Okay I had read a few threads on here about upgrading the stock steering stabilizer. I always assumed my truck had a factory one, however when changing the oil the other day I realized it doesn't have one at all!I thought they all came with one, but apparently not. Will I see any benefits adding a stabilizer to a relatively stock truck? It does have 285/75/16 tires, but the rest of the suspension is stock. It doesn't seem to drive terribly rough for a truck of this size. Any input or ideas? Will it drive better or will I be better off spending my money elsewhere?
Thanks

 

a bad one can make the steering jumpy.
and not all came with them.
i dont know about adding one

 

My 2000 did not come with one either. I finally got around to buying one, I bought the bracket and ubolts from partsguyed and ordered a bilstien 5100 stabilizer. I also bought new 5100 shocks at the same time, so I know the shocks helped too, but it really drives and steers nice. I am running 35's and I don't remember the truck ever driving as good as it does now!

 

with 285 tires you will probably notice the steering being a little firmer and better control and damping effect when going over bumps.

 

Mine did not come with one either. I run dual stabs on mine but I have 37s so it helps keep them from kicking out real hard on rough roads or when I hit a large patch of water. Some say that they can hide some steering issues but I have not had an issue yet. Knock on wood. This article explains it better than I can:
Brake & Front End: The Complete Undercar Service Magazine

Many argue that once you go with 35s or larger, a steering stabilizer should be considered. Not sure how much benefit you get out of them with a stock set-up

 

Installed OEM ford damper on my stock suspension with Mich MS tires 2.5 years back. Small improvement on smooth asphalt. Experienced most improvement on rough pavements,gravel on paved roads being upgraded and uneven pavements. Easier to keep steering straight. Little gravel and no offload experience. I will replace the damper when its worn out.

 

Here are two videos on the matter.

This one is from a member here, in the 2011+ forum:
Installing Rancho Steering Stabilizer & RS9000XL Shocks Ford Super Duty - YouTube

This one is mine:
Steering Stabilizer: What does it do and why - YouTube

 

You can't ask for a much better reply than that! Reps sent for the video! It answered pretty much all of my questions. Does anyone happen to have the OEM part number for the bracket, u-bolts, and nuts? I think I am going to try and buy the Ford bracket then buy an aftermarket stabilizer from Bilstein. It think that this will be more than adequate for my small 33's. Thanks for all of the replys!

 

I don't have the part numbers, but I would check out the tousley ford site. You will find the bracket in the steering section and they call it a steering damper bracket. I couldn't find the ubolts on any of the ford sites, so I called them and they found them on their diagrams. I ended up buying the nuts and bolt and nut for the other end at the local hardware store. If no one else posts the part numbers I can look for my packing slip tomorrow if you still need it.

 

FTR:

My truck went over 100k miles (OEM 265 tires) with no stabilizer, and I plow/tow with it, never had any issues.

However when I went with 35" tires... I added dual steering stabilizers. For peace of mind, if nothing else. I noticed no improvement in handling, however I added the stabilizers the same time as the tires, leveling kit, and stiffer springs.

 

Like Tom said you may or may not notice a difference. I have the same size tires (about) as you, and as seen in my video I experienced very little if any difference with/without the stabilizer. 35" seems to be the magic number for bump steer with these trucks.

When these tires are done I will bump up to 35" tires, and get some dual stabilizers to match as my OEM leaked at one point and has since stopped. Perhaps its out of oil. But if I am going to put a bright attention getting stabilizer down there, I dont want a single off set one. I think that looks weird. So the dual will be for aesthetics mostly. At least for me.

 

Thanks for all the advice. I managed to track down all of the OEM part #s for the bracket, u-bolts, etc... and when combined with the Bilstein 5100 stabilizer it looks like it is going to come out to almost $130. Is there any benefit, other than looks, for adding a duel stabilizer kit such as this one sold by TopGunCustomz? 99-04 Ford Super Duty F250/F350 Dual Steering Stabilizer Kit @Top Gun Customz. I like the look of the brackets with this kit, and at the point it's only $30 more, at least for the base kit. However, I don't plan on going with any bigger tires in the near future so maybe it would be pointless anyway.

 

IMO... it should work he same either way. I like the looks of the dual much better...and I would think that if one failed, the other would still work. I think I paid $90 for the Rough Country Dual Setup on Ebay from Rough Country.

 

Well I ordered the basic dual kit from Top Gun Customz last night! It should be here next week so I'll post up a picture and the results for those interested.