I have a 1974 f100 4x4 short bed with 31" tires.
The front steerig has been getting loose and I have to correct the steering all the time. And now the truck has a bad wobble when I drive over 45mph or hit a bump.
Any suggstions on where to start looking for the problem with the wobble and how to correct the loose steering?

 

birddog55,first check the front axle housing,the tubes sometimes break loose from the housing,mine did just that and had to replace the front axle housing.To check your front axle put a floor jack under the pumpkin and watch the tube to pumpkin housing connection for any movement while a helper slowly raises and lowers the jack.If the tube to pumpkin connection is good then look at your track bar bushings,mine were shot so i put poly back in.Check your radius arm bushings at the front capture and at the rear capture,these are sometimes worn to the point of causing minor front end wobble.Make sure the spindle bearings are good and adjusted properly.Depending which front axle you have, ball joint or trunnion bearing, you need to check out this connection where the spindle housing attaches to the axle.My first axle that eventually broke was the trunnion bearing type and the hardest to repair and maintain.The replacement axle I put back in was a newer ball joint style and a heavier duty unit.Hope you get it figured out. Don't forget to check all the steering ball joints,steering box and fasteners,steering column to steering box rag joint,look for bent steering components,check alignment, and tires that are well worn out will sometimes give the feel of bad steering gear. A cracked frame is also a possibility.Bad shocks only amplify the problem you are having.

"bowties in the rearview mirror"

 

I would get new tie rods and ball joints. Then put on a steering stabilizer for extra steering support and it should work

 

This guy has the right idea.... If you dont know how to check the tie rod ends you either get a jackstand and a prybar and lightly push against the tre (tie rod end) and if it moves up and down its no good. To check the ball joints jack the truck up a little and get a buddy to look at them while u pry up against the bottom of the tire...
Heres an example of exctally what not to do... You diagnose the problems. Not just go randomly replacing potentially still good items.

 

well ive had the same problem with mine before and it solved all of it. The truck is 37 years old im sure it needs it any way. When you get real bad wobble after a bump the steering components are worn out and sloppy and can't stay stiff like they should

 

Without knowing the backround of the truck the p.o. could've replaced those. Even if he didn't my whole point is you have to diagnose the problem. Not blindly replace things. Its like replacing an ignition switch to get it to crank over when the starter cylinoids no good.

 

Next time I just wont say anything. So can I get my $.02 back?

 

I just bought a 76 f100 4x4 a few months ago and it had the so called "death wobble" any faster then 40 mph and the truck would shake uncontrollably until i slowed down to around 10 mph. it turned out to be the track bar bushings were replaced by the PO with the wrong ones. ever since i replaced them myself it drives like a new truck. have someone turn the wheel back and forth for you as you check for play.

 

My 76 f-100 has the same issues I have replaced everything except the front shocks (special order at 229.00 for two). And to have the steering box rebuilt and but it still shakes. Preload is good on front bearings. Rag joint was replaced two years ago. But still shakes. Any ideas??

 

What tires? How old are they? Rotate fronts to back. See if it changes. Could be a bad belt in a tire. Also make sure you aren't still in 4wd even with hubs unlocked

 

1974 not sure what more explanation is needed than that.

most likely every single gle joint is shot.

I would guess the tubes could come loose from the pumpkin but my mind says thats unlikely. Id think it could happen due to crash or other brutal impact but still unlikely.

I'd junk the entire steering system and get the pitman arm from the bronco suppliers and run the newer style steering.
replace all rubber with poly and every movable joint with new.

 

Lots of good suggestions. As Cody mentioned, the best way to determine what all is worn out and loose is to have a helper turn the steering wheel back and forth (about a half-turn in each direction is sufficient usually) while you watch every component up front to see what is moving when it should not. There is literally "no play allowed" when it comes to steering components. They are solid and tight when new, so if you see a bit of side-to-side movement in a tie-rod or trackbar bushing or mount, then that part has to be replaced.
Using a prybar might work, but it's not as easy, as accurate, or as consistent as this test. Just make sure that the tires are on the ground and the full weight of the vehicle is on them. Do NOT jack it up to test this because you're using the torque of the steering system against the weight of the vehicle to see how things move under load. You can even see things like loose wheel bearings and cracked frames with this test.

As Lil Red mentioned too, for a true Death Wobble it's more often than not a bad tire. Or more than one if you're one of the unlucky ones.
Sure, other things can do it too, but a real honest to goodness death wobble is usually a tire. Rotating the front to the back can eliminate the problem if it's only one or two tires. Do one at a time to be sure.
If it's more than two then the only thing for it is to buy new tires. Balancing won't fix it, nor will tightening up all the joints. Otherwise every time a trackbar bushing got loose we'd have death wobble. And we don't...
In the case of the OP it started with loose steering (your first clue something was wrong and needed fixing) so start with the test to see what's worn out. Extra wandering that needs slight corrections can come from loose trackbar bushings and/or the mounts themselves. But the wobble means something is now extremely worn out, or the tires are going too. Wear and tear usually results in a slight wobble or shimmy. Internal damage however will usually give you a nasty wobble. Your wobble starting at about 45mph could be anything, but the fact that you say it gets worse or starts up when you hit a bump is also a classic symptom of a tire gone bad.
But you've obviously got other stuff loose too. So time for some detecting.

Have you owned the truck for long? Do you know it's history? Has it ever had it's wheel bearings replaced? Tie-rod ends? What maintenance is done regularly and how many miles do you drive? Have you ever re-packed the wheel bearings? It's a standard maintenance item and should not be put off very long. I've done them as often as every 25,000 miles, but you can usually get away with 40,000 miles if you don't get water in there. But it's just like brakes and needs to be checked. Your wobble might be failing wheel bearings.
If maintained regularly, they can last the life of the truck. If not, they're a ticking time bomb. Rear bearings go bad too, but how often depends on which style you have.
If your truck has the standard sealed ball bearings on the back axles, they'd better have been replaced at some point. They're good for about 120,000 miles, or 30 years. But at almost 40 years, the grease is pretty old. If you've got more than 120k on them, talk about a ticking time bomb! By 100k you should start planning a new set. If you have the Set-20 tapered roller bearings however, they may be good for life too as long as they're checked for proper adjustment periodically.

Sorry about the long-winded ramble about maintenance, but it's something that needs to be touched on when loose steering comes up.
Hopefully it's just linkage and not the steering gearbox itself.
Oh, and as Nod said too, if your tires are just old (even if they're not worn out) they can act like you have lots of problems with the steering. Tires wear out inside as well as out, and old is old and needs to be replaced just as certainly as when they're worn down on the tread if you start feeling their funkiness.
I've had tires last 20 years and not feel bad, but have also had them start to feel squidgy in as few as four years. After 7 years most tire places won't even touch yours other than to remove them and toss them out. It's a thing...

Good luck.

Paul

 

Death wobble is severe toe in toe out condition springing through the steering system. This can be kicked off by out of balance tires, radius arm bushings, ball joints, shocks the steering itself even a particular bump in the rd.

Track bars of equipped.

Yes check everything but if you know its old chances are times better spent just replacing

Also these trucks drive faster today than they did in the 70s death wobble in the 70s was probably rare. Now with speeds limits 80mph and some city streets even 55 these trucks are running out if they're comfort zones with old steering designs with million year old rotting parts.