Does steering knuckle wear cause wander?

[Russell]

Does anyone know if steering knuckle wear (between the steering box and steering wheel) can cause wandering and inprecise steering? I can hear and see a clunk/movement in the knuckle when I turn the key to on (car not running) and move the steering wheel. Perhaps this is normal?

Is this an expensive part and difficult to change out?

Thanks in advance.

[winfred]

the clunk is usually the slipjoint in the steering shaft, down close to the floor theres a big nut on the steering shaft, if you have a non telescoping collum just snug it down a little, if you have a tela collum you need to ballence tightness and being able to move the wheel in and out (if you care)

[Russell]

Checked this some time ago. However it seems to be tight. I should have mentioned the adjustment in my previous post. I can see the knuckle move a bit. Just does not seem right!

the clunk is usually the slipjoint in the steering shaft, down close to the floor theres a big nut on the steering shaft, if you have a non telescoping collum just snug it down a little, if you have a tela collum you need to ballence tightness and being able to move the wheel in and out (if you care)

[Russell]

I should have been a bit clearer. It is not the "nut" that is under the dash.

Thanks,
Russell

Does anyone know if steering knuckle wear (between the steering box and steering wheel) can cause wandering and inprecise steering? I can hear and see a clunk/movement in the knuckle when I turn the key to on (car not running) and move the steering wheel. Perhaps this is normal?

Is this an expensive part and difficult to change out?

Thanks in advance.

[George M]

The steering knuckle which is technically a single cardin joint is easy to assess at the steering box. Simply grab the yoke side going into the box and wrap the steering intermediate shaft with some tape or cloth and lightly grab it with a pair of pliers/vice grips and assess the play. These joints are very robust...they generally only wear after BIG miles...mine is still good on my E-32 at 150k.
Typically play is elsewhere...box adjustment, 32mm nut mentioned under the dash...even the pitman arm to the splined output shaft from the bottom of the steering box, the pinch bolt can work loose introducing play. If you want to determine the source of play, you need to strategically test every component including idler arm, center tie-rod etc....which takes a bit of effort and jacking the front of the car up with the help of a friend.
HTH,
George

[Russell]

Had my daughter turn the wheel while I watched the universal joint. It looked fine. She also thought the clanking noise was from under the dash. The young do hear well. I guess, I was just too tenative when I checked tightness before. Will check again! Thanks for bringing it to my attention.

Russell

the clunk is usually the slipjoint in the steering shaft, down close to the floor theres a big nut on the steering shaft, if you have a non telescoping collum just snug it down a little, if you have a tela collum you need to ballence tightness and being able to move the wheel in and out (if you care)

[George M]

the thing to be mindful of is don't get too zealous and over-torque the 32mm nut/collet joint at the base of the steering column under the dash. Simply snug up this joint as it needs some freedom because it articulates as it rotates not unlike a cardin universal joint or CV joint. Generally you can feel the looseness in the slined shaft that connects to the steering box universal joint by grabbing it with your hand just forward of the firewall within the engine bay. If you feel that the intermediate shaft has too much play, it is likely the 32mm nut needs to be tightened a bit.
George