98 Silverado Steering Problems

[trip98Z71]

While in a curve my steering will jerk to the direction or will stick then jerk. I believe it's the pitman arm and/or the idler arm. Just looking for some feedback from someone that knows for sure or has ran into this problem before thanks.

[ICTK1500]

While in a curve my steering will jerk to the direction or will stick then jerk. I believe it's the pitman arm and/or the idler arm. Just looking for some feedback from someone that knows for sure or has ran into this problem before thanks.

I just replaced the pitman arm on my 1998 Z-71. It was acting exactly as you describe. It drives great now.

[beebow]

If the Pitman Arm doesn't solve the problem have your steering box looked at. I had the same problem on my '95 and it ended up being a bad replacement box.

[TennK1500]

This is a pretty common problem in the OBS. If your truck has the speed sensitive steering, more than likely it is the steering wheel position sensor (sometimes known as EVO sensor). It is a little round disc on the base of the steering shaft in the cab of the truck. I have a '98 OBS and a '97 Suburban, same problem on both. Changed the sensor and haven't had any problems yet. Good luck!

[mrmre]

I had the same problem on my 98 Sierra! I would be on a continuous turn and all of a sudden my steering would "dump" or "throw" to one side.

 

Sure enough, K6335 Pitman and K6447 Idler replaced.. I also had a leaking gearbox which solved my loose steering issues. No problems ever since.

[1997SierraSLT]

That jerking in the steering wheel is a very common issue with the 97-99/00 trucks with the 1st generation Vortec engines due to the VSS (variable speed steering) feature. There were literally hundreds if not thousands of complaints through NHTSA about 10 years ago. The power steering pump has a small solenoid in it that is controlled by the ECM and EVO sensor mounted on the base of the steering column. When you drive at slow speeds, you have a great amount of power assist in the steering wheel. As you speed up, the steering becomes more firm. The solenoid in the power steering pump either allows an increase/decrease in pressure dependent upon vehicle speed and amount of rotation in the steering wheel. That jerking sensation in the wheel is the ECM sending in incorrect signal to the solenoid causing momentary full power assist. It is most prevalent at around 35-40 mph in a gradual sweeping turn. Unfortunately, I believe NHTSA's investigation concluded there was not enough evidence to warrant a vehicle recall and/or TSB (technical service bulletin). I suppose if this problem caused enough accidents or deaths, it would be a different scenario. IMHO there was a little hush-money distributed to make this GM problem go away since it affected nearly all GM vehicles of this vintage with equipped with VSS. We're talking mllions of vehicles equipped with VSS.

 

With about 135K om my vehicle, I've replaced this EVO sensor about 4 times. During the last installation, I finally decided I'd had enough. I did not mount ithe sensor on the column. Instead, I positioned it at TDC and taped the sensor so it could not rotate. I plugged it into the wiring harness and shoved it up under the dash. Basically, I'm tricking the ECM into thinking the vehicle is always driving in a straight line. Even at that, every once in a great while, I will still experience the same jerking sensation. It's a very scary experience and I won't even let my wife drive the truck.

 

The next generation GM trucks/SUV's had totally redesigned steering which employed a rack-and-pinion system.