The steering on my box truck is squirrelly. It has manual steering. I can turn the wheel about 1/4-1/3 each way before it catches.

How do I adjust the steering?

(sorry if these questions seem simple, but my mechanical focus is mostly on vintage motorscooters and motorcycles)

thanks
--Ryan

Well, I can tell you about Mopar manual steering adjustment.

On the top of the box, there's an aluminum cover with a screw sticking out (on yours it might be steel/iron). Also installed on that screw is a locknut. What you need to do is center the steering wheels, (look at the tires, not the steering wheel). Crack that lock nut loose and tighten the center screw. Don't play Hulk with it....just snug it up, tighten the locknut, and check the sloppiness in the steering. If you get binding, (check steering full right to full left), back off the adjustment a tad and check again. Take it out for a short road test to see how you like it. If it's good, double check that you tightened that locknut and smile.

It's entirely possible that the gearbox is worn beyond adjustment. Consider that it's a commercial vehicle, you don't know the history of it, and it could have 300K on the gearbox, so if you have to screw in the adjustment screw far enough to not have any threads left for the locknut, I'd say it's time for a replacement/rebuild.

'Course, this is all presuming you have a Chrysler-built box to begin with.

Roger

I adjusted the screw, and it made the steering tighter. The steering still feels squirrely though. What else could it be?

The box may be worn out, but... you can also jack the vehicle up and put it on jack stands and have someone roll the steering left to right and back while you look at the steering components if you see something 'pause' or hiccup (like the idler arm) it will need replacing, on the other hand having the front end checked out (jounce, upper control arm bushings,etc...) might have some results too. I had some 'wander' to my duster last year and after prying up on the tire with a pole in the driveway while a buddy watched we determined my right side upper control arm bushings were non-existant along with my left hand ball joints....

-D.Idiot

I live in Las Vegas. Are there any shops that people can recommend?

I can work on most mechanical stuff myself, but steering and brakes I will leave to the pros

Also, how can I tell if my truck is a 1/4 or 1/2 ton?

thanks!
--Ryan

ryan, the steering box in your van should have a ballbearing bushings (as opposed to a-bodies that got nylon or whatever) at anyrate, sometimes the ballbearings just run a groove into the shaft and it's cooked-- no amount of locknut adjustment will help.
Considering that it is a van here's where i'd start:
tire pressure-- i know, i know, but trust me
shocks-- inspect, make sure they're in working order
spring eye bushings-- front and rear. you'll be able to see if they're wasted
shock/swaybar bushings-- inspect, make sure it's all tight
alignment
king pins-- RTFSM

of course, it's still a good idea to check out the suspension for sloppiness and bind as well, that's all really straight forward.

good luck!

-JYH
66 D100
77 PX125-- loud, ugly and eats traffic up!
SoCal

what condition are your tires in?? I have had tires cause all kinds of goofy handling probs before. also is the steering set up like a pre 72 pickup wtih the pitman arm out the side of the box or is it out the bottom?? The pre 72 "school bus" style gearbox was kind of a goofy setup in its own right. The power steering versions had a "Assist" cylinder not unlike an older Vette or an older Mustang. Fine when all was well but very sloppy when it wasn't.