thermostat and front wheel problem
Thread Starter
|
Junior User
Joined: Dec 2010
Posts: 54
Likes: 0
thermostat and front wheel problem
Last month I took a long trip with my f150 and had a couple of problems. My temp. gage began climbing and I was near a repair shop. The mechanic said my thermostat was not opening. He suggested to have it pried to the open position. He used a tool to bang the thermostat. He said I really did not need one because the weather in our area hardly froze.
Returning home, I felt the steering wheel shaking when I reduced speed. I stopped in a garage and the mechanic could not find anything wrong but said the bearings were bone dry. He said this could be the problem. The steering only shimmers once in a while now.
Here are my questions:
1. Do you think I should put in a new thermostat?
2. Could the shaking be because of lack of grease in the joints?
The tires are almost new and I had them balanced. Please advice. (I know very little about mechanics. Thanks.
Returning home, I felt the steering wheel shaking when I reduced speed. I stopped in a garage and the mechanic could not find anything wrong but said the bearings were bone dry. He said this could be the problem. The steering only shimmers once in a while now.
Here are my questions:
1. Do you think I should put in a new thermostat?
2. Could the shaking be because of lack of grease in the joints?
The tires are almost new and I had them balanced. Please advice. (I know very little about mechanics. Thanks.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,964
Likes: 2
From: Fort Worth
You should definitely install a new thermostat. Your engine is not going to run properly without it. As for the second part, if you don't know what you're doing and you don't want to learn how to do it, I'd recommend finding a good local shop with good reviews and take it in to them to have a diagnosis performed. Find out what it's going to cost and what the problem is before they start actually performing the work. The assessment will probably be around 100 dollars or less.
Fleet Mechanic
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 1,964
Likes: 2
From: Fort Worth
I would start back jacking up the front end, securing it with jack stands and then shake the front end a bit to make sure it's going to stay. Then I would spin both tires to see if I could feel any sort of grinding, catching, etc. Then I would crawl under the truck and start moving the tie rods around to see if they have any play in the ends. Then I would see if I had any side to side or up and down play in the wheels. I would then proceed based upon my findings.
