I redid all the steering on my 93 a few years back, and it drove like a new car for about a year. Now the things wanders so bad that its not really safe to drive. My new job pays awesome but keeps me on the road constantly (company vehicle, thank god) and i'm getting ready to drop some serious cash to take care of this steering once and for all. I'm sorry about the long post, but i'm just going to list everything, i've done in the past, and what i'm considering doing now. If you have any opinions, personal experiences, or thoughts on any items, please comment


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What I did a few years back:

Ball joints were perfect, didn't touch em

New energy suspension pivot bushings

All new energy suspenson sway bar bushings front and rear

All new steering linkage minus the pitman arm (raybestos through rock auto)

Remanufactured Steering box by AGR

New Ford (agh) PS pump

New OEM front coil springs (big difference there)

6 Rancho 9000XL shocks (finally found some shocks that are TOO stiff)

New energy suspension radius arm bushings
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What i'm considering/planning this time around:

I have messed with the steering a little bit recently trying to figure out where all the slack is but didn't have the time or help to really track it down. I've noticed that when pulling into a parking place where there is a bump or pothole that the front passenger tire hits, it feels like that side of the suspension pushes in several inches. The radius arm bushings still look perfect and the brackets are tight, but the axle pivot bushing on that side looks as though it may be deteriorating again. I had energy suspension poly units installed last time (bright red so there easy to check) but I may look into replacing them with some kind of hiem or uni-ball setup of its gonna keep eating up poly ones. Don't know much about hiems or uni-ball setups so any advise would be welcome here.

I recently did the saginaw PS pump upgrade from an Econoline van and discovered that the original BRONCO high pressure hose works just fine on it if you hold the hose where you want it whie tightening the fittings on both ends. It does get close to the pulley, but I discovered that it can't touch the pulley because it must first conact the resivoir and its not going to get past that.

After everything i've heard about Redhead steering boxes, I think i'll be getting one. I would really like to have one with a slightly quicker turning ratio.

I've had a hard time figuring out what parts are servicable or replaceable on the 92-96 steering shaft, and I might just replace it with one of the Borgeson units if the factory one ends up being part of the problem.

I'll probably end up replacing all the linkage again, but bite the bullet and get all MOOG problem solver stuff this time (by, by raybestos). I'll probably re-use the pitman arm since I don't see how they can wear out on these trucks, but correct me if i'm wrong.

I'll be checking ball joints, and wheel bearings as I go along of course.

I had steering stabilizers before and I thought they did help a bit with bump steer. The only reason I took them off is because the Ford PS pump struggled even more having to push them around. Now that I have the saginaw in there, i'm strongly considering putting some back on there. The first ones I had were Rancho units with one shock on each side of the truck. This time I may go for the setup where both shocks go on the passanger side to help slow down the linkages tenancy to jerk that direction when you hit a pothole or bump on that corner.

 

That's a pretty thorough reworking of the front end by any standards. In my experience the single most critical components to watch when dealing with wander and slop are the axle pivot bushings. I know you mentioned having replaced them. While you are checking them out, take a close look at the brackets and mounts. I had the passenger side mount (actually on the driver's side of the frame) crack on mine several years ago which left that entire half of the axle assembly, free to shimmy, wander, shake, rattle and roll all over the place with the worst issues occurring between 35-45 mph.

 

Hmmmm,

That's interesting Grey, mine is worst at lower speeds as well. It handles fine at highway speeds, so long as the road is reasonably smooth. When I did look at the axle pivot bushing it looked like the Ford Dealership beat the crap out of it to get it in. The outer "ring" part of the bushing doesn't look too good, but its hard to really see the inside part that counts. I checked out the brackets themselves and they appeared to be tight and free of cracks or bends. Next time i'm home i'll put the whole front end up on jack stands and really go over things with a fine tooth comb. I can hear something rattling up there going over bumps, but it may just be because the dealership left out the coil spring isolaters when they changed out my coil springs a few years ago.

A Few more questions:

1. I seem to recall reading somewhere that some people have installed a hiem or uniball in place of the rubber or poly axle pivot bushing. Anyone know anything about this?

2. Does anyone know if Redhead steering can change the ratio on these ford steering boxes? Are there any other Ford boxes that can be swapped in place of ours? IE: F250/F350?

3. Would moving the outer tie rod ends to the top of the spindle have any benefit on a non-lifted truck? (i've noticed that moving them up there would SEEM to reduce the angles).

4. Any experiences or information about the 92-96 Borgeson steering shafts? What should I be looking for on the factory unit?

 

2: You should try sending a mail to Redhead, they have a extremely good customer service and will probably help you with any doubts regarding the gearing options.

3: The flatter the whole assembly is, the better the steering, so yes.

 

Well this may not be of much help, but how are your tires? On my 78 my old 35 were cupping badly causing a lot of my steering problems along with the track bar bushings.

As for the Sag pump, I would definitely try at least one stabilizer shock if you can, my sag has no problems at all pushing 35s side to side with a single stabilizer so yours should be fine.

Being that the only vehicle i had with a TTB front end was a 2wd ranger i am still learning about the bronco set up so i cannot advise much, though what Grey said about that bracket sounds like some serious business. Other than this stuff i can't help otherwise.

 

Nah, she's got nice new tires on her but thanks for the response. I'm toying with the idea of replacing all the linkage with high quality MOOG parts, and adding a drop pitman arm (stock ride hieght rig). This should bring the whole steering assembly down to better match the angle of the beams and give me all the benefits it does on a lifted rig (if everything clears of course). Anyone ever attempted this? I have no plans for lifting my truck, and I don't do enough wheeling to warrant a SAS, so i'm just trying to max out the quality of my TTB steering.

 

Do the tie rod flip for better geometry and less bump steer......besides a Redhead box its all you have left
Welcome to GOFERIT Offroad!

 

I thought about doing that, but i'd have to buy the reamer and the sleeves, and hope I don't screw it up. Wouldn't the drop pitman arm accomplish the same thing but be a lot easier? I might consider doing both if it got the steering completly flat with the ttb beams. This is all on a non-lifted rig, but the benefits should be the same nonetheless

 

They do accomplish the same, but off-roaders prefer the flip because the steering parts end up several inches up and out of the way of anything that could hurt the undercarriage. The drop Pitman arm is a way easier mod... After you manage to take that darned Steering shaft nut off, that is: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...ing-box-2.html

 

Well, I might end up doing both in an effort to reduce the angle of the linkage. What I really wish I could find is a "K" style linkage that is designed to fit a non-lifted TTB truck. God knows there is a need for it. I have toyed with the idea of trying to modify a super runner kit from skyjacker for a couple of years now, but haven't figured out a way to make it work. If the drag link had 2 holes in it on opposite ends it wouldn't be too hard to add in an idler arm off the oil pan girdle thing.