I shot a video of the steering components. The shaft and U joints seem fine, the rubber fittings all seem to have play and I suspect the IFS Box does as well.

Thoughts?


The video can be viewed in 1080p.

 

I looked to me that you had some play in the pitman arm and at the tie rods. I would replace those if it were me. Also an alighnment shop could probably tell you more about what needs done for little or no cost.

 

I agree, your pitman arm has play, and it looks like the tie rod end is bad, also. The engine sounds like it might have a misfire, or is possibly running rough. It might be due for a tune-up if it has not been done recently, and it could need a valve adjustment. The exhaust valves tend to tighten up over time on these engines, and I have seen them get so tight that one of the cylinders starts to lose compression.

It is kind of hard to tell in the video, but it sounds like you might also have an exhaust leak at the manifold.

 

It does have an exhaust leak, good ear! Someone on another forum thought misfire also, I thought it was just loping from the cam.

Thanks for the replies.

 

You definitely need to replace the Pitman arm and check the tie rod ends for play. I can see from the video that the traction bar has been removed. That'll give it the infamous '85 wander-dart steering when you brake. It'll pull to the left during deceleration without one. The stock OE traction bar is of the non-adjustable variety, and is usually the first thing to go in the trash can when people mod their rides. There are a number of companies making OEM adjustable traction bars for these. Probably worth the investment if you do a lot of highway driving.