steering box?

went out this morning and turning out of the parking spot was even tougher than usual. got out on the street and there was way more play in the steering. turned into a parking lot and since there's way more play seemed like it was easy to overcompensate and turn too hard and have to turn back the other way to recover. replaced my tie rod a couple years ago and i grease the fittings almost every time i change the oil. do i need to tighten the steering box or do i need a new part? if so what and how? i haven't greased the fitting at the bottom of the column 'cause it seems like a different size grease fitting than the others and i can't keep my gun on it. but it seems the symptoms would indicate more than just inadequate lubrication. scared to drive now 'lest i mess it up. any ideas, suggestions people? thanks in advance............

How's your kingpins?

Your steering box lubes through a plug and should take like an 80/90 wt gear lube. That grease zerk is probably the one for the lower shifter mount. Perhaps Don can jump in with a pic to pin point it for you, that's one of those things I don't have a pic of. One of these vans I have, one of the POs had filled it with gun grease probably because the seals leaked. Check your lube then go for the adjustment. I haven't had a chevy box torn apart yet, but if they are anything like some of the others it might be a trick to actually repair anything. Good luck !

kingpins were replaced supposedly 'bout 2 years ago. symptoms are sudden, not gradual. is there an adjustment on the column or steering box? or do i need to replace parts? everything's been gone over, except for the steering box or maybe tie rod ends?

The steering box has a adjustment on the side you will need a 5/8 wrench and a flat head screw driver loosen the nut and turn the screw in one full turn IN (clock wise) then tighten the nut. Take it for a drive and see if its better if there still is play repeat the prossess at half turn adustments. You will know if its too tight the steering wheel will not return it selph around corners....

my box was packed with hard grease or ??? probably not the correct way to loosen, but i filled it with lacquer thinner and rocked it back and forth every hour or 2 when at shop(was parked for other repairs) drained it and filled with 5-20 oil and drove like that for a week or so, eventually replacing with gear oil, 60-90? when you adjust box, jack it up to take weight off of tires/steering. rock the steering wheel to see how much it can move before moving wheels. tighten intil slack is minimal. the gears mesh tightest at center, straight forward. if you can feel it getting tight at center and easier to turn everywhere else, then it is too tight. sudden change sounds like one of the tie rods or something in steering linkage is bad. i have a spare steering box here but not sure you need one.

Appreciate the feedback folks. Now i'm running a sec. gen. is all this stuff still applicable to a sec. gen. as well as a first gen? also is there an easy way to tell if your tie rod ends are bad?

The same thing happened to me, but the problem was much more severe. The frame was rusted by the front spring hangers and ripped. The stationary spring hanger, at the front of the spring, was no longer stationary. While turning, the spring was moving forwards and backwards. I cut the hangers off and fabricated up new frame pieces, welded them in and rewelded the hangers on. Been driving great for over a year now.