why is my steering wheel so hard to turn

if its not the steering linkage binding then its in the steering box itself. disconnect the steering box from front end and see if it moves without a lot of effort, if so then its your steering box that needs rebuilding or replacing.

I suggest if it is the box that is bad, that you just source a rack and pinion with the steering hoses and pump from a salvage yard or someone in the for sale section parting out a truck and install that complete PS on your truck. I would NEVER repair manual steering simply because its too much of a bitch to live with.

when you source your parts, don't forget you need the pulley that drives the PS pump belt as well as the PS pump and mounting bracket

 

Ok thanks, im gonna check that

 

looking at my truck it uses the crank pulley as well as the water pump pulley to drive the PS pump belt so if your truck doesn't have pulleys with extra slots for the belt, you may need to swap those when doing a PS conversion to it

 

I did this and i will wait and see if it works. I jacked the front up and tryed turning to
The wheel while it was up and it turns how i expect it to turn while im driving. But thats only when its jacked up.

 

When i jacked it off the ground it turns how i expect it to turn while im driving. But thats only when its off the ground

 

yep, that means its the box not the steering linkage parts, like I said, I wouldn't spend money on fixing the manual box, if it were me, I would just get a set of used parts to do the conversion.

try the local salvage yards or the for sale section here or if you cant find what you need you can buy used parts here and have them shipped to you http://www.car-part.com/index.htm

 

Actually never mind i sprayed all the linkages with a shit ton of wd 40 and now it turns like its supposed to

 

I did what you said and it worked like a charm thanks dude.

 

Now that you've found the issue, use penetrating lube as was suggested. The benefit of the WD40 won't last as long.

Bigger than stock tires, lousy alignment castor numbers and underinflated tires can also contribute. While it's better now, those are other items worth your attention. Could be it gets even easier.

 

I remember when men were men we drove three on the tree and no power steering. no cup holeders, a/c ,nav system, carpet,

 

steering wheels were bigger too!! Man we got LAZY.

 

So do I, my friend had an International Travelall, no power steering, no power brakes, had to stop to shift the transfer case in to 4wd high, and a PTO winch. Americans are getting soft.

 

glad someone helped you solve the problem.

a shit ton of wd 40 is just a short temporary fix so now the question is how the hell do you replace that steering u-joint? I have never seen a demo on how that gets done

 

We had to double clutch too.

 

My Tacoma likes to be double clutched for downshifts.

 

Now spray it with white lithium grease.

 

interesting. at least you can try to have a fun project.

here's a pic of the manual for 2wd:


on a side note, is there a zerk fitting anywhere to shoot some grease in the rack?