I gave my wife her 58 last week on our 25th wedding anniversary. She took it for a short drive and said " You'll have to fix this streering before I ever drive this again." I did an axle flip (front and back). I'm not sure what bump steer feels like but that may be the issue the truck has. I put new tie rods on and just got the front end alined. I also put on a new steering stabilizer. Stocks are new too. What do I need to do to the pitman arm or drag link to fix the problem?

 

How much play is in the steering wheel when it's turned right and left? It's not uncommon on these trucks to have...at minimum...4 inches.

Causes of loosy-goosy steering: Worn steering gearbox internal parts; draglink; right/left tie rod ends; kingpins.

Back then, it was commonplace to change the oil, filter and have vehicles lubed every 1000-2000 miles.

Today, many people have forgotten or are unaware that vehicles this old need to have the suspension lubed. Lube dries out, ball joints in draglink/tie rods ends wear, begin to flop around.

Spindles have top & bottom zerks to lube king pin bushings. When was the last time any of these parts were lubed?

Left (upper): Draglink (3304), Right (3A130) & Left (3A131) Tie Rods ends.

Right: King pins (3115) & bushings (3110), sold as B7C-3111-A King Pin Kit (1957/64 F100/250 2WD).

 

Everythings is lubed. Most of the front end parts are new. This includes the brakes.

 

Well have YOU driven it? How does it feel to you? Maybe wifey just isn't used to 60 year old technology. Also what kind of angle is the drag link on now that you "flipped" the front end? Maybe it has a bad bump steer.

 

Usually when a vehicle is raised or lowered, the spindle arm (3131 in Bills picture) needs to be modified, raised or lowered, in order to keep the drag link parallel with the frame at rest. When the drag link is not level you will experience bump steer.