tires on this truck?

Tuesday, August 13th, 2013 AT 11:15 PM

3 Replies

BLUELIGHTNIN6

MECHANIC
16,542 POSTS

Greetings,

It really depends on how different the new box is, some aftermarket steering setups come with a frame reinforcement kit but yes it can cause extra stress on the frame. As for the tires, again it just depends on how big your stock tires are and how big you plan on going. A small jump for instance will not hurt anything mechanically but it can cause your speedometer to be off by 2 or 3 MPH. The larger the tire the more you can damage such as the transmission and 4WD system (if equipped). I know personally how fun and addicting it can be to start upgrading your ride but if you don't do it right then you will end up hurting your vehicle. Getting a new steering box and pitman arms and having them adjusted properly will make the handling a lot better and is much less trouble then modifying the stock steering system.

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Tuesday, August 13th, 2013 AT 11:48 PM

JERWIN48

MEMBER
2 POSTS

Thanks for getting back to me on this. I'm inclined to agree with you about the upgrade. I'll just stick with the stock for now until I find out more about what others have done for this year/model with success. Plan on purchasing a newer truck in a couple of years anyway. Thanks again.

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Wednesday, August 14th, 2013 AT 6:11 AM

BLUELIGHTNIN6