danielf

According to Red Head, there are 3 big things causing issues with the gear. One is the thrust bearing comes loose, two: improperly sized ball bearings, and 3: poor machining tolerances. No mention of heat treatment on the pitman arm shaft causing pre-mature wear. I can definitely see that causing an issue. Might be worth asking if they are seeing these shafts come in with wear on the teeth of these shafts.

It really is too bad that GM isn't taking care of this issue with a factory recall. It appears as though they haven't figured out a real fix as of yet. If you want the issue fixed, Red Head Steering Gears out of Auburn, Wa has rebuilt these gears and gotten all of the slop/play out. The adjuster nut band-aid is not the only issue with these gears. Factory tolerances are very poor on this gear and the ball bearings in the worm and piston are not properly sized. Red Head has sourced custom sizes to get the proper fit on each box eliminating that slop in the worm gear. Look them up if you want the issue resolved once and for all