So I just sold my 86 F150 and got a bronco.

It seems to have a weird symptom with the steering and Im not sure what to work on first.

First Its very jerky in the center of the steering. So going down the road if you pull to the right it does nothing for the first inch or 2 then it jerks into the turn.

If you pull back left it really gets squirmy to the point my wife cant drive it.

So I'm pretty new to broncos but I know a bit on f150s that this is based on. Seems to me that its either the tie rods or the steering gear box.

Any help would be awesome! Thanks y'all.

 

Just about all steering components can cause what you are experiencing. Need to jack the front end up and see where the slack is. Check everything that moves.

 

Luckily I do have a pair of jack stands. Anything in particular I should be looking for?

I saw a couple threads about which way to wiggle things and find whats loose.

Also I just replaced the rag joint so we can rule that out.

 

Yeah check everything, all of the steering component balljoints should obviously be tight and can't be pulled in and out, not flopping around, etc. Might want to check the main steering knuckle balljoints for play while you're at it.

 

The front half of the Bronco should be identical to the F150 you had.

Things to check:

Steering box. Watch the pitman arm coming out of the bottom of the steering box It should move the instant that the steering wheel is rotated. If not, your steering box gears might be bad and the steering box needs to be replaced.

Tie rod ends / drag link. If you really want to check these, remove the castle nut and use a puller (not too expensive) to pop them out. The arm should be nice and tight. If it wobbles around freely, they're shot. Otherwise, just turn the steering wheel and watch for slop.

Ball joints. Jack up the front end and grab the top/bottom of the tire and try to shift/rock it. If it has play, your ball joints may be bad. You can confirm this by putting a crowbar under the tire and lifting while looking at the ball joints. They shouldn't be able to wobble.

Good luck!

 

Well I jacked it up and am not able to find anything loose. So I decided to take a bunch of pics and post them in a gallery for yall to have a look at.

So here you go. have a look at these and see if it tells you anything. Or request more pictures and I can easily post them.

bronco - barrettimagery

 

After a bit of shaking around on both wheels.
The steering box appears to be tight.
The tie rods appear old but not bad yet.
But i have just the slightest ability to wiggle the driver tire top to bottom. The passenger side does not move at all.

So that sounds like ball joint drivers side aye?

 

Yes. You really shouldnt be able to move tire at all top to bottom. Get you wife in the truck and let her turn steering wheel. Watch pitman arm and see when it moves how much slop if any is there between it and drag link, tie rod ends, etc.