Question about Craftsman steering???

I got a question. I got the old stock steering system for a Craftsman and was wondering how you guys fixed the problem of having a lot of play in the steering wheel. I wanted to know if I have to replace it or get a new system like direct steering??

depending on what model you have, its usually a lot of things. the late 90's stuff had a plastic "L" bushing thing at the bottom of the steering shaft that will take alot of the slop out of it. spindle bushings and center axle pivot will add some too. tie rods will get sloppy along with the holes they go in if they were run loose. $50 and about 4 hours labor usually gets them back to new condition. Searspartsdirect.com should have every thing you need. If you want to save a little money, get the part number from the parts lookup and get on google shopping. usually you can find the parts about 20% cheaper through somebody that sells through amazon.com or ebay..

I have seen spindle bushings get so bad they eat up the steel that holds the bushing and axle bushings wear out the hole in the axle and frame. if they get that bad, just weld in a washer that fits tight on the bushing. I have even run a small weld bead where the bushing fits and hammered it in. (but that is a short term fix, they will get sloppy after awhile)

Cool thanks I will try to see what i can do. Thanks again.

Would direct steering work on you know like a go kart???

Direct steering works good, except you will lose a little leverage on the front tires.

Ok thanks alot i will see what i can do and I am going to try to mabe fix my steering now and if i cant i will look in to see if I can just put direct steering in it because I dont want to mess around with it again anyways thanks again for helping me I will let you guys know how i make out

My LT 4000 has that problem and it is the plastic bushing they use. the best suggestion is find a 80's style craftsman steering box they are built wayyy better.