1. Clean the steering drive parts and the steering gear housing from contamination.
2. Set the wheels to a straight ahead position.
3. Turning the steering wheel in both directions, make sure that:
- steering wheel free play does not exceed 5° (when measuring along the wheel rim no more than 18–20 mm);
- there are no knocks in the hinges, joints and steering mechanism;
- mount the steering gear housing and swing arm bracket firmly (retighten screw connections if necessary);
- there is no free play in the ball joints of the thrust and in the bracket of the pendulum lever, and the worm shaft does not move in the axial direction;
- steering force (when installing the front wheels on a smooth plate) does not exceed 196 N (20 kgf).
4. Turning the adjusting couplings of the side rods, make sure that their collars are tightened securely.
5. Check the condition of the ball joints and rubber protective caps as indicated below.
Checking the ball joints of the steering rods
1. First of all, check the movement of the rod ends along the axis of the fingers.
2. To do this, using the lever and support, move the tip parallel to the axis of the finger. The axial movement of the tip relative to the finger should be 1–1.5 mm. This movement indicates that the pin bushing is not wedged in the thrust tip socket and moves with the pin, compressing the spring.
3. Replace jammed bushing.
4. Shaking the steering wheel in both directions, check by touch that there is no free play in the steering rod joints.
5. If free play is felt in the ball joint, replace the tie rod end or tie rod assembly.
6. Check up a condition of protective rubber caps of spherical hinges of steering drafts. The cap must be replaced if it has cracks, tears, or peeling of the rubber from the edging, and also if the lubricant penetrates outward when squeezing it with your hands.
7. If the protective caps are in good condition and keep the inside of the hinges clean, then the service life of the latter is practically unlimited. If moisture, dust, etc. gets into the hinge, premature wear of its parts occurs.