J A N U A RY • F E B R U A RY 2 0 1 5 Truck Tech with Roger Brown 1986 Pickup Steering Issues Hello Roger, Is there any adjustment available at the steering box of my 1986 4x4 truck? I've replaced all front-end components and still have a little “slop” in the steering. Thanks. Victor Heath, TLCA Member #20,670 If you are searching for, building, modifying, or maintaining a Toyota 4WD mini-truck (Pickup, Hilux, 4Runner, Surf or Tacoma), send your Truck Tech questions to Roger Brown at TruckEditor@tlca.org or r.c.brown@ieee.org. I’ll try to answer your questions with authority! The location of the slotted shaft and jam nut on a hydraulic assist steering box. The box and hoses may look a little different on your truck. Hi Victor; Yes, there is a pre-load adjustment on top of the box. There is a jam nut and a shaft with a screwdriver slot in it, opposite the sector shaft sticking out the bottom. Loosen the nut, turn the shaft to snug things up and then tighten down the jam nut. There are factory adjustment specifications in the Factory Service Manual but I usually just turn it as tight as I can get it by hand with a big flat bladed screwdriver. Roger Hi Victor; It could indeed be a worn out steering box. One thing to try is to have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth just to the point the front wheels start to move and follow down the steering linkage from the steering wheel to where the tie rods connect to the front spindles. What you are looking for is the point at which the motion stops. So as you move down the steering shaft to the box, pitman arm, drag link, relay linkage, idler arm and the tie rods, you want to look for where the part upstream is moving and the part downstream is not moving. The place where the motion stops is the source of the play. Follow-up From Victor Hello Roger, Recently you informed me of the adjustment at the steering box on my 1986 truck. I tightened it a few times and the resistance at the steering wheel has increased but the actual free play in the wheel has not decreased. Is it possible that I just need to replace a worn out box and are they available through Toyota? Thanks. Victor Heath, TLCA Member #20,670 If indeed it is in the box, then that is the source. I know you mentioned replacing all the other steering components but you may have missed something or one of those new parts may be defective. Rebuilt boxes are pretty easy to get at many of the off-road shops; you can check with your favorite shop. Or you can have a try at rebuilding your own. This is a rather old archived article on the procedure and most likely you'll need to source the rebuild kit from Toyota: http://tinyurl.com/m4wvtkw. Roger 35