Steering wheel really loose

[Jeepadilly]

My 88 GW steering wheel has rather quickly gotten very loose and will slop around in any direction...before I tackle the prob this weekend I was hoping for some insight...TIA

[bigun]

it could be in the box or the linkage

[Rande]

Its the column itself. I've read here many times about folks with the same complaint. There's a screw or screws inside the column that need to be tightened. It involves the removal of the steering wheel and some more stuff inside there to get to it. There is a snap ring that is near impossible to replace.

Wait a bit and someone with first hand knowledge will chime in.

[Drivir8]

hmmm...I'v had it apart down to the snap ring at the TOP... it is sort of a pain but I got it all back together without killing anyone...

[Mike7009]

when my steering column was loose i just got another column from the junk yard and put it in. i didn't feel like tearing the column apart.

[Jeepadilly]

Just moving to the top....real interested so far...thanks

[jeepguzzi]

Do a search in the tech area. This is a very common problem, but once you take it apart and loc-tite those screws, you souldn't have to do it again. The column from the junkyard may well develop the same problem!! It is not a difficult job, just need instructions. I did mine with the help of a Chiltons' picture.

[hippymill]

is it the column or the actual steering? you can determine this by having someone(you trust) move the steering wheel back and forth while you crawl under the front to look at the steering box, and then the drag link, and then the tie rod ends. try to determine visually where the play is. on my 90 wag, the play was in the drag link ball joint, which is about a $70 part from the auto parts store. don't replace this with a used part!! this is a crucial part that will result in an accident if it fails on the road. my experience with cars has been that most of these type of problems are in the steering rod knuckle, the gear box, or the drag link ball joint.

[ November 12, 2003, 09:51 AM: Message edited by: hippymill ]

[carrotman]

I don't know about the 88, but my 76 manual shows three different steering columns. One for the manual trans, one for the auto, and an "Adjust-O-Tilt" column. If you have the tilt column, there's lots of things that could be wrong. I swear, the exploded view of the tilt column is as complicated as an automatic transmission. I hope there's something wrong underneath the truck instead.

[Buggzz]

Originally posted by Jeepadilly:
My 88 GW steering wheel has rather quickly gotten very loose and will slop around in any direction...before I tackle the prob this weekend I was hoping for some insight...TIAMy '83 Wag has a badly worn/sloppy drag link end. It makes the steering really loose and sloppy. It was easy to find. Have your kids sit in the Jeep and play "Race car" with the wheel. Climb under the front and look for movement in the joints.

Drag links are available from the Dealer as well as a few places on the net.

[The BEAST]

if it's a tilt wheel the tilt screws have come lose not hard to fix but more complicated than a oil change get a good manual and some specilte tools ( best to borrow ) and a free day and have fun