steering box play

heard that on the steering box there is a small adjustment to take away the slack in the steering????? its on a tdi200 which mine has play in. can anyone confirm this and how to do it also is there anything else thats common to cause a bit of play??? its just built up a few inch of play in the steering wheel over time.
cheers chaps!

look on top of your steering box and you will see a lock nut with a allen key type nut inside.loosen the lock nut and wind in the allen bolt.in order to check the effect on the steering this is best done with the front wheels off the ground so you can assertain the effect on the steering.
its also worth while checking every thing else steering related(track rods,steering damper,uj's on the steering column and if necessary the pre load on the swivel pins).just done all of the above in preparation for a trip to france and the difference is quite amazing(not to mention bank balance lightening)

Adjust it with steering in centre (road wheels straight ahead) and then go lock to lock to check for any tightness (front end should be blocked up with wheels off the ground of course).

cheers for that lads.

Adjust it with steering in centre (road wheels straight ahead) and then go lock to lock to check for any tightness (front end should be blocked up with wheels off the ground of course.

unquote

I suggest you DO NOT adjust it in the centre position, because it may very well get VERY tight on lock to one or both sides, even to the extent of causing damage due to the huge power of the power-steering ram.

Do all the following with the engine STOPPED.

Better plan is to jack the wheels clear of the ground. Turn full lock one way, THEN adjust the hex-socket nut down gently snug, and tighten the locknut.

Now gently steer to dead-ahead, and then to full lock the other way.
If at any stage it feels tight, or has a sensation of binding, STOP, and slacken the hex-screw a tad.

If / when it feels good, take it out for a careful try-out. Nudge the hex-screw in a tiny bit at a time till it's as good as it can be but NOT BINDING when the wheels are up, engine stopped.

Take the opportunity to check steering box oil level.

CharlesY

Wil be trying the steering box adjustment on my disco shortly. What is considered a reasonable amount of freeplay at the steering wheel rim, before the wheels move for MOT purposes?

Not a lot these days.
ANY amount of slop is viewed with suspicion.

If the box is OK you should be able to adjust it down to just about good as new.

CharlesY