I forget exactly what weight the manual says, but its your typical ~80 wt gear oil (at least thats what I've been using lol) Look in the engine bay on the driver side frame rail and you will see it. It's near/under the brake booster/master cylinder

 

Here's an old discussion on this topic: https://www.rx7club.com/showthread.p...steering+grind



.

 

supprised know one has ever done a DIY with pictures.... maybe i should do one. first i need to find the box.

 

I have. Here's the pics, they're pretty much self explanatory. The article is around here somewhere.





But post yours anyway, it's always good to get a new perspective.

 

Ray green looking at the second pic what am i exactly doing with that? is that one bolt with the paint off the one that i am going to be turning?

 

No, that's the check/fill hole for the steering fluid. It's made of white plastic and would be real easy to bugger the threads on so treat it carefully.

The adjuster is that middle capped piece with the three dimple holes drilled in it. You need to loosen the large rather thin outer lock nut so that the adjuster can be moved.

THIS SET UP MIGHT BE DIFFERENT ON YOUR 82 GSL OR IF YOU HAVE A POWER STEERING BOX, BUT THE PRINCIPLE IS THE SAME.

Loosening the lock nut can be done with a properly fitting pipe wrench if you don't have an AC unit and power booster unit in the way - there is just enough room to get the wrench on the large lock nut and give it the needed twist to loosen it up.

Otherwise you will need a large (21 mm?) socket wrench modified as Kentetsu described (also read the thread he linked a couple posts above, I'm sure it is there) to break it loose.

Then you use the large punch and hammer to gently move the dimple clockwise a few degrees to tighten the steering box gears.

DO THIS IN VERY SMALL STEPS WITH THE FRONT WHEELS JACKED OFF THE GROUND, CHECKING EACH TIME TO SEE HOW IT HAS AFFECTED THE STEERING PLAY.

DON'T GET GREEDY AND TIGHTEN TOO MUCH, IT WILL DESTROY WHAT GEARS YOU HAVE LEFT!

And remember to tighten the lock nut when you are done.

 

The check fill hole seems to have never been checked i think im gonna start there. is it just counter turn to the left and will there be kind of a dip stick? or is it just suppose to be filled all the way.?

 

Ray, have you noticed the steering loosening back up after you did this procedure? I know you put a lot of miles on your 12A's, so I figured you'd be a good guy to ask. I've heard some people say that you have to do the procedure more and more because it always loosens back up. And eventually that it ruins your steering box.

I'd be interested to hear your feedback on how low this lasts, and if you have noticed any degradation in the steering box.

Thanks,
Jamie

 

It's just a small plug, think of it kinda like the plug on the rear axle. You just remove it and fill the oil from there. As far as checking the level it's just a matter of looking in there, no dipstick or anything.

 

That is an important consideration Jamie and the main reason for doing only minor adjustments and trying it out rather than trying to take all the play out with one adjustment.

I adjusted the manual steering box on my 85 GSL the Silver One when I put it on the road about a year and a half ago. I made a very conservative adjustment, just enough to take the obvious play out but not enough to make it as tight as it could be.

After 35,000 mostly highway miles I haven't noticed any return of the Wonder Steer. In fact the Silver One tracks beautifully now, better than any of my previous 3 GSLs. Cruising at 80 mph out on the highway you can take your hand off the wheel and it will go straight ahead without any more drift than the road itself creates. Very quick and sure steering response, every bit as good as my old 78 MGB with the rack and pinion steering.

There is still a little play in the steering but it is about the 1" specified in the FSM so I haven't gone back and made any readjustments since doing it that first time (but this thread reminds me I do need to peak in there and make sure the fluid level is OK).

Of course the Moog idler arm, new front bearings, new outer tie rod ends and a careful front end alignment also help out.

 

Great. Thanks Ray. I'm going to try and adjust some of the slop out of my 85 GS. Does the FSM say 1" total or 1" from center on each side?

 

I've only got two brain cells dedicated to that value, but I believe it's 1" total.

Looks kind of like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNEBG...ature=youtu.be

 

Thanks Ray! I knew when I asked that you would give a great, detailed answer. You definitely did not disappoint. You definitely add a lot of value to the forum. As far as the car is concerned, my steering has a little bit more slop in it than yours but probably not a whole lot. I think I can tighten her up a little though and still be safe.

 

what size is that steering nut?

 

easy fix.

gut the front end and fabricate a rack and pinion setup!

 

Or just go with a FC subframe....

 

I tightened mine up a few years ago. Never noticed any return of play...

 

It's not Wonder Steering. When my 7 decides it wants to change lanes for no reason at all, it's not me, it's not the 7, it's Christine.

Christine lives in my steering system. I'm hoping she lives in the idler arm. I'm replacing that today. I'll see if that banishes her or she just moves to the tie rods or the ball joint, or the pitman, or maybe, finally, she'll ooze into the steering box. Or maybe she's always lived in the steering box.

I thought Stephan King owned an old Plymouth at some point but it's obvious now he had a 7 . He just used a Plymouth in his book because that's a car most people recognized at the time.

The Fact that Christine was published the year before the 7 came out just makes the whole thing more mysterious

Thanks to everyone that has participated in all these 1st gen steering threads. It's helped me at least develop a game plan.