Ok so I'm looking to do a couple of things. I have a 94 F350 crew cab, long bed. She's a beast and I love her. But I want her just a smidgen higher. I'm also wondering some stuff.

First I know she's a one ton, and I know it's not a luxury car. But, I'd like to smooth out the ride a little bit.

Will the SoftRide Leaf Spring Packs out there help me with my situations?

Also, I'm not sure about the bushings etc on it. I'm sure they need addressed, they look pretty corroded.

Lastly the steering is really jacked. it's like I have to turn the wheel about 5 - 6" before it actaully steers. NOT so safe really. The steering box (?), part with the pitman arm coming off of it, has fluid all over it and it's wet, so I'm assuming that probably needs to be addressed by replacing it.

I'll take a couple of pics either tonight or tomorrow for some additional help. I'd like to tighten up the steering though as well. I looked at the, damn I can't think of the name, I wanna say torsion bar, up front and it appears bent. Again I'll take pics for further reference.

If anyone can give me some suggestions, and as well lead me to some places on line for parts, for bushings, arms, links, shocks, etc, I'd greatly appreciate it.

I'm not that guy who just wants a hand out, but I'm having a hard time searching, probably not entering the right words to search by. So I could use some direction.

Thanks for any help!

EDIT: Here are some pictures of what I'm talking about.

This is a picture of the Pitman Arm with Fluid all over it, and looks very bad. Also a length view of the leaf springs that look awfully straight. Shouldn't they be curved more?


Here's a shot of some of the bushings.


What I'm guessing is the steering box (or whatever the technical name for it is), next to the oil filter. Looks like a lot of fluid or leaking going on there.


And here is, what I'm assuming is the tie rod. See the bend in the middle there. Doesn't look like it should be there, but I have no knowledge. What do you guys think?


Thanks guys!

 

You're correct in assuming you should replace the steering box. I think the bar you're looking at thats bent is the tie rod. Its the piece that goes from wheel knuckle to knuckle. It probably needs to not be bent. It should be replaced, which brings us to the steering play. A lot of the play is caused by the tie rod being allowed to twist. Since the connecting rod attaches on the front of the tie rod instead of the top, this twist causes a significant ability for the wheels to turn while the steering wheel and box don't. When you replace the tie-rod, it should come with 2 bushings that fit between the rod and the knuckles on the ball joint. These really help with that issue.

The leaky and probably worn box and the floppy tie rod together could definitely cause that much play. I'd look into changing those first.

As far as the soft ride springs, I couldn't tell you anything. But replacing worn bushings is never a bad idea, and a necessity if you do change springs.

Good luck!

 

Thanks, by the looks of it, that tie rod (I couldn't think of the word at the time) does look bent and it should be straight which was what I figured. I'll look into that and the steering box for sure.

What about the steering stabilizers that I see a lot of trucks with? Something like this:Rancho RS97481 - Rancho RS5000 Steering Stabilizers - Overview - SummitRacing.com

Will that help me as well, after fixing those issues? Seems like for $82.00 it wouldn't break the bank to try anyway.

Again, thanks for the help.

 

Loaded some pics in the original post for reference to what I'm talking about. Thanks guys!

 

That tie-rod on my 1992 F350 4x4 has the same bend in it. It's supposed to be there. I replaced all of the steering components 2 years ago, I know I have never hit anything to bend it.

 

When I replaced all of my steering links last year, the new drag link ( the one that goes from the steering box to the right side of the tie rod) and the tie rod ( the one that connects both of the steering arms) both had the bends in them. Once I really looked a things, I could see that those bends are there to clear the diffy cover when the wheels are turned fully to the left.

 

Ah, ok! Thanks guys. Is it something you guys replaced cause you thought you needed to, or was it something you replaced cause it had to be? Did that make sense? Did you do it cause you thought you needed to only to find out you didn't, or you did it cause you needed to do it?

 

The tie rod on the suspension end of mine was ready to fall out of the socket. The rest of the componets were pretty well worn out too. The steering was VERY vague and the tire wear was irregular on the inner and outer edges. Classic symptoms of worn tie rods on a solid axle vehicle.

I replaced everything below the pitman arm. I think I need just a tad bit more toe-in than what I initially set it up for, just under 1/16th of an inch. Other than that the truck drives like new.

 

I see you are using a fram oil filter. They have a bad rep. Do a search

 

Yes. I haven't had any issues with them. But I'll search anyway.

 

as someone else mentioned the top one is the draglink and should have a slight bend, the bottom one is the tierod and should be straight. all of those parts can be had at autozone for less than $200. Yes replace your steering box and if you want it to ride better and be higher look into a RSK (reverse shackle kit) and superduty springs it will lift the truck 3ish inches. my 350 springs look almost flat

 

Great info, thanks Terry. I'll look into it. I know there are different codes for the springs, do you know which are the best ride? I think I saw "V", "U", "B" maybe something else but I don't remember.

 

look up cary at CTPerformance. He is based out of NV and know all the info you need off the top of his head

Home

 

the "home" in the previous post is a link to cary's website

 

My personal advice is to AVOID autozone/checker/chucks/ Pep Boys type of parts stores, they suspension parts they sell are complete junk. They are sold to make a price point, not a quality point. I used MOOG on my truck, as well as any other domestic vehicle that I work on. The parts come in a bright blue and yellow box. I had a clerk at a chain store try to sell me their private label brand of junk, claiming it was made by Moog and it was the same part, which was a complete lie.

I actually had the drag link for my F350 in the back of the truck when I was fed this line of crap, I told the clerk to pull his part and I'll go grab mine. When I compared their junk part to the MOOG part, even they had to admit that there was no comparison.

Rockauto.com is a great source for MOOG, as is a commercial auto parts supplier. Ask around the local garages to find out where the commercial parts store is located, most of them do not advertise to the public.

As for your question about why I replaced my parts, it's because they were worn out. I could grab a tie rod end and pull it in and out with my hands.