hello all i recently presssed in new ball joints on both sides and now i have a decently bad vibration at speeds over 70 and also it feels like my truck is wandering back and forth randomly on its own. from what ive read a bad steering box would cause the wander but would it also cause the vibration? also i thought it was a little fishy that the steering box went bad right when i changed the ball joints, so im thinking maybe its not the steering box and something i did during install of bj's any help would be greatly appreciated

2000 7.3l 272,000
142inch wheelbase rear drive shaft recently balanced and u-joints are solid on it
any help would be greatly appreciated

PS im new to making threads commenting etc. still havent figured out why i cant put a signature up

 

ball joints, tie rods, steering box, suspension bushings and low tire pressure can do the wandering


vibration can be fun to figure out but a alignment usually cures it unless you have a bad tire, warped rotor, stuck caliper, worn carrier bearing or sagging rubber that take it out of alignment

 

improper installation of ball joints will cause hard steering causing the power steering to fight is making truck wander

 

Also I believe that any time you mess with the front end an alignment is in order.

 

I also have new ball joints (Moog) and it feels like I am driving on marbles at times. I have all new tie rods as well, rebuilt steering box, recent shocks, new bushings, Timkin bearings.

I dont understand it.

BBD

 

BBD - Just a question. Who rebuilt the steering box? Most are "rebuilt" with parts from other used boxes. A couple are done with all new and somtimes improved parts. I bought a Redhead a couple of years ago and my truck drives "almost" like a new GMC vehicle. (GM has a much better design than the older Ford design was). However there are several other things that can cause wandering as well.

 

I think it was from NAPA

 

i just did the ball joints and installed them per the moog instrustions used a press and proper torque and order
i did have a warped driver rotor due to a caliper freezing up during the last snow storm, i replaced the caliper a couple weeks ago and the rotor today
as well as put a new outer driver side tie rod ( the one connected to the steering knuckle) and
New tires installed yesterday i checked psi and changed a little their now at 65-68 on the front and 72-75 rear

As for checking the carrier bearing is the best way to see if there is up and down slop on the driveshaft??
I have always had vibration/ kinda humming (very annoying) between 57mph and 65mph
When i bought truck it had 209,000mi. now has 273,000mi

thank so much for the response sorry for late reply

 

That is a perfect description of how it feels
I like the way you put that

 

what tires did you put on?
last time I bought BFG tires I looked like a drunk driving down the road. I couldn't get over 50 mph and keep the truck in my lane, after hauling for 400 miles they were fine.
I have also run BFG tires at 25 psi until they start getting hot than air them back up and they were better.
needless to say I won't buy BFG tires anymore.

 

the tires have about 400 miles on them now and still bad my steering box comes in the mail tomorrow Red head 32 spline and i just got my carrier bearing from nepco today and am about to install it and will update soon.

Also does anybody know if the steering box being bad is multiplied when pulling a trailer cause i was pulling yesterday smalll car not heavy and it was way harder to drive?

THanks

 

Little update in case anybody is wondering or having same issue

I replaced steering box with redhead and new power steering lines to hydra boost and to cooler still wandering and i wanted to puke all the money spent and time but i obviously didnt take it out at this point im puzzeled but i eventually found out i have a bad steerinng knuckle the hole for the tie rod end is wallowed out and its kinda bad so does anybody have any ideas on how to get around replacing the knuckle i just put new ball joints in

 

If its so bad that its un-driveable, and you're stuck somewhere, you can temporarily tighten up the hole by stuffing something in it, like some aluminum foil, a small twig, etc.., then jamming the tie rod end in. Obviously, that is ONLY an emergency fix. Not something you would rely on or leave in.

As for an actual fix, you are going to have to replace the knuckle. I don't think your problem is a common one, so a used knuckle should work fine. As ling as you are using the proper tools ( a ball joint press), you should have no problem removing your new ball joints and transferring them to the replacement knuckle. Now, I can understand not wanting to mess with the seals,etc... all over again, but there is know way around it, you need to replace that knuckle.

Technically, there are tapered reamers available ( very expensive, and somewhat difficult to find), to re-size the hole. However, it would only be able to be made bigger, and then you would have to find some sort of custom tie rod end with a bigger stud to fit your new hole ( with the same taper as the reamer), but still have the same size/threads to attach to the rest of your steering. Not worth the time or money. Just replace the knuckle.