Hi there....I have a 1970 Ford Highboy. mostly stock with 33s. ever since i got the truck, it has had a steering 'hop'. The trucks front end has a hop feeling in the syeering wheel at 40mph. its not a typical vibrate from tires but rather a up and down feeling . it dissappears around 50 mph. At first it was just the passenger side, and now its on the driver side. Yankig the steerin wheel into the hop will subside it temporarily, then it will just start again. any ideas?

 

Lots of ideas but I hope FTE isn't your first step in troubleshooting your rig. What homework have you done already?

I'd say you've got worn steering and/or suspension components that is introducing a harmonic vibration... It could be a number of things. Get on your hands and knees and wiggle, push, pull, and cycle every part in the steering system. Everything should move in unison. If something moves before the next component, then you have at least part of your answer. Replace the parts as a system rather than piecemealing because it's only a matter of time/miles that the next part will need to be replaced.

Jack it up and check for loose ball joints and worn bushings.

 

What is the wear pattern on your tires. A front end out of alignment that creates a pattern in the tires could also be the culprit. Of course bad parts would naturally mean bad alignment. If you have a diagonal pattern across the tread you have a toe problem and now that it is into the tread ... Have you tried rotating the tires to see what happens?

 

Do you have the ram assist power steering on this pickup? My '71 does the same thing, but I assume it is the valve for the ram assist as it is shot and leaks. On rutted roads it will react to the feed back from the wheels and try to turn itself. I put new tie rods on it a summer ago and it did not fix it.