Since I took possession of my truck 6-7 years ago, and 94k miles, Its always been like it had manual steering when parking, low speed maneuvers in tight spaces, etc.

Revving the throttle while trying to turn didn't help.. It had Weld Monsoons with a 33 x 12.5 x 16.5 -29 offset wheels with
BF AT's. Over the years I tried flushing, different fluids, additives etc. to no avail. Never any noise or miss-behavior other than the harder I tried to steer it when parking etc. the harder it steered.

Now with 154k on it moving up to Nitto Tera G2's 305 x 70 x17's , (34 x 12 x 17).

Hope this newer (03-06), hydro-boost pump is the answer!

Anybody else ever experience this? What was the cause? Is there anything I can do to the pump to help it steer with less effort?

Thanks...

 

If I remember you have a 1500HD or 2500. if so, the steering boxes are variable ratio.

Some boxes can be modified for quick steer.

 

I think brick is refering to the screw on the top of the steering box? If so, try loosening the retaining nut, give the shaft a 1/4 turn (no more!) then retighten the retaining nut and see if it helps. It will increase the pressure in the gear box so the steering is more touchy.

 

Does that truck have an EVO sensor? Had a similar issue on a Suburban for a couple of years. A PT member suggested the sensor as the problem. Replaced the sensor and fixed the problem. Thanks AK.

 

Truck is a 1500 ECSB Z71 4x4 5.3. Not familiar with the "EVO" sensor problem. What is it?

 

Sensor is located at the base of the steering column inside the truck. AKA steering wheel sensor. It is the sensor for the variable power steering. It controls the valve in the power steering pump. It was actually the cause of the Suburban "road walking". Felt like the front end was grabbing everything on the road. Was almost hard to hold in a lane at times. Also would cause steering to be stiff and loose.

 

Got'cha. Found this link: http://my.cardone.com/techdocs/PT%2020-0031.pdf
That describes what you're saying. I'll have to check for it while I'm under the dash doing the Hydro-boost upgrade.

Thanks for all the replies/help!
V1

 

Hope that helps. AKlowriderZ71 led me in that direction a couple years ago. Worked for me.

 

No Atomic, I was referring to actually modifying the Steering box. See Post 15 by Tydriver here... Close Ratio Steering Box? - PerformanceTrucks.net Forums

Tightening the bolt on top only adjust the tension on the box to remove the play.


RacinRust, Thanks for mentioning this!

Velocity1 Thanks for the document. I have not seen or heard of that condition before. I have factory 20's on my truck and I have the same issue.

but I also have a slight whine from the pump. I just assumed the pump was on it's way out.

 

Actually, the easier way to test the EVO valve is to just unplug it. There's a little 2 pin connector on the bottom rear of the power steering reservoir, neat the power steering support bracket. You can unplug it fairly easily with one hand, but the space is cramped. When unplugged, the valve defaults to the "full boost" position, so your steering should get super twitchy.

Also, is your power steering pump the one with the shiny stainless or aluminum tank? If it's the one with the black tank, it was the low-output pump version that will never make enough pressure to turn the wheels.