Hi guys. This is my situation. Just got a Donahoe 7" lift installed on my 05 F250 CC PSD with 37" Toyo M/T's. First of all, the steering box went out while it was at the shop that installed it. They had it replaced by a local Ford dealer free of charge, sort of like it was a warantee thing. When I got it back I noticed that it pulled to the right, worse while at freeway speeds. So I took it back and they had it realigned. It still pulls to the right but not as bad now. So my first question is about the pulling to the right. I've read posts on steering boxes going out and also some saying they can be adjusted or tightened up somehow. Can the 05's be adjusted/tightened? I don't want to take it back to the place where it was lifted to get it realigned again (took forever and it's 30 miles away) so I'm planning on bringing it to a more local strictly alignment place. Would it be better to get it aligned with the stock wheels and tires than with the 37's?

Next issue is with the power steering pump. After the lift I noticed it whinning when I turn, I think only at low speeds but then again the truck it gets louder when I start going faster so it might drown out the PS whine. I read some posts with people having PS whine and they have good results with flushing the PS fluid with synthetic ATF but I think it's for the older trucks. I also seen that the 6.0L PSDs use Mercron or something. Can we use syn ATF in our trucks for the PS?

Last issue is I hear a shuddering noise when taking off, occurs at about 10-15mph. I was thinking it was just the tires since they have an aggressive type thread but then I read a post on here saying that it's because the rear end needs to be shimmed after lifting a truck that much, driveshaft angle has to be corrected. Any thoughts on this? I'm not sure if they added shims or not. I've read that the Donahoe 7" doesn't need any alteration to driveline angle.

TIA

 

as for the pulling to the right im clueless.... if you want to reinforce your steering you should add a hydraulic ram assist . I have one on mine and im pushing 40" and the power steering pump makes absolutely no noise and I could turn the steering wheel with my pinky. You also get less feed back from the road when going over rocks n stuff. ORU sells a kit check them out.

 

Did the DR come w/traction bar?

http://www.rockymountainsusp.com/tractionbars.htm

 

I can't help much with your steering issues.

As far as your vibration goes, it probably needs the shims on the carrier bearing adjusted. The installer should have added some shims between the carrier bearing and the frame, make sure that they are there. You can then try adding another, or removing one to adjust the carrier bearing to get rid of the vibration.

 

Nope, the DR doesn't come with traction bars.

 

The pull to the right can be due to a bad tire. Try swapping your tires around (left to right) to see if that doesn't make a difference.

 

The pulling issue:

There could be a few possible solutions for this. First check the air pressure in your tires. Second, swap tires from one side to the other in order to be sure that you are not experiencing radial pull. If the tires are not the issue then make sure that the alignment cams were installed properly (arrow pointing forward). Next have an alignment shop check the thrust angles of the front and rear axles. We have seen cases where the installer missed the center pin hole on the rear axle which results in the rear axle not sitting perpendicular to the frame. Also, if dual steering stabilizers were installed, be sure that both stabilizer shocks are functioning properly. If one is bad the steering will pull to that side. Lifted trucks do tend to pull slightly towards the low side of the street. This is due to the center of gravity being higher above the roll center.

Power Steering Whine:

I believe that the noise is a direct result of the steering box swap rather than the lift. It is likely that some air remained in the system after the swap. You may need to cycle the steering quite a bit to get all the air out of the system. There is also the possibility that the pump was run dry or debris was introduced into the system either of which may have damaged the pump. I cannot say that I have ever seen a ‘05+ SD that developed a steering whine post lift.

Driveline Shutter:

The DR 7" system requires approximately 2" of driveline shims to address driveline shutter. Excessive shimming can result in high speed driveline vibration typically around 70 mph.

Hope this helps

 

Thanks for the tips guys.. i haven't even checked tire pressure, BTW what is it supposed to be for our trucks on 37" on 17" wheels? I will try swapping sides and see if that helps. Where are the alignment cams located, and do I have to dissassemble to see if it's facing the right direction? I would think that the alignment shop would tell the install shop if thrust was off but who knows. I don't have steering stabilizers but I'm planning on getting some.

Oh, I was reading the install instructions on DR website. Would torquing bolts down prior to loading the suspension cause pulling problems? Also, what does an adjustable pan rod bar do?

Power steering whine seems to be getting less the more I drive it, probably is air in the line. I'm just being cautious because I don't want the steering box to go out again.

The driveline shutter that I'm feeling, I'm starting to think more that it is tire noise. I've never ridden in or driven a truck lifted like mines so I'm trying to figure out what's normal. It doesn't shutter or vibrate other than right after starting from a stop and at around 7~10mph. Seems to becoming less apparent as I drive it more, maybe I'm just getting use to it or it's going away??

Thanks again

 

If you do not tow you can run your air pressure as low as 38-40 psi for better ride quality. For towing applications 50 psi or so is typical. Be sure to read your tire specs for the proper loaded pressure. The alignment cams are located on the upper ball joints of the front axle. These are visible even with the tires installed. You will see the cams just below the nut and cotter pin at the top of the ball joint. Note the arrow opposite the slit. These should point forward.



Torquing the rear spring bolts with the truck off the ground can preload the spring bushings which can cause the truck to sit unlevel and possibly result in pulling due to uneven spring deflection.

In regard to the shutter, your carrier bearing should be shimmed down approximately 2". This is not an exact science so it may take adding or removing a shim or so to fine tune this. In most cases this can be adjusted to a very acceptable level.