ok guys the steering in my 88 just feals like its loose and im kind of out of ideas, first off its a 88 F250 4x4. i did a D60 swap in it. when i did the swap i replaced all the tierods, kingpin bushings and bearings, added a steering damper. im running a factory track bar with a dropped mount and an add a leaf in the front springs. i just recently replaced the steering box. its got new 10 ply tires running 62pounds of air in the front. and all the u bolts are tight. it feals like the steering is a little sloppy and it acts like it wants to over steer. it isnt real bad but its tough to drive in a straight line dpwn the road.
so im all out of ideas, what yall think i should look at next?

 

I had a 76 F250 that took a tie rod hit, resulting in it being toed in. Not drastically, but about twice what it should've been. When I started to turn, the weight transfered to the outside, and with the wheels being too toed in, it would then turn more than I intended... In a straight line, it would wander around, and every correction I made would be exaggerated...

 

dont think i bent anything but i suppose the toe could be off, makes snese to me, do you know what the proper toe should be?

 

I think 1/8". Could be wrong but I remember hearing something around that

 

Yeah, 1/8" sounds about right. I don't have anything to back that up, but in years past, I seem to recall 1/8" being a good place to start...

 

thats about what i was thinking, ill get my frameing squares and tape measure out and give her the ol hillbilly alignment and see what happens

 

The other thing to consider is what is your caster angle? If you do not have enough (negative caster, top of kingpin leaning back about 4-5 degrees is good) it makes it wander and not have good self-center. With your slight lift, the axle swap and other parts replaced, it sounds like you have an alignment issue. Either toe-in adjustment or caster. Insufficent toe-in can also cause problems, you need just a slight amount like 1/8 inch as suggested.

 

im thinking (or at least hopeing) its the toe. on my 60 the caster is fixed, i dont have the adjustible lower king pins. i did my best barnyard alignment on it, i think ill take it in on wednsday and have it aligned, hopefully that fixes the problem

 

The caster may be fixed on the axle, but depending on how you installed it, the whole thing may be tilted forward or back which would affect the caster (and pinion angle).

But check the toe first, its easier to fix.

 

i see what your saying, the pinion angle was corrected with the lift so it should be close to what it was

 

Don't forget to check the rubber coupling between the steering box and the steering shaft. Mine does the same because my rubber coupling is getting all knackered out. Worth a check and only a couple bucks to replace.

Also check the end of the steering column. When my cab mounts sank my telescoping portion of the steering shaft didn't slide as it was rusted tight and took out the lower bearing in the column. Shaft had a fair amount of wobble to it at the end of the column where it exits the cab.

 

i checked the rubber coupling when i replaced the gear box, it was in good shape and the steering shaft moved freely in and out, ill take a look at that bearing though

 

Pinion angle fix may be your trouble. I presume your fix was to rotate the pinion up? If so, the shims you put under the springs at the pads would make the caster angle become less negative. The angle between the kingpins needs to have the top leaned to the back of the truck. This enables it to self-center. Too much caster makes hard to turn, but 4-5 degrees from vertical is good amount.

In some cases of swapping parts, you need to cut and reweld the axle housing to correct the caster and pinion angle both. Since the axle is solid, fixing caster can make pinion angle off and vise-versa. The ends of the axle are cut loose, rotated to where they need to be and welded back in position.

 

i see. my springs have the shims on them already ill throw an angle finder on it tomorow and see what its at