My 2008 SD is getting loose steering.

My 7.3 did as well, as did my chev.

I spend a lot of time on bad roads and offroad. I don't blame the trucks, I just really like the feel of tight steering. The steering wheel has about 1-2" of motion in between contact.

Everyone else I know has the same problem that i do no matter the brand of truck etc, when they are doing what I do. They just live with it.

Is there anything a person can do to make the front end last longer? Fords are excellent at taking a beating, and staying aligned, but the darn steering box's seem to get play from too much offroad driving.

I was also looking at lift kits with steering stabilizers, will this help?

 

If you search "Red Head" steering gear boxes on this forum, you'll see a lot of folks have had good results with them. Other than that, not much you can do. Just replace the steering gear box, and it will tighten back up.