I've not had very good luck having alinmints done by professionals, they always toe in to much thats why I now do own and buy less front tires as well

 

The adjuster on the box is touchy and very little tightening goes a long way. Both front wheels should be off the ground and after a very slight adjustment on the box turn the wheels stop to stop in both directions before tightening again. Over adjusting can make matters worse rather than better.

 

Sounds kinda like a toe-out issue to me. They can align it to go straight but still over-steer.

Also noticed that my truck is very sensitive to road crown or off-camber situations. When the road leans one way or the other for drainage, banking, etc...the truck just loves to go that way. The first time I drove a Super Duty, the first turn I took happened to be severely banked...I had the wheel turned right and I was goin left, just like in the movie Cars.

 

Yeah, haha, I have the same problem with mine driving on the highway when the road is sloped pretty good. They say big trucks just don't have the steering of a VW.

 

in the lats 6 monts i have replaced these front end parts

sway bar links and bushings
1 u-joint
2 lower ball joints
2 upper ball joint
steering box
steering stabliser ( napa aftermarket hd )


it has slop from left to right but it will drive strate untill you hit a bump or rut ,snow when you hit a bump sometimes it feel like the front end moves a little bit to the left or right

 

Have you checked the rest of your bushings?

(if the bushings go - you can watch the whole suspension move side to side before the wheels actually turn.)

So far, my 2wd has....

Ball joints (all 4)
Wheel Bearings
Radius arm Bushings
I-beam (track bar) bushings
Redhead Steering Box
Intermediate Shaft (the old one wasn't that bad - but I'm running out of ideas)
Alignment

Just got the alignment done recently - and haven't had time to spend under the truck again. After all this, I still have 2" of play (1" off center in each direction) in the center of the steering wheel. This is at least down from the 6" it started with. It drives straight, but requires over-correcting even at low speeds. It's hard to relax on the freeway - especially as rough as they are in CA.

Tomorrow I'll flush and replace the fluid, grease the tie rod ends as well as take the weight off the front to grease the ball joints. (It can be tough to get grease in with the weight of the truck sitting on the ball joints.) If they get dry and bind - they could contribute to the problem. I'll re-torque everything and recheck to see where else I could possibly have play.

I'll post and update if anything helps.

 

Have you replaced all four tie rods? I am going to replace mine, they have a lot of grease coming from them, I think a few are shot.

 

(if the bushings go - you can watch the whole suspension move side to side before the wheels actually turn.)

that's what it feels like. which bushings would you start with?



( Have you replaced all four tie rods? I am going to replace mine, they have a lot of grease coming from them, I think a few are shot )

i have not replaced them, trucked passed safty inspection in September and that feeling was there then.

 

for the 2wd, there are only 4 bushings up front. (1 for each I-beam, and one for each radius arm).

Same for 4wd, only you have one at each end of the track bar instead of at the end of the twin I-beams.

Clay at Riffraff beat out any of the local shops on pricing for Nergy bushings, so give him a call. He's a great guy, and they're an excellent product. There is actually quite a bit more to them than the oem bushings... they come with new sleeves for the bolts and the grease you need for installation.

Test: Have someone sit in the truck with the engine running (turning the wheel with power off will cause the PS pump to dump fluid out the filler cap) and watch the suspension while lying under the truck. Obviously you want to make sure it's in park with the parking break engaged. Make sure they turn the wheel back and forth far enough to actually move the wheels a bit - and you can literally watch all the parts work. I was actually able to watch the I-beam shift right and left about 1/4". Yours might be less obvious - but put your hand on each joint (being careful not to pinch fingers) and you can feel if there is any play or 'bumping' in the individual joint. Check all the bushings, all the tie rod ends joints, the track bar ends, etc. Even if a tech gave it a quick 'once over', closer inspection might show worn parts.

After that - by the time you start dropping I-beams or track bars to do the bushings - you might as well do all the bushings while you're in there to save having to wonder what else might be worn. Every small amount of play in each individual parts ads up.

Update: Also be sure to check the pitman arm. I realized that while I couldn't see any play (visual inspection - with someone moving the wheel) I could watch the nut turn with the cotter pin - indicating that there was still some movement. It should remain stationary within the pitman arm. I pulled it with a pittman / tie rod tool to protect the boot, cleaned it with brake cleaner being careful not to let brake cleaner on a paper towel - you don't want brake cleaner getting [I]into[I] the joint that you're trying to protect - and re-torqued it.

I have a new pitman arm on order - after spending a couple grand on the front end - I'm not going to skimp on an $80 part who's hole has probably been wallowed out.

I also took weight off the front end to re-grease the ball joints - and it seems to have helped some.

I'm still going to finish greasing all the tie rod ends and flush the power steering fluid tomorrow - and will report in again tomorrow. I still have about 1.5-2" of play in the middle of the steering wheel, but it's noticeably tighter than it was.

Edit: Also - keep in mind that if you let one steering component get worn and neglect it for any amount of time - the play that it develops allows it to literally pound on the two parts connected at either end, shortening those other parts life expectancy. As the next part wears - it pounds on whatever else it is connected to - compounding the problem. (now you have more parts with more play... destroying more parts as they go.. ) If you stay after these things early on, you'll have less problems in the long run. When I started, I had so many bad parts that it was impossible to determine which ones were bad - because they all were. It was frustrating to fix the obvious part - only to still have crap steering. Don't get frustrated, and just accept up front that if it's gotten far enough out of hand, it could cost a little bit to make right. Every time I climbed under the truck to take a look, the next worn part made itself fairly obvious. Once you get it right however, it's just a matter of keeping an eye on it and knowing that when your steering starts getting sloppy... something is worn that is about to take another part with it. Attention to detail makes all the difference in the world. Also - when you're not sure, ask someone (or make friends with someone) who has a little bit of experience. One of the guys at my local parts house spotted a few things that I was already prepared to write off as 'insignificant'... but it all adds up. :-)

Good luck getting the bugs worked out. I'm still getting there myself, but learning something new just about every time I climb under the truck with a wrench in hand and a beer on the tool box.

 

Sorry to bring up an old thread. My trucks steering has gotten worse over the past few years.
I can move my steering wheel about 80 degrees before the wheels respond.

I have replaced the ball joints
Just got new tires and an alignment 90 miles ago 265/75-16

I had someone turn the steering wheel with the truck running, wheels on the ground.

The pitman arm moves directly with the steering wheel but there is a lot of play in that joint on the end of the pitman arm.

What do I buy to replace this? Just that joint? New pitman arm? New tie rod that connects to that pitman arm?

What about the idler arm? I'm not sure what that does but was told by a friend that that might need to be replaced as well.

Any Napa part numbers would be awesome.

 

New joint right there.. Get a moog part..

Dick

 

Sweet, can I get that from Napa?

Any advice on replacing it? Looks simple enough.

 

They go bad every 3 years or so..Not bad to change for a mechanic..if you have the tools..spray lube the big threaded shaft now. pickle fork or air chisel to get it off the pitman arm. I measure the distance and try to get the same..


Dick

 

I cant find just the joint on the Napa web site. Should I replace that whole tie rod? Is that called an outer tie rod?

 

I dont really want to drop $200 bucks but should I just replace those two rods and the connecting adjustable sleeve? That would replace both of those joints that could be loose. And the pitman arm too.

That would really fix my steering right?