Play in steering?
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Play in steering?
I have a '92 F-150 4x4 and I have a question about the steering. When I drive it at highway speeds, there seems to be a lot of play in the steering. I've driven new 4x4's and the steering is tight compared to this. I've had the front lifted up and the tie rod's don't seem to have a lot of play in them. Could this be a problem in my power steering or this normal for this year of truck? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Northern Indiana
Play in steering?
Usually it's due to tires. The fatter they are and the faster you go, the more wander you'll get. It's possible to tighten up the steering box but unless it's excessive, I don't think I'd worry about it. There's an adjustment on the box on the left side of it and you should be able to access it by taking off the left front tire. If you go too tight you can also get wander so it's a trial and error fix. I did this on one of my vans but it was only after I had to replace the steering box and I wanted to play with the adjustment just to see what it would do.
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Play in steering?
Thanks for the helps guys. I once tried to adjust the nut on the steering box, but I couldn't get it loose so I didn't bother messing with it. As for the tires goes, they are the stock 15's and they are not that wide. I'll look into it more this weekend while drinking a cold and I'm not too busy hitting the books.
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Play in steering?
Well I took my truck to the dealer today and here is what they told me. My front wheel bearing are loose and going out. They need to be replaced and all of that good stuff. I was also having a problem with a clicking sound at times up front but it goes away whenever I hit the brakes and that also had something to do with it also from what the tech told me. So we'll see tomorrow if that was really it or not.
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Joined: Sep 2003
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From: Northern Indiana
Play in steering?
Ya. You left out the clicking sound which is a sure sign of bearings, BUT, unless they are really, really shot, I don't believe that new ones will help the wander.
If the bearings are bad enough to cause wander, you can jack up just one, and wiggle the tire with your hands. If you get play that's not part of the normal tie rod end play, then bearings are going to help. Either way, it sounds like they should be done.
From now on, when you have brakes done, also get the bearings repacked.
If the bearings are bad enough to cause wander, you can jack up just one, and wiggle the tire with your hands. If you get play that's not part of the normal tie rod end play, then bearings are going to help. Either way, it sounds like they should be done.
From now on, when you have brakes done, also get the bearings repacked.
