This is a new to me 2000 F-350 CC LB 7.3 4x4 with 169,000 miles. Things seem to be in tip top shape, except for some power steering pump whine. All stock except for a front add a leaf leveling kit. It had some large 315/75-16 tires on it that were almost done and they also rubbed the front springs badly when turning and limited the turning radius. So today I put on some 285/75-16 and viola, my turning radius is back, no rubbing, looks good and I got some new kicks. Then I go to stop and there some slight oscillating with the steering wheel that wasn't there before.
The ride is great, smoother and quieter so I love the tires. Before the truck pulled a little to the left; now there's no pulling, it tracks straight. I did not get an alignment done. Any ideas on why I'm getting this feedback through the wheel?

 

Check to make sure your rotors are not warped. With the bigger tires, your brakes were working harder.

 

This is possible, I was just wondering why it didn't do it before.

 

It could be a warped front rotor, or it might be a bad tire.

A real easy way to tell is to swap your front and back tires. If the oscillation in the steering wheel stops after you rotate the tires, it is a bad tire. If it doesn't, you need to turn or replace your front rotors.

 

Hopefully who ever installed the tires torqued all of your lug nuts. Check and make sure the nuts are tight and torqued to specs...150 lb ft I believe.

Sarge

 

Sounds more like whoever did the tire swap cranked down on one of the front lug nuts too far too fast. As in, they tightened one down right away and didn't snug them all first.

This will cause the rotor to **** slightly and will definitely cause the steering wheel to oscillate.

Whenever I have tires put on a vehicle, I take it home and redo all the lug nut torques and then check it for a week or two after that.

I've had lug nuts get pretty loose just from driving around the first few days after a tire swap.

 

This is my vote as well. If you watch some tire monkeys they just throw the lugnuts on there and tighten them all down as far as the impact will let them go without snugging them all first. This can warp the rotors pretty easily.

 

I'll recheck them, but I watched the guy put them on lightly with the impact wrench, then use a torque wrench to tighten to spec. I was surprised to see he did that.

If the rotor was on crooked then the wheel would be on crooked and I'd feel it all the time. I'm not buying that. I could see how it would warp the rotors, but not within two blocks of driving. It only does it when I brake. I'll be checking for loose ball joints too.

 

Did he actually use the torque wrench to tighten the lugs, as in he made a turn or two with the wrench? A lot of the time they will tighten the lugs and then just stick the torque wrench on and make sure it clicks. This only tells them that they are at or over the proper torque spec.

Did he tighten them one at a time all the way or did he tighten one most of the way, then go to another, then another, then eventually go back over them all again torquing to spec? Did he do a star pattern or just go around in a circle?

Many of these things can cause the rotor to warp immediatly.

 

He used the torque wrench to tighten the lugs. He had to crank on the torque wrench 3-4 times to get the click. He went in a star pattern, then went around in a circle to double check. Like I said, first time I've ever seen a tire monkey do that, I was impressed and will be using that place in the future.

 

Well today I went out and checked the ball joints and steering gear. All is tight thankfully. I decided that I should check the tire pressures, I hadn't done it after the install because I assumed the tire changer did since he took such great care to properly torque the lug nuts. I was wrong. One front tire had 33psi and the other had 53. I bumped them both up to 55 per the door sticker and the oscillating is gone. I wouldn't think a 20# difference in tire pressure would be a problem, but apparently it was for me. I can tell that the rotors are slightly warped though. Not bad, but I can tell. Maybe the new tires and the uneven pressures magnified that a bit.

 

spdmpo - Thanks for coming back with your results. That the pressure difference could be felt in the steering is interesting....

 

That is an interesting fix. I was thinking along the lines of over-torque too. I have done it and seen others do it. Over torque a lug nut and when your rotors heat up, they get soft then warp.