hi,

I have an 07 e-250 econoline that has some problems that I can't shake.

Symptoms-
1.steering feels loose and vague
2.vibration, some in the wheel, some in the body
3.the truck will make even the smoothest road feel "lumpy"

parts I have replaced

1. both front rims and new tires high speed balanced
2. all inner and outter tie rods w/ alignment
3. all upper and lower king pins
4. all front wheel bearings
5. all four shocks
6. front rotors and pads.

as you can see there is nothing left on the front end except the steering gear box itself. Is this part adjustable? I did not see a screw to set the gear mesh.
The front end feels very sloppy like I have to constantly steering back and forth to go in a straight line. If I let go of the wheel the truck is just as likely to go off either side of the road. I suspect the gear box is sloppy. Any more info on this would be appreciated.
Is it common to replace any bushings in the front control arms? It looks nearly impossible to do as the only point to jack from is the part your trying to remove.

Something I noticed when I had the rear jacked up was that you can grab the tires and slide the axle in and out about a quarter inch. It prob would have moved even further if the rotor wasnt trapped between the brake pads. Is this normal? Bad rear wheel bearings? I feel that if the rear wheels can move in and out this could cause the rear to wander possibly falsely makingit seem like the front end steering is off.

 

This could be any number of things but the rear end axle slop would scare me to death---that's just NOT normal at all. I'd have that checked and fixed ASAP unless your insurance and AAA is all paid up!

You didn't list your mileage but its very likely the steering box is worn. I'll post a thread to properly adjusting sector gear pre-load but that's useful only when there's relatively low mileage or use on the steering box.

I recently replaced my box at 177,600 miles---the difference before and after was pretty amazing. I used a reman'd Ford part for $258, installed for $60 by a trusted friend/mechanic. There are cheaper parts out there but IMHO not worth the supposed savings compared to having reliable parts I can depend on.

HTH

 

It's normal for the axles to slide in and out a fraction of an inch. Every rear end I've ever worked on has such end play.

As far as your front end: check/replace the radius arm bushings.

And I've read on this forum about other guys replacing the pivot arm bushings, but I haven't experienced that.