Sterring On 97 Burban 1/2 Ton ?

3GMC'S · July 28, 2009

I am new here,I own 3 gmcs a 97 suburban and a 97 z-71 and 99 z-71 The steering is funny on all 3 but on my burban you can be driving down the road and it will pull right hard all the time then all the sudden snap back left at times, It seems to be worse on certain roads. I have jacked it up and bearings seem tight,had my wife work the wheels back and forth to look for any slop and cant find any. Could this be a gear box issue? Where there any particulur problems with steerin on these that could be the common cause? I should be able to fix it if I could get it troubleshot,I put the tranny in the burban and the motor in the 97 z So Im not all that dumb just dumbfounded. Thanks for any help.

Zembonez · July 28, 2009

I am new here,I own 3 gmcs a 97 suburban and a 97 z-71 and 99 z-71 The steering is funny on all 3 but on my burban you can be driving down the road and it will pull right hard all the time then all the sudden snap back left at times, It seems to be worse on certain roads. I have jacked it up and bearings seem tight,had my wife work the wheels back and forth to look for any slop and cant find any. Could this be a gear box issue? Where there any particulur problems with steerin on these that could be the common cause? I should be able to fix it if I could get it troubleshot,I put the tranny in the burban and the motor in the 97 z So Im not all that dumb just dumbfounded. Thanks for any help.

Idler arms are known to go bad over time on those trucks. Very common replacement item. I'd sure have a close look at it if I were you.

2COR517 · July 28, 2009

To check the ball joints: Jack up under the a-arm, leave about an inch of space under the tire. Get a big lever/pry bar and try to move the tire up and down while watching the lower ball joint. Any movements means it's gone. You can also check the upper at the same time. Just try to move the top of the tire in and out while watching the upper. Once again, any movement and its gone. You can also check the wheel bearings with the tire up. Grap the top and bottom and try to move it. It's nice to have a helper watch for movement in the hub.

To check the steering linkage: Jack up one front tire, leave the other on the ground. Get a strong helper and have them grab the tire at 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock. Have them shake, pull, push while you look around. Idler arms are infamous, as well as Pitman arms. One joint on the pitman, two on the idler, two inner tie rods, two outer tie rods. The steering box itself could be bad also.