2004 F250 Super, gas, auto, electric 4wd, which seems to have a lot of a sort of wander or hunting to the steering. Everything has been checked out and is tight and there is no play or slack in the mechanics of the steering. Had it to a steering/body specialist who said the frame was sprung a half inch and after frame straightening and realignment (and $400) it drives the same. It is like driving on a high cam road and seems to be first to the right and then to the left. It goes where you point it but you are constantly re-correcting. It has been professionally looked at and there is no binding, looseness and is aligned to specs. Interestingly, when I jack the wheels off the ground I can 'steer' the wheels by grabbing the wheels but it is easier to steer them with the power steering OFF/truck not running, than it is when you start the truck and the power steering is working. It also seems to be worse when truck/tires are cold, but that could also be that I 'adapt' to the steering. Also, it only has about 40,000 miles on it, and the original Ameritrax tires which also are developing a lot of dry rot cracks. Wondered if there are any problems with the Ameritrax tires?

Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

can reach direct at rboett3930 at aol.

 

Could be the tires. I've had wander on my T-Bird when the tires were less than 1/2 the tread remaining. Also had it more violently right after the springs were replaced due to oem's broken on the ends. Then they had to settle into regular road ride height and had to have the alignment adjusted to drive it safely.

 

My 2004 does it too, but i got used to it. I've driven many ford trucks and most with the type of steering the superduty's have do this over time. my mom had an 88 e150 and a 94 e150 both got loose like that over time. Ford tried replacing the steering box but the issue came back. then they tightened the steering box and it helped some but was never tight like rack and pinion steering setups are. i just am so used to drivign it like this it is wierd to drive a new truck or the truck we have at work (chevy). Just so different...

 

Sounds just like my truck, 06 F-350 CC LB 4x4. Mine has driven like that since the day I bought it Brand New! Can't take your eyes off the road for a second or you are in the ditch or the other lane. Tried alot of stuff that didn't work and just made my tires wear faster. Last thing someone told me was to lean the castor back more, even if it was out of speck.