Power steering box gear shaft adjustment

[MaximRecoil]

About 10 years ago the original steering box in my 1969 Charger started leaking. I replaced it with a new/rebuilt one from RockAuto and I've never liked it. My old steering box steered very easily like is typical of old American cars and always self-centered after going around a corner.

The rebuilt one doesn't steer hard, but there's significantly more resistance than with the old one, and it doesn't self-center. At first I thought it might just need some time to "break in" or something, but that never happened. It's still exactly the same as the day I installed it.

The factory service manual suggests "gear shaft adjustment too tight" as a possible cause of "hard steering" and "improper gear shaft adjustment" as a possible cause of "poor recovery from turns," so I'm wondering if adjusting the gear shaft might make it work like my old steering box.

This is from the FSM on page 19-10:

Gear Shaft Adjustment

(1) Disconnect center link from steering gear arm.

(2) Start engine and run at idle speed.

(3) Turn steering wheel gently from one stop all
the way to the other, counting number of turns. Then
turn wheel back exactly half way, to center position.

(4) Loosen adjusting screw until backlash is evident
in steering gear arm. Feel backlash by holding end of
steering gear arm between thumb and forefinger with
a light grip. Tighten adjusting screw until backlash
just disappears.

Continue to tighten to 3/8 to 1/2 turn from this
position and tighten lock nut to 50 foot-pounds to
maintain this setting.

Has anyone here ever adjusted the gear shaft, and would it fix the somewhat stiff steering and lack of self-centering?

Is step 1 necessary, or could you accomplish the same thing by jacking the front tires off the ground?

Also, the picture on page 19-10 doesn't show anything that's labeled "adjusting screw." Is it the screw that I circled?

[MaximRecoil]

I tried it. I turned the adjustment screw about 1/8 turn, then about 1/4 turn, then about 1/2 turn, test driving each time, none of which did anything. There might have been slightly less resistance in the steering, but it didn't self-center any better.

I'm tempted to put my old steering box back in, especially since I discovered last week how well Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak works. I had a massive leak in my 2001 Dodge Dakota's power steering system. It wasn't just dripping, it was spraying like a garden hose; full reservoir went completely empty driving less than 100 yards down the street. That Lucas stuff fixed it in short order; not even a drip now and the power steering works perfectly. The leak in my Charger's original steering box wasn't even that bad; it only dripped slowly out the back of the box when the car was parked on a hill.

[Kern Dog]

Some will call it a "hack" type move but brake fluid mixed with power steering fluid can sometimes slow or stop a leak too.
I don't think that there is much chance that adjusting the steering chuck would improve "self centering". The 5/8" jamb nut and allen screw located here:



...Only affects the steering wheel free play. The other spot to adjust:



....I've only read and heard but is supposed to affect the tendency to steer the wheel left or right even with no hands on the wheel. My understanding is that if it is properly adjusted/centered, the wheel stays in the center on it's own.
You probably know this but having some positive caster helps the steering wheel return to center after a turn.
Cheers...

[70 sublime]

If you have your front wheels off the ground ( on a jack not doing a general lee jump ) will they turn to one side by them self with the engine running ?