2006 F-350 V-10 Has an intermittent hard steering problem. Almost like manual steering. Takes extra strenght to turn the wheel and nothing happens - then the truck will dart in the direction youre trying to turn. <!-- / message --><!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: ad_showthread_firstpost_sig --><!-- END TEMPLATE: ad_showthread_firstpost_sig -->

 

Could be the valves in the steering pump are sticking. hopefullly someone with more knowledge will chime in here..

 

Check the fluid level lately?

Otherwise, could be balljoints stuck, or the spool valve in the steering box is leaking internally and not giving full power assist.

 

is the powersteering pump making any types of noise...whinning,knocking,etc...try to flush your pump and replace the fluid...

 

After replacing the front ball joints on my 03 F250 the truck would hesitate then dart left or right when making small steering corrections when traveling straight ahead. The ball joints were defective from the factory. The upper was too tight (@13 NM torq to move, the lower was loose.) The dealer front end tech called it memory steer and suggested they were over torqued when installed but that's not likely. To confirm the ball joint trouble the Ford front end tech lifted the front end, removed the wheels, and disconnected the Tie Rod ends so the spindles were free. With the wheels on there was too much weight and leverage to tell if there was free movement in the spindle. The mechanic swore there was no way that much resistance could affect driving response.. but he was wrong. Maybe steering resistance was increased when there is full weight on the wheels. Replacing the left upper and lower ball joints solved the problem.

The Ball joint maker tech said there should be 5-6NM torque to move the ball in the socket. The bad ball joint resulted in loss of steering wheel feedback to road camber changes when driving. I had a hard time convincing the mechanics there was a problem at all, they were "over driving" when they took it out for a road test and looking for a problem when turning a corner. Probably 98 percent of driving is straight ahead and the small corrections left or right to the steering wheel are almost automatic to most people when driving.

 

glad to hear you got your truck fixed and back on the road...also nice to see you didnt back down and stood your ground!

 

OP: It sounds like the PS pump, PS box, or a stretched PS belt. You can check the belt by attempting to remove it. Too easy=NG

 

Now that's interesting. Hmmm....

 

Does it only do it when cold? I saw here a couple of threads about something like that when the fluid or weather was cold. Does sound like the pump though.

 

I changed my pump and it fixed 90% of the problem and then a new belt fixed the other 10%. My steering was pulling left and then right etc by itself.

 

Is it a 4x4 ?
Has the vehicle ever had a plow on it?
Ball joints or bad powersteering pump or box itself.
How many miles on the truck?

Rich