William Kisselstein

1991 G20. All of a sudden the steering was hard, intermittent assist and it didn't like to return to center on it's own.

I had a '95 van before this one, it died of frame rot but I saved some parts, so I swapped over the power steering pump - an adventure in itself that turned into a radiator swap that turned into a search for an obsolete oil line, but that's another story.

I get it back together and no change. Right now when it sits a bit it's really stiff to try to turn, but if you turn past it, it gets easier; there's a touch of play in it and it's easy to turn just that maybe 1/8th turn. Once it's moved a bit, it gets easier, but in turning wheels all the way to the lock you can feel it bind, loosen, then sometimes bind up again. If you just turn the wheels when it's parked, it seems okay, the pump's been burped and is full and I feel it getting power assist.

No one's touched the steering box, it has around 115,000 on it. I shot some grease in the lower ball joints, one tie rod end and the drag link (what I could reach without laying in an oil puddle at that moment). No change.

To me it feels like a mechanical bind, but what would cause it? I have a full set of ball joints to put in it, outer tie rod ends, and will probably buy the inners and sleeves and do that all in one shot. Everything looks okay under there, but who knows. Not looking forward to that level of pain in the behind.

Don't want to do a steering box, either, because I would have to go buy a used one - didn't keep that, how often do they go bad? I sold my folks' '95 C1500 last fall that had 320,000 miles on the untouched steering box.



I did drive it a very long time (almost a year) on warped rotors, they would get worse the hotter they got to the point that when really hot they'd shake the front back and forth once in a while - I simply didn't realize that's what it was, but finally swapped one and presto most of the shake went away, so I did the other and it was gone. But it would only shake in instances where I had to use the brakes really hard for a long time, like for instance when I drove down off the mountains near Waynesboro VA and found myself on about a full mile of steep grade. Here around home, there was only one route I could drive to make it do that, and even then it would come and go.

I suppose I could be paying for that now.

Thinking about popping the tie rod ends and looking for binds either in the ball joints or in the steering then. If either is hard to turn that would help rule some things out I suppose.




Also, anyone know if a '95 and a '91 column have the same electrical plugs in a van? GM likes to change that crap every couple of years for no good reason, the alternator in this quit right after I bought it and while the '95 bolted on, the back of the case is clocked 1/3 turn off so I couldn't put in the rear case hold down bolt. I know it will physically bolt up. (the shift lever attachment is partially broken on this one, that's still another story). The '95 column is an airbag one, but otherwise it's all the same including tilt.

William Kisselstein

Nobody has a clue, eh?

Wigman

My memory of my old g20 van is bit rusty, didn't they come with a dampener/shock that was part of the steering assembly?

ericsjolrice

I got an idea, just got here or would have answered sooner.

My 1971 ford f100 sport custom had this problem.. I had done a bunch of rod replacements and steering box a few years before it started so I wasnt looking there, looked around a little and noticed the body was rusted around the mounts bad. So the body was sagging down and the first contact point was steering colum on firewall. Tested by jacking the load up and bingo that was it. Sold truck and moved into the van and never been happier. My tools and materials stay dry.
Eric

William Kisselstein

One of the u-joints on the intermediate steering shaft was bad. Put another column in it, solved the problem. Picked up a spare from a '95 that I could shorten and use, then got one off a southern van that's never seen salt.