I had replaced every single tie rod, steering stablizer, etc on my truck over the last 6 months or so trying to eliminate the ever present Hummer wonder. I finally had enough and ordered a new reman box from Detroit Axle along with a heavy duty pitman arm. It was about a 3 hour job. It would have been quicker but I had to run up and buy the right sized impact socket for the steering arm and I elected to flush all the nasty power steering fluid out.

No more 1/4 to 1/2" of free play in my steering wheel, no more wondering a few feet left and right while going down the road. I can toss the wrist over the wheel and cruise.

I still need to have it aligned after all the new parts but other than that, it rides like a new truck now.

If you have the same problem, I highly recommend a new box. Its a whopping 3 bolts mounting to the frame, 1 bolt to the steering shaft, 1 nut on the pitman arm and 2 high pressure lines to loosen. No big deal at all.

Tim

 

Nice job. When I installed my HD tie rods and green keys I had it aligned twice. I feel like my wander is worse after the new parts than before. Doesn't make much sense but maybe a new box is in my future.....ugh that pitman arm was a PITA to get off......

 

If you can wiggle your steering wheel without moving the pitman arm / tires, its your box. I had a good 1/4 each way, so 1/2" total. To test, from the engine bay, reach down by hand and try to turn the steering shaft, if it moves a tiny bit, porobably ok, if it moves a bunch then it shows wear between the input gears and the rest and is none repairable. Obviously you don't have enough leverage to turn the tires but you will see the slop.

My box came with a new pitman arm, so I dropped the old unit out in one piece. I only removed the old pitman arm to retrieve a little rubber boot between the arm and box that the new one did not have. I did all this on the bench so it was not an issue.

I paid $224 for box and pitman arm thru Amazon.

Tim

 

How many miles were on the original steering box?

 

157,xxx now but its been loose for the last 20-30,000 I guess.

Had it aligned today, drive perfect now.

Tim