As for the steering,Smiley told me something like he loosened the steering column bolts under the dash and at the firewall and just kinda let the column move on it's own,then tighten'd it back.look at his B/L writeup,
it might be in there
It isnÆt -- but thatÆs because I didnÆt notice any difference after loosening those bolts and re-tightening themà
Nothing helped - at least, not until I replaced the Steering Column (
and needlessly so, I might add û since the problem that I was trying to address at the time was actually being caused by a bent Idler Arm <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif" alt="" /> ) --- Nevertheless, while replacing the Steering Column, I finally discovered why my columnÆs expansion/compression boot was ripped to shredsà and, in-turn (
*No pun intended!*), what to do about ità
Just as you have apparently discovered on yoursà The clearances are so tight to begin with, that when you install a body lift on a Gen 1.5 Rodeo (and the earlier Gen 1s as well, so it would seem), the lobed/semi-ovular expansion/compression joint on the Steering Column can make contact with the nearby A/C hard-line while the column is in the horizontal/wide orientations of its rotation......... Sort of a
æThump û thump û thumpÆ while you are turning the steering wheel. --- Perhaps worse in your case.
On mine, it was never so bad that it actually bound-up the steeringà but rather, as noted above, it did rip the boot apart. --- I always felt it, but I could never quite figure out the source of the noise/sensation û mainly because whenever I was checking it û (parked, with the tires pointed straight ahead) - the lobed section of the Steering Column was always in its vertical orientation, and therefore not making contact with anything at that particular moment.
Until I swapped Steering Columns, Joe and I had always assumed that the ripped boot was a result of the increased angle after doing the Body Liftà It wasnÆt until I was trying to get the new column in there (with a bit of rotation on it) that I discovered the clearance issue.
I solved it, once-and-for-all, by
VERY CAREFULLY taking the flat end of my crowbar and pushing against the A/C hard-line; forcing it toward the passenger side, about a-half-an-inch closer to the engine. --- Since thenà No more
Thump û thump û thumpÆ <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/kewl.gif" alt="" />
HTH
*
I probably ought to go back and add this little tid-bit of information to my BL write-up, huh? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />
