Steering box

[Kinglenario]

Has anybody removed the Bosch steering box and taken a look at the adjustability or lack there of? I can’t see the front of the box where the adjustment would be. Or if there isn’t an adjustment maybe it could be disassembled and shimmed a little more. It seems that it’s just a bit loose from the manufacturer. You can turn the steering column with your hand and feel the play in the box.

 

[Dokatd]

Has anybody removed the Bosch steering box and taken a look at the adjustability or lack there of? I can’t see the front of the box where the adjustment would be. Or if there isn’t an adjustment maybe it could be disassembled and shimmed a little more. It seems that it’s just a bit loose from the manufacturer. You can turn the steering column with your hand and feel the play in the box.

View attachment 7908014

There has to be an adjustment I would hope, but if the ball and grooves tolerance is just poor then there is nothing we can do. So many people use this design as an excuse for the poor steering. But recirc ball design is used in high precision machines and has been for a very long time. Even China has effectively perfected the recirc ball assembly. Ineos just made a bad decision somewhere down the line.

 

[Kinglenario]

I think the tolerance in the box is just poor. Fixing it would make the steering much better. My dad used to race a Volvo with a recirculating ball and they had to adjust it once to tighten it up. Pretty easy to do. We probably just need to pull one or buy a new one and take it apart and figure out what’s up. All this talk and I’m surprised nobody has done it.

Also I think most of these trucks come with the alignment pretty far off. Mine was. The toe was way off and caster almost 0. I think the the North American units might be getting tweaked during shipping because they’re so heavy.

 

[landmannnn]

Has anybody removed the Bosch steering box and taken a look at the adjustability or lack there of? I can’t see the front of the box where the adjustment would be. Or if there isn’t an adjustment maybe it could be disassembled and shimmed a little more. It seems that it’s just a bit loose from the manufacturer. You can turn the steering column with your hand and feel the play in the box.

View attachment 7908014

Did you have the engine running? Of not, try it again with it running.

 

[Kinglenario]

The engine running might add some resistance but doesn’t take up for the play in the steering box gear

 

[Kinglenario]

Is this just AI not being accurate? I don’t see an adjustment screw

 

[Dokatd]

Is this just AI not being accurate? I don’t see an adjustment screw

In that image the adjustment is on the top of the sector shaft. That particular box has a gear lash adjustment. But if the slip is in the ball section there is not much that can be done. It's possible our boxes use shims rather than an adjustable screw/nut. I'd be happy to rework a box, but the core would either be unobtaniom or shockingly expensive.

 

[Dokatd]

Also I think most of these trucks come with the alignment pretty far off. Mine was. The toe was way off and caster almost 0. I think the the North American units might be getting tweaked during shipping because they’re so heavy.

Many NA trucks arrive with all the steering jam nuts loose it seems. Somewhere the ball was dropped and the NA trucks weren't getting aligned at the factory. Mine was like this and had some other major QC issues that would have been resolved by a proper PDI.