It always seemed like my truck would turn sharper one direction that the other but always figgured it was just my immagination.

well, the other day, i sat in the yard and played with the steering and discovered that from the center (wheels straight, steering wheel straight) it turns less than 2 full revolutions one direction, and a little more than 2 full revolutions the other.

i can't remember which is which for sure, but i think it turns more to the left than the right.

the truck drives straight, with the steering wheel being level as you drive straight, but the right front wheel does show some wear on the outside edge, whereas the left front wheel shows pretty even wear.

there is a bit of play in the steering, not sure where, but its not terrible.

is there a chance that the truck was aligned for toe-in/tow-out with the steering gear not centered? maybe the steering wheel is not on correct?

any ideas what might be going on?

1979 F350 4x2.

 

I'v had problems with shops not taking time to center the gear before doing the work. I allways tell them to center it correct,sometimes they don't like it because i tell them ,but , it's my money and i want it right. If they back talk or try to tell me it can't be done ,I just drive off.

 

i'm a steering rookie, so forgive me if this is a stupid question ... but wouldnt the steering wheel be crooked if the steering gear was not centered?

or can the steering wheel be taken off and clocked to make it straight?

 

If the steering wheel is crooked you can pull it and put it back on straight.

 

This.

PLUS, the steering shaft can be unbolted at either end, slid off the splines, and then reattached to correct the steering wheel being "out".

If you're really concerned about it, this is what you can do:

.5) Jack the front end up. Support the front axle on axlestands.

1)Turn it fully one direction until it hits the lock. Mark it at the top with a piece of tape.

2)Turn it fully the other direction until it hits lock. Mark it at the top with a piece of tape.

3) Center the steering wheel so that you're exactly halfway between one lock and the other (the tapes should be equidistant on either side of the steering wheel, which will probably NOT be straight at this point). Check to see where the wheels are pointing.

4) Now for the fun part! Remove the pitman arm from the steering box and reinstall it ONE SPLINE over. If you have a 4x2 or F150, this may be different, but for a 77.5-79 F250 with push/pull steering, there's not much other choice. THE STEERING WHEEL WILL NOT BE POINTING STRAIGHT anymore once you've done step #4 at least once. You'll need to mark "straight ahead" as "UP" on the wheel before doing steps 1-4 again, then re-mark all three tapes each time you move the pitman arm.

5) Check to see if the steering box is centered. Repeat steps 1-4 until the box turns equally from each direction.

6) Once the wheel turns equally from center in both directions, you get to correct the steering wheel offset. Take off the bolt/nuts holding the steering shaft onto the steering box. Slip the shaft off the splined end of the box. Have a friend hold the steering wheel straight. Reinstall the steering shaft, then bolt/nut.

7) Verify that the box is centered, and that the steering wheel is straight.

8) Enjoy!

 

Is the wheel "straight" when driving straight ahead?

If any part of the steering mechanism from the steering wheel, shaft coupling, shaft to box and box to pitman arm is not "clocked" correctly and the tie rod sleeves are adjusted to center the wheel, you get the problem you describe.

Correction involves "re-clocking" then re-adjusting the tie rod sleeves to center the wheel.

I had this problem on a car but never my Dent. I'm not sure which joints on a Dent are clockable and which aren't.

 

Thanks for the procedure. I'll be sure to print this out and hand it to the technician that does the alignment so that he knows how to do it right

leaves me to wonder ... how would it get this way? if this is the fix, you would almost have to reverse this procedure to get it clocked the way it is.....

i stand by my assertian that people do wierd things for no apparent reason sometimes.

i'm sure that several times in the past it came in out of alignment and the tech just straightend the steering wheel visually and adjusted the tierods to make the truck drive straight.

perhaps someone replaced the pitman in the driveway and got it a couple splines off, then took it in and they aligned it so that the wheel was straight but didnt fix the error with the pitman.... who knows ...

nice to know that i'm not crazy.

i do think it has something to do with the right front wearing poorly. but at the 500-800 miles a year it sees, it will be decades before the tires are worn out.

 

i agree i think the splines on the pitman arm is off. i would start there and make sure that is centered and then work back to the steering wheel. it should be pretty easy. if you have the time i would hit it with penetrating lube and let it sit for a day. i take the nut off and stick a pry bar between the steering gear and pitman arm and tap the side of the pitman arm with a hammer.

 

They can be a bear to get off. I agree with penetrating oil, but I prefer to use a pitman arm puller or a 3 jaw rather than a prybar - I don't like putting a lot of pressure between the gear and the arm.

Hitting the side of it with a hammer also works once there's a good amount of tension on the puller - it microscopically flexes/distorts the splines on the arm, which causes a little bit of relative motion. They usually fall off once you give them a couple of smacks!