hey guys just recently i have noticed my truck acting up. the other day at about 10 to 20 mph i made a 90 degree turn and noticed my steering wheel wouldn't return but i had to bring it back. than this morning the same thing happened. I made a 90 degree left hand turn and it happened again. the truck wanted to keep going left but i kept turning right. it almost feels like my power steering pump is going out. the pump was changed about 4 years 90k miles ago. I'm curious to see what others have to say. i have an idea what i may be but not to sure.
someone please help, what could it be????

thank you,
AJ

 

Sounds more like your steering gear box,but you might want to check ball joints,front axle shaft ujoints if 4x4,and steering linkages/tierods.

 

It's prob your ujoints

 

If you have not done a PS pump flush in a good while it might be a good time and a cheap fix.Make sure all of the steering joints are greased.

Ford Super Duty Power Steering Flush Superdutypsd.com.URL

BTW...You can use your favorite synthetic tranny fluid as well.

 

i have not performed a flush since the pump was changed. now on a side note that i forgot to mention yesterday. this ONLY happens when the truck is COLD once it warms up the problem goes away for the most part. Does this sound more like a pump than the box? and yes all of the joints are greased i just did that yesterday.

BTW that link doesnt work it comes up with a 404 error.

 

Me thoughts say pump beings I have had my fair share finding a GOOD one.

Linked just worked for me?

 

update: I performed the flush about a week or so ago and let me tell you holy lord the brakes felt AMAZING! I recommend doing the flush to anyone having a mushy brake pedal. it did cure the steering issue a little (i think). the reason I say I think is simply because it still didn't feel right. now 3 days after the flush the steering issue came back. The problem goes something like this. once the truck is started for the first time early morning when i make a left hand turn you turn the steering wheel left and after completing the turn you try to bring the wheel back but it fights you. now after that happens (truck still cold) if you try to compensate for the loose steering it almost feels like its very sluggish to catch up. so if your holding the wheel slightly to the right you will feel after a few seconds the steering catch up and the truck goes right quick (not like TERRIBLE) but it is very noticeable. now when you compensate to the other side it does the same thing its sluggish. after driving for a little bit and the truck is starting to warm up the steering is normal. I changed my PS pump last week and still have these issues. I checked all of my joints and the calipers and everything is ok. Im curious if once the steering "warms up" the box or the linkage get better? This may be a stupid question but does the box have fluid in it? around 5 years ago i did adjust my box once just to tighten the steering slightly but never did it again. could that possibly help? I was going to bring it to ford but it has to be something stupid. if it is the box are they easy to swap out?

thank you for the help already. riverrat41 thank you for the link but it did not work for some reason so I searched it out on YouTube.

Thank you,
-AJ

 

The steering box is easy if you have the tools. Just changed mine two weeks ago and the hardest part was getting the pitman arm off. I removed the DS inner fenderwell which made getting to the steering wheel shaft and the hoses very easy to get to. I did rent a puller from a parts house but it was to small. If you are going to buy a box you will need to count the splines to make sure you get the right one. Count the splines on the gear box pitman arm shaft there are four big splines so count the splines in between the four big splines if you have 8 you have a 32 spline if you have 9 you have a 36 spline that count is very important.

 

today while driving the truck home I noticed that once I started the truck cold the steering was horrendous compared to the other days. the truck was fighting me the whole way until it's slightly warmed up and the steering got a lot better. why would the steering box cause this? could it be something else or is it the box?

Thank you,
-AJ

 

We had a truck at work that acted like what you describe as far as the steering wheel feeling "stuck" in a turn. New ball joints cured most of that problem but there were still other issues as well. I am sure that there is lube / oil in the steering box but have no idea what type. You mentioned that you adjusted the box some time ago. Over doing it will cause the box to bind up and not return to center but 5 years is a long time for that to show up.

 

Like to know what you find. But I would start by putting the box back the way it was and see whats happens.

 

I did the adjustment 5 years ago. I haven't touched it since. If that was the case it would have happened once I had adjusted it.

 

I also has ball joints done about the same time as the adjustment. I read other posts about steering issues and I saw one that pop posted on and I believe he said there are valves inside the box. I'm wondering when the truck is cold the fluid is thicker and it's harder the pass through than once you start moving and turning and using the brakes the fluid gets thinner and moves more easily through the box. I called up my local dealer and a remaned box my cost is 300. I have read allot of posts on the aftermarket box but not sure if I should stick with oem or go aftermarket? Also stupid me it's atf from the ps pump that is in the box. I thought for some reason it was a separate unit not tied to the ps pump.

 

"Also stupid me it's atf from the ps pump that is in the box."

Brain fart here as well!
As far as a reman box goes, when mine was replaced the shop had to bench test about a dozen of them before they found one that they would install, and I am not so sure that this one is all that great. I understand that the Redhead is completely rebuilt with all NEW parts, not just a conglomeration of stuff from other boxes that look "OK"

 

This morning I went ahead and took off my wheels removed the tie rod end and checked the u joints. They move flawless no binding no hesitation, nothing. I than decided to check my steering damper.while removing it I noticed it doesn't want to pivot on the bolt closest to the passenger wheel. I had to bang the bolt out. Later on I well take the truck for a test drive but just curious could that damper not pivoting possibly cause this issue?

AJ