Basically the problem is all road imperfections are fed right through the steering, and you constantly need to correct the steering so you don't end up hitting anything. There's a lot of play in my steering wheel, even after replacing the pitman arm and the linkage.

When I took it in to centre the steering at an alignment shop, I was told my steering gear needs to be changed, and that this is a common problem with these trucks utilising recirculating ball steering. $600+ for a steering box is just ludicrous! Any element of truth in what I have been told, as far as this being a common issue? Thanks!

 

You should only tighten it a little, and if that doesn't fix the issue, then a worn steering box is indeed the issue. $600 is a little retarded though.

The main problem here is going to be the labor on it. It's way up there, and there is a bunch of stuff in the way. I'm betting that's where the $600 came from.

 

Many thanks for the info!

Just done some reading up, and looked in the service manual I have from Mitsu. I understand if it's overtightened, the steering will not centre after you take a turn and more effort will be required to steer. Is there any other harm that may result from over-tightening?

I usually do my own wrenching and while I'm tempting to get a professional to do it, I'm not at all impressed with the level of work that's done here. I didn't have the right 'tools' to replace the pitman arm, and I reckoned I would need to get the steering aligned after the job, so I took it to a 'professional'. Instead of using a pitman arm puller to remove it, which I thought they would, they hammered the living day lights out of it - something I could have done myself. So I'm going to adjust this myself. Thanks again!