The wandering Ex
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Joined: Apr 2007
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The wandering Ex
Ok Excursion gurus, help me out if you can.
I have a 2005 Ex, V10 with just over 127,000 miles on it. It has the following new parts,
Ats springs v/c codes
4:30 gears with Detroit True trac
new ball joints
new red head steering box
Dynatrac free spin kit
new front axle u joints
The tie rods are still tight and in good condition, just gave them a shot of grease.
The caster is set to 5.5 degrees
New steering stabilizer
New rotors, pads and calipers on all four wheels
I still have wander, meaning I could be just driving down the road, anytime over 35 mph, and the truck will sometimes dart to one side or the other, or it could just slowly wander to the right or left without any input from the steering wheel. Of course the problem is worse when towing, a lot worse, I won’t tow with it again until this is resolved.
It also won’t return to center after turning. And sometimes turning into corners feels like oversteer.
Am I missing something? The only old parts are the tie rod ends but they are good, I don’t want to replace them if I don’t need to, everything else under there is new and working properly.
I have over $8000 invested in this truck and it’s really not safe to drive. I want to sell it and buy a pickup but I really can’t in good conscience sell something that’s not safe. And after doing all this work, I’ll never get that money out of it.
To me it sounds like ball joints or front axle u joints but they are all new.
Let me know what you think, thanks!
I have a 2005 Ex, V10 with just over 127,000 miles on it. It has the following new parts,
Ats springs v/c codes
4:30 gears with Detroit True trac
new ball joints
new red head steering box
Dynatrac free spin kit
new front axle u joints
The tie rods are still tight and in good condition, just gave them a shot of grease.
The caster is set to 5.5 degrees
New steering stabilizer
New rotors, pads and calipers on all four wheels
I still have wander, meaning I could be just driving down the road, anytime over 35 mph, and the truck will sometimes dart to one side or the other, or it could just slowly wander to the right or left without any input from the steering wheel. Of course the problem is worse when towing, a lot worse, I won’t tow with it again until this is resolved.
It also won’t return to center after turning. And sometimes turning into corners feels like oversteer.
Am I missing something? The only old parts are the tie rod ends but they are good, I don’t want to replace them if I don’t need to, everything else under there is new and working properly.
I have over $8000 invested in this truck and it’s really not safe to drive. I want to sell it and buy a pickup but I really can’t in good conscience sell something that’s not safe. And after doing all this work, I’ll never get that money out of it.
To me it sounds like ball joints or front axle u joints but they are all new.
Let me know what you think, thanks!
Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 1,143
Likes: 13
From: ND
i think with more caster it is harder for the wheel to self center, i noticed that with mine when i added 2* caster shims, i'm only at 3.5 or 4* total caster IIRC.
also, my tierods felt tight but i had a clunking noise going over bumps and replacing them fixed the clunk. so even though they feel tight, they might not be OK
also, my tierods felt tight but i had a clunking noise going over bumps and replacing them fixed the clunk. so even though they feel tight, they might not be OK
Laughing Gas
Joined: Jul 2018
Posts: 816
Likes: 7
From: Prescott, AZ
Just curious: what size tires do you have, and what is your toe-in set at? The oversteer sensation could be excessive toe-in, which can also manifest itself as unexpected behavior in straight-line operation. A lack of toe-in can lead to a nebulous, uncertain on-center feel and more of a "drift". Turning is frequently described as "early" or "late" - early refers to the sudden directional change with a minor steering input, as excessive toe-in favors the outside front wheel as it sets and weights entering a turn; late describes the excessive amount the steering wheel has to be turned before the outside wheel is manipulated enough to overcome insufficient toe-in and begin altering the vehicle's course. Early feels like "whoops, I didn't need to turn the steering wheel that much", while late feels like "holy cow, it takes a while to get this thing to change direction".
Any difference in behavior under moderate acceleration or engine braking? Wandering isn't always about the front end...
Any difference in behavior under moderate acceleration or engine braking? Wandering isn't always about the front end...
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 144
Likes: 1
Look on youtube for "f250 ball joint memory steer"
Were the balljoints torqued properly?
What condition are the tracbar bushings?
Were the balljoints torqued properly?
What condition are the tracbar bushings?
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Posting Guru
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I think you might be on to something, Mike. As I’m looking through my papers , receipts and such, I bought this truck two years ago from a Chevy dealership. They did and inspection before they put it on the lot, they replaced passenger side ball joints. One year later I had the drivers side ball joints done since they failed the Pa state inspection. So two different mechanics did ball joints a year apart, someone could have easily torqued them to the wrong spec. I will take it in this year for inspection later this month, I will take it to the 4x4 shop and have them check it out.
Senior User
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 144
Likes: 1
Probable, Im about to put new xrf joints on the front of my EX for the same reason. All the joints look good and dont have any play but it drives like its drunk over 50 mph.
The steering response doesn't match the input, if you hit a bump in a corner you will get more steer from the front end while holding the wheel stationary.
If my last turn before getting on the road is to the right it will track straight, if the last turn was to the left it will pull left instead of straight.. fairly certain bj were torqued wrong by the previous owners service.
I have not done the tie rod removed check for how much torque is required to cause the wheel to steer on lubed plates though... there are some vids on that also.
The steering response doesn't match the input, if you hit a bump in a corner you will get more steer from the front end while holding the wheel stationary.
If my last turn before getting on the road is to the right it will track straight, if the last turn was to the left it will pull left instead of straight.. fairly certain bj were torqued wrong by the previous owners service.
I have not done the tie rod removed check for how much torque is required to cause the wheel to steer on lubed plates though... there are some vids on that also.
Laughing Gas
Joined: Oct 2017
Posts: 1,143
Likes: 13
From: ND
it probably isn’t the tierods, just saying no matter how much i tried to wiggle or get mine to move I couldn’t, but replacing them tightened everything up nicely and fixed my clunk and minor steering issues
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,259
Likes: 346
From: Northern California
what stands out to me is, with 5* of caster you should have great return to center which points to ball joints, just because they are new doesnt mean they are good, in fact many people screw up the install or even put cheap low quality units in that suck ftom the day they are installed. id indpect those first then the rest if the system lookkng for what is binding. dont rule anything out just because it was recently replaced, invluding the collapsable steering shaft.
Lead Driver
Joined: Apr 2011
Posts: 8,259
Likes: 346
From: Northern California
