Re: 105 Steering box, steering slop, et al.

[Mike Valant <mev4474@domain.elided>]

I agree with everything written on this thread, and I have one thing to
add: check the idler arm opposite the steering box. The idler arm pivot
is greased at the factory, but as sold there is no way to grease it
other than to take it off of the car and disassemble it. Consequently,
the pivot pin wears down, and the idler arm bushings get eaten up. Just
a little bit of movement at the idler arm pivot translates into
noticable slop.

I take a good idler arm/idler pivot pin weldment and drill a grease path
from the center of the pin (at the arm end) up to the lower bushing, and
I include two cross-drilled holes to allow grease to reach this bushing.
The lower one is the one which is attacked by water and dirt, and
unfortunately it is also the one which carries the greatest load. Once
the pivot goes dry, it eats away at the plastic inner lining of the
bushing, and sloppy steering results. A final note: the pivot pin is
mild steel, so it is SOFT and easily scarred, pitted, and destroyed. It
might even benefit from a proper chrome plating (such as that which is
applied to hydraulic cyliner rods, motorcycle forks, etc), but finding
someone to grind and polish the chrome plated weldment would be a real
chore.

MeV

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