Hey guys, havnt been on in a while but i almost died today thanks to the truck. i was headin over to my dads and the steering seemed wierd. it was harder to turn and it wouldnt realign itself after turning. on the way back when i first started it up it seemed fine but about 2 minutes into driving it started acting even worse it was hard for me to turn it back into the center position. and on the highway my steering wheel was straight and it kept swirving left to right. i checked the tie rod ends and the boots on them looked like junk and all the grease is probably gone.. could that be it?

 

Fix all the obvious problems first. From what you say tie rod ends need replacing. Don't look any further until you fix what you KNOW is wrong.

 

check the fluid level. is the pump making any weird noises? being excessivly loud. (louder than they usually are)

 

ill definitely have to check the power steering cuz at a stop i cant move the wheel at all. so ill have to check that also

 

There's more to this than just steering...

It could be wheel bearings, ball joints, suspension bushings, or just bad tie rods.

Jack up one of the front wheels and with your hands at 12 and 6 try to move the tire back and forth. If you feel any looseness, have someone look at the ball joints and see if the looseness is from them. If not, look into the wheel bearings causing it.

The next to do is have your hands at 3 and 9 turning back and forth. Look for looseness and see if the tie rods are worn (4 i think).

Do the same with the other tire. Probably need some tie rods and an alignment. Could need ball joints or new/adjusted wheel bearings.

 

hey guys, well i checked the power steering fluid. it was full, and i brought it to the local garage and they said the ball joints were fine and they had no idea what it could be. its not too hard to turn the steering wheel for some reason thats fine now but when i make a full turn it starts turning back to center and then when the steering wheel is facing down it stops and keeps turning and its hard to get it back into position
just to make sure somethings not bent. im not sure what its called but the bar thats related to steering that connects directly to the rod with the tie-rods on each end. it connects to the passenger side. Well has a slight bend and I can also move it when the trucks not on a little bit. Is this supposed to happen? thanks alot guys

 

If this is a 4x4, the axle u-joints may be rusted. jack up the truck, lock the hubs and spin the wheels,if every thing turns well then turn the steering all the way over to one side and try to turn the wheel. if the u-joints are bad you;ll have a tough time turning it. hope this helps. Dan.

 

I have a quite simialr problem. I have a 1988 f150 4x4 and the steering doesn't return to center. It's not low on fluid and doesn't leave puddle on the drive way. Its not difficult to turn the wheel either way, It does wine but not anymore than it ever did. If I'm turning and let go of the wheel it will do circles all day long at any speed too. Ive changed the drag link and ball joints and tie rods. Whickymustang told me it might be Caster, and that it is adjustable, you have to knock the ring out that the upper ball joint goes into. The hole is offcenter, and you can either rotate this or replace with a different offset to adjust caster. Not something you can just do in the driveway though.

 

Check the stearing shaft. It could be binding and causing the problems that you reported. This could be caused by bad cab mounts or a worn/dry universal in the shaft itself.

 

I was thinking same as you HillBilly. My thoughts would be the steering shaft as well, I think its called the rag joint? Had to do one on before on an 86 F150. Wasn't bad at all. You rarely see this joint die so I just looked for a nice one in the junkyard. Never had a problem in the 3 years I had the truck after that.

 

TMoore532 check your axle u-joints. I went through the entire front end replacing things and it ended up being the joints. Check there first.

 

heyy guys. i had another garage look at it and when they were lookin i noticed one of the boots fell off the driver side tie-rod and it was a little bit old and the other one the boots just about to fall off and it isnt looking that good either. Also, when u turn it all the way one way and then turn it the other way i can see the 2 bars that are connected to the tie rod ends shift. when i replace the tie rods do i need to replace both bars? and another symptom. Remember when i said the car started turning by itself. well it didnt really its hard to explain but when i turn the wheel a little bit to the right it starts turning right and same for left. picture it like this, if u put a pencil on a piece of paper and u shift the paper which is the steering wheel' the pencil starts rolling that way and until u return it to the other side it keeps wanting to go that direction.
finally, when the cars off i can move the top bar that connects to the passenger side, is this supposed to happen?

 

i forgot to mention i have 35 inch bfg mud terrains. How often do you think ill have to replace stuff like this if i take real good care of it

 

seems like with what you are describing, you'd have butt loads of play in the steering wheel. I'd start by having someone (with the motor off) work the steering wheel back and forth (bouncing off the limits of the freeplay) while I crawl underneath and look at every piece of linkage. Anything that moves that moves even slightly independant of the part it's fastened to should be replaced (at least pump it full of grease if it's not too bad). A ball joint will be in pretty bad shape before it moves by moving the wheel back and forth. Raise that wheel up and put a prybar or something under it and move it up and down. If you see any movement (seperation) in the joint, you'll need to pump it full of grease or replace it depending on how bad it is. You can check it out yourself with a helper (kid will work) and a level spot in a half hour or less. That's an awful lot of metal to lose control of if something falls apart. Hate to see you ruin a good truck or damage yourself and/or someone else.

good luck.

Dave

 

The steering returning to center is a function of wheel alignment caster. As you turn the wheels to the side the caster angle actually raises the front of the vehicle. When you let go of the wheel the weight of the vehicle causes the wheels to try and return to center. If you are stopped at the time there is too much tire/road friction for this to happen. When rolling this friction is eliminated. So the question is "what is preventing hr67hn's truck from centering?" First check as stated is worn parts in the front end. If there worn they need to be replace anyway even if they are not the problem. Next check for things jamming in the steering box or column. Next thing to check is the alignment. Why not check the alignment first? Because everything in a front end must be in good condition to do an alignment.