84 monte steering issues. please help

[TireGuy95]

hello,
so i have a 1984 Monte Carlo that i picked up about a year ago. came factory with the 305ci motor, a/c, heater... you know all the fun stuff. since then i have stuffed a built 350ci and th350 trans in it. removed the a/c, heater, all the non essentials.( this car is a strictly summer driver in Wyoming and is eventually going to be used as a street car. something that is good at the track but still drive-able in town.) now here is the question.

it still has all of the factory suspension and steering components. i have a lot of play in my steering. when sitting still i can rotate my wheel almost a full turn in either direction before the tires start to move, same thing at speed. it is NOT a tilt wheel, it is solid. what is the problem and what can i do to fix this? everything i am finding is about the tilt wheels. im not seeing a whole lot about the solid, non-tilt column. any help would be greatly appreciated. im not a huge fan of the idea of going down the track as fast as possible and not having the steering.... im not sure why though. haha

 

[UNGN]

There are multiple places for major slop in the steering.

First is the rag joint - they tear and wear and 1/4 turn is possible with no box movement with an OK one. Yours is likely not OK. The best cure for rag joint is a '94-95 Jeep Grand Cherokee steering shaft.

While you have the steering shaft off, the next potential issue is the box. With the wheels and steering wheel straight, the flat on the steering box input shaft needs to be up. If it is the preload on the box may need to be adjusted. there are videos on the internet that show how, but make sure the flat is up with the wheel straight, first. Remove/re-spline the steering wheel if necessary .

With rag joint repaired/gone and box set up properly, the idler arm is the next place to look. If its worn out, it will flop around and reduce steering precision.

With these three corrected, then you can look at tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. that will make fine improvements to the steering feel, but likely won't generate a bunch of slop like a rag joint, off center, out of adjustment gear box or a bad idler arm.