hello every one. i am new to the forum and sort of new to the 4x4 repair business. i have a 83 chevy scottsdale that i am in love with. i am in the processes of totally restoring her and getting her trail ready. one problem is it will not steer or track straight. i have replaced the bearings, the steering damper, both tie rod ends, the whole drag link assembly and hubs. my truck still swerves all over the road. i tried to have it aligned and the jack leg tried to sell me bearings and all 4 ball joints. could the ball joints be the problem or could it be the worm gear? any help is greatly appreciated and i look forward to talking to all of y'all in the future.
thanks,
bark

next time do a search
http://pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=632461&highlight=loose+steering
ignore the high steer

box the frame, support the box, check for cracks.. etc.

all of these are quite easy to check for. basically if there is play then there is a good chance your problems might result from it. for your box its easy to check, have someone turn the wheel slightly with the car off and look at your pitman arm and compare that to how much your rag joint is turning if there is a siginficant difference between the two then your box may be worn there also might be an adjustment in the box but im not totally sure some allen bolt deal with a jam nut on it but i dont remember exactly what it does or how to properly adjust it. the balljoints are easy jack your axle up one side at a time and shake from the top and bottom of the wheel shake in and out of your wheel well if there is play then they are probably bad. for the frame have someone turn your wheel lock to lock with the car on, look at your box and the frame and see if it flexes alot, besids pulling the box and actually checking for cracks this is a somewhat reliable way to figure that they are there.

thanks for the info.