Steering System Components & Kits

Firmer And More Responsive Steering

Replacing or upgrading your vehicle's steering parts will result in a firmer feel while turning as well as more responsiveness at the wheel such as with a quick ratio steering box. The resulting decrease in steering play will improve your driving experience and help your vehicle react to changing conditions on or off road, while running errands, or at the racetrack.

Easier Steering When Converting To Power Steering

Upgrading manual-steering vehicles with power steering kits makes turning the steering wheel a lot easier, especially at lower speeds. Most power steering kits include a pump, hoses, and either a gear box or rack and pinion steering to complete the project.

Peace Of Mind

Having new replacement or performance steering components from JEGS provides peace of mind, allowing you to focus more on enjoying the driving experience and less on whether a steering component will fail. All components JEGS offers are made from high class materials and assembly to put your mind at ease.

What Are The Parts Of A Steering System?

The following list provides the main part names of a car or truck steering system including a brief description of truck and car steering system parts and their functions:

Steering Wheel - The driver turns the steering wheel to the direction they want the vehicle to go.

Steering Column - This supports the steering wheel and incorporates other driving functions such as turn signal, ignition, wiper, and cruise control switches. It contains an inner shaft to connect the steering wheel to the rest of the steering system.

Intermediate shaft - This connects the steering column to the gearbox or rack and pinion.

Steering Joint - On each end of the intermediate shaft is a joint, which allows movement as well as variations in the imaginary line between the steering column and gearbox.

Steering Coupler / Rag Joint - Absorbs vibrations in the steering system from the road surface to reduce shaking in the steering wheel.

Steering Gear Box or Rack And Pinion Unit - Converts the input from the steering wheel to movement in either the rack and pinion or the pitman arm, making effort easier to turn the front wheels. Designed for either manual or power steering parts, it needs to match the type of steering system the vehicle uses.

Power Steering Pump - One of the main power steering system components uses hydraulic fluid pressure via a belt-driven pulley to the engine crankshaft in order to aid in gearbox or rack and pinion operation. It provides effortless turning of the steering components.

Pitman Arm (for gearbox applications) - Connects the gearbox to the steering center link in most applications.

Center Link / Drag Link (for gearbox applications) - Connects the pitman arm to the tie rods.

Idler Arm (for gear box applications) - This component helps balance and support the center link pivoting, located on the opposite end from the pitman arm.

Tie Rod Ends (most rack and pinions include the inner tie rod ends with the outers purchased separately. Inner and outer rods for gear box applications) - The tie rod ends allow wheel alignment with threaded adjustment as well as connect the center link or rack and pinion to the spindles.

Tie Rod Adjuster Sleeves - Unions that connect the inner and outer tie rods and aid in wheel alignment through threaded adjustment.

Ball Joints - These are pivot points for the spindles with an upper and lower version for conventional steering and suspension setups. Vehicles with struts use a lower ball joint only as the strut bearing provides the upper pivot.

Front Struts (for most front wheel drive and all-wheel drive applications) - These provide both turning support for the wheels and control bounce (combined with coil springs) from driving surface changes.

Spindles - Components that pivot on the upper and lower ball joints with conventional steering and suspension systems or lower ball joint and strut bearing with strut-style suspensions, using input from the outer tie rods, moving the wheels during turning.

How To Check For Worn Steering Components

There are many different steering parts on a car or truck as well as vehicle behavior to check in order to confirm if components are worn:

Tire tread. Uneven wear can often be attributed to incorrect steering alignment as well as worn or damaged steering parts. The main steering components that can cause uneven tire wear include tie rods, bushings, and ball joints.

If your vehicle is pulling to one side, possible causes can include the steering being out of alignment as well as damaged tie rods or ball joints.

Clunking noises can be mainly caused by bad tie rods, bushings, and ball joints.

If steering wheel play is observed, possible components to check are tie rods, gearbox / rack and pinion, as well as steering u-joints.

If there is steering wheel vibration, the ball joints should be checked to determine if they need to be replaced.

Noise while turning can be the result of worn strut bearings, if equipped.

To check the individual steering system components, first do a visual inspection with the part installed. If the problem is found, replace the component. If a visual inspection will not confirm the problem, remove the suspect components individually and check for wear and play. Loose movement or damage can confirm if car steering components are required.

Improve Your Vehicle's Steering Responsiveness And Feel

Transform the driving experience with improved steering kits and components from JEGS. Whether on a truck, car, daily-driver, hot rod, muscle car, or race vehicle, we offer only the best quality steering linkage and power steering components. This provides you with the high quality steering system parts you need.