Hey all, I've got an 85 F250 4wd with a carbed 300 in it.
Last June i started feeling stiff spots turning the wheel so I assumed the power steering pump was going so I replaced it. It may have helped for a little while but for the most part I've been feeling more and more "stiff spots" when turning the wheel. Its gotten to the point where I can't really turn the wheel unless I'm moving. The belt squeals every time I hit a stiff spot or turn it all the way in either direction. The belt tension is fine.
The other thing (not sure if its related). Twice in the last 750 miles or so, I've gotten a really bad shake/wobble from what feels like the driver's side front wheel, really almost feels like the wheel is oblong (it's not). The odd part is that both times it goes away when I pull over and stop. I checked both times and I can't find anything that feels loose or looks out of place.
Thoughts?
Thanks, Andre

 

Take it in for a front end alignment (to a place that works on trucks and not the Prius) and they should inspect it before they align it, they'll tell you what they find and you can then take it back and decide how to deal with it. Cost should be reasonable for just an inspection.

Despite what you may read on the Internet, this isn't the kind of thing I suggest doing at home, the professionals do this for living and know what to check and how to do it.

 

I got an alignment this past fall, it tracks nice and straight. The place I took it to is reputable and they work on trucks but they didn't mention any possible problems to me.

 

But were the current symptoms evident last Fall?

The frames sometimes crack around the steering box area; if your frame is flexing in an inordinate fashion, binding steering mechanisms can easily be the result.

 

Just something else to check; power steering will get notchy feeling (stiff spots) and squeal if there is air in the system. You've probably done this, but bleeding the system couldn't hurt.

It could also be an issue in the steering gear itself. In terms of the wheel, i've seen that symptom when a belt slips in the tire (and also with a bad steering gear..)

 

So... as it turns out, the PS belt wasn't tight enough hence the squealing and not working so well...

The wobble in the suspension was coming from a wheel balancing weight that had come free and was bouncing around inside the tire.

So simple fixes for simple problems...

One question though. As far as I am aware the PS system on these engines will remove air simply by running them with the cap off, so there is no need to bleed it. Is this not the case?

Thank you for the help
Cheers!