I wanted to post this up to update you guys on what has happened recently.

So i finally think i got this figured out, yesterday i got all 4 ball joints replaced and the truck handles extremely better. I got back from vacation and after not driving it for a while i noticed how bad it pulled to the left when i was braking and how hard it was to turn the wheel etc. I had to drive to CT for work which was about a 2 hour drive for me and it was a full time job trying to control it on the highway. It also developed a bad squeak when i turned the wheel right before i left for vacation. I took it to the mechanic and he said that the lower ball joints were bad which the tire place told me right before they installed my lift. After i got it back the truck does not pull and it is easier to turn the wheel now, he looked at the u joints for me while he had it apart and he said that they were still in good condition so I'm hoping that this and the old tires with the bad wear pattern was the issue.

 

Another update, on my way to work today the steering wheel just locked and i couldn't turn at all so I will be taking it back to the mechanic hopefully today and just having him replace the u-joints. I'm starting to get aggravated i was really pushing U-joints and everybody (except here) was telling me its not them. It's more of a safety issue now because if other cars had been coming i would have hit someone because i was turning onto a street and the wheel just locked when my wheels weren't turned completely. I'll give an update when I get it back from the mechanic. Also! after getting my ball joints replaced my right tire rubs the leaf on a right turn at full lock.. i thought that was kinda weird because they never rubbed until last week.

 

Sorry to hear that the ball joints didn't fix it...pity that you didn't insist on having the U joints replaced as well because in essence much of the job of doing the ball joints will need to be done again. (so pull knuckles, hubs etc)

Make sure you road test the truck with the mechanic before and after...nothing gets fixed properly like a scared *****less mechanic..lol

 

Lol yeah he insisted that they were fine and he wont charge me a lot to do it if it is the u-joints he's a really good guy but he cant take it until tomorrow morning so I'm going to take her to a parking lot and try my best to consistently make it reoccur right now its just random.

 

So Ford nor the mechanic can figure out whats wrong and the problem still persists on occasion i picked the truck up last night (they didn't charge me anything) and they said see if it breaks. I will not wait until my steering breaks though I would rather throw parts at it and not hurt myself or anything else its a big truck that can do some damage if i cant control it. I am going to do my own u-joints, are there any tools that i could rent from advanced auto or anything instead of buying a bug shop press? I am going to replace my u-joints and if that doesn't work I will probably start looking into a redhead steering box because mines old and out of a junked truck. If that still doesn't fix it I'm kinda out of idea's just replaced all 4 ball joints 2 weeks ago. Also the tie-rods are only 3 years old so i assume they are fine because that is right before we stopped plowing with the truck so its only been used for daily driving the past 3 years.

 

Have you checked the steering box out the steering shaft for binding? It could be something like under braking or even the suspension flexes there is binding in the steering shaft or in the box.

 

That actually seems like it might be my issue, it mainly happens to me when braking and turning or turning at a high speed (like 20-30mph) and i can feel the wheel trying to stay straight, when the truck is below 20 it never feels weird or anything. How can i check the steering box?

 

Whats the preferred brand for good u-joints? Spicer? I found moog ones on summit racing but then when i went on moog they didn't have any. I would prefer greasable ones but i could deal without if need be.

 

Dana/Spicer for all chassis parts. Hands down the best OEM replacement parts on the market and I don't think they've gone off shore...yet. When they do Ill stop recommending them.
Sounds to me like you have a valve hanging up in the hydraulic PS pump system? Or something’s not right in the steering box? Can you get it to repeat the problem with the wheels off the ground? If so watch the pressure hose to the box and see if it jumps and goes stiff when the wheels hang up. That will pinpoint it to the box or the pump. That should also put drag on the serpentine belt and it should/could squeal with the pump loading up that hard?

 

the belt doesn't squeak or anything ever, and its just random really. I noticed though that it does seem to happen when slowing down fast or if the truck is leaning while turning like on the off ramp yesterday.... Also now once i go above 60 the truck starts to pull right or left and i continuously counter-steer ore and more as if its getting out of alignment (going straight on the highway) until the wheels like "unbind" or something and swing back to where the steering wheel is pointed which makes me swerve a little i get the wheel at about 45* every time and then the wheels snap back usually pulls to the right but occasionally to the left. Also i will be turning the wheel and the truck just wants to go straight and its almost as if it hits a stop and then the wheel suddenly decide they will go the direction i want which is what happened last night on the off ramp to me. Should i manually move the tires with it up in the air or have someone turn the wheel? I'm pretty sure its the u-joints or the steering box. the hubs were locked for a month out of the winter but i was not in 4x4 because my hubs were frozen (ESOF crap) so the u-joints would bind every time i took a sharp turn so they could be worn out after a month of abuse. Under about 15-20 mph the wheels act normal and ts never happened going that slow, however i have noticed that recently i can tell when its going to happen because the steering wheel has a little resistance when turning while going slow as if the wheels want to stay straight and when i speed up it happens on the first turn that takes more than 1/8th of a turn out of the steering wheel.

EDIT: I really wish i had a dash cam o i could just show a video instead of typing it out lol. Also i found this http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f171411/0 all of these instances are basically what im getting it seems and the common fix looked like u-joints in most cases. I am going to do them either way i think because it cant hurt to replace them and all the seals. and shoot some POR on the axle and knuckle to make it look pretty again.

 

It definitely sounds like the valves are faulty in the box or the pump or the hoses. Its not returning like it should. Somethings acting like a one way valve. The hoses could be internally collapsing acting as a one way valve too. Could be the valves a broken spring or bad check ball, dirt & debris etc...
Yes to your questions... with the truck in the air and the engine running... lock to lock the steering wheel for a while to see if you can reproduce the problem. Cant to hurt to grab the wheels and force it either. That could simulate the road force to some degree. If you can replicate the symptom like this its not Ujoints.

If this doesn't find or reproduce the problem then like others said put the ujoints in your hands and look at them. Once you have them out nows the time to replace them with Spicers. I've never heard of a ujoint binding so severely like this, unless the angles were way off or something was really damaged.

 

Thanks ill snag the scissor jack out of my dads truck tonight and see what i can do. The steering today is actually normal and it hasn't happened once unlike the past few days where it happened every ride i took it out for. I think i may replace my u-joints anyway because they are cheap and my current ones have never been changed i believe so why not since ill be wrenching on it for a while. How do you tell if the discs are getting bad?I know how to do brakes but I've just never had to so since it will be apart if they are getting bad i might as well throw new ones in.

 

Scissors jack…oy! You’re a glutton for punishment! With all the money we’re saving you here by not blindly replacing expensive parts go to Sears and get yourself a nice 3.5 or 4 ton floor jack and some 5 or 10 ton stands (no chineasium junk please…for safety. Stay clear of Harbor Junk too). You have to be safe when jacking any vehicle especially a 3+ ton truck.
If the steering problem is intermittent like this then I’d definitely lean towards the box or the pump. Give the Red Hat tech dept a call. Steering is all they do. If it was a broken hard part such as a U-joint or linkage it wouldn’t heal itself it would be there 100% of the time. Hydraulics can be intermittent like this.
If you have pulsations in the pedal when applying the brakes then the rotors are exhibiting “run-out.” Some generically call it warpage, which is basically slight peaks & valleys from heat distortion and or wear. Look at both sides as the insides go before the outs. If they are a nice steel color, not blued with dark skid marks, no gouges or grooves, and the ridge isn’t too large on the outer circumference then they are most likely ok. Take them to a shop and let someone who can physically hold on to them tell you. You should have them scuffed (lightly machined) if you’re putting in new pads. The scuff will knock off any glazing. The new pads will be happier. Keep the OEM rotors as long as possible because after OEM your only choice is Chinese shizt which last about 15K on a good day. You can generally get away with machining once on an OEM. The brake lathe operator will measure them to see how thick they are. If they get too thin they warp quickly and are not safe.

 

Thanks for the info on the brakes . So today on my ride in to work i took a left turn not sharp at all and i heard a loud clunk and after that the truck swayed left and right for about 2 miles unti li got it into the work parting lot. f i was going under 20 it was fine as soon as i got above 30 it got really bad so i had to keep slowing down and pulling off to let people pass me. Every time i turned the wheel left or right there was another clunk unless i was going under 20. Does that lean towards anything else or still the pump or box? Out of the 2 I'm leaning towards the box personally because its an old abused one from plowing etc. Also I'll get a floor jack I already have some nice jack stands and a 12 ton bottle jack but its just too tall to fit under the axle, ill pick one up tonight.

 

I have been following this thread and I still say pull those front U-joints out of the truck and see how bad they look under the caps. Every symptom you describe matches what I experienced, to the point I stopped driving the truck because I thought it was too dangerous. I had mechanics clear my U-joints for service 3 separate times. The advice I got on this forum convinced me that the mechanics were wrong. When I pulled them, the needle bearings were half gone.