Let's Talk Steering: Gearbox vs Rack&Pinion

[shovenose]

The only two vehicles I've owned that had rack&pinion steering were the 02 Envoy and 07 Colorado. Those were also the only two vehicles I've ever owned that actually steered precisely, didn't have excessive play in the steering, and/or wandered on the highway. My Crown Vic drives horribly because it's all over the place, even after replacing the gearbox (which the shop said was bad, causing the play). My 99 Suburban had some play which I never tried to fix. Had a 95 Suburban I threw so much money at that trying to get the steering "like new" and it was never "right"... 2x gearboxes, all new pitman/idler arms, tie rods, ball joints...

What do I need to do to get the steering right on a gearbox system? I mean surely these vehicles didn't all leave the factory driving this badly. Is it bad installation? All the front end/steering work mentioned above was done by the same shop, except for the gearbox in the crown vic which I did myself. Or am I simply getting bad gearboxes? All of them have rebuilds, ACDelco, Napa, Cardone, MasterPro... whatever brands were available. I can't imagine they were all trash?

Any input appreciated because this is driving me nuts. I literally hate driving my car.

 

[littleblazer]

Are the steering ratios higher on the other vehicles (lock to lock) that'll also do it, the wider ratio takes more to correct. Generally rack and pinion are tighter than gearboxes but it shouldn't be that bad...

 

[shovenose]

Are the steering ratios higher on the other vehicles (lock to lock) that'll also do it, the wider ratio takes more to correct. Generally rack and pinion are tighter than gearboxes but it shouldn't be that bad...

All are stock replacement remanufactured units from RockAuto, O'Reilly, and Napa. I know that rack&pinion is more precise, but I didn't think it's such a huge difference. Any ideas on what we're doing wrong to make all three vehicles I've done steering work on so darn sloppy?

 

[Mooseman]

The gearbox type also have so many joints that can get loose that just one will throw the whole thing out of whack. Pitman arm, idler arm, inner and out tie rods center link. You have to make sure it's all solid or it will drive like a boat. I hate them.