..........WOW

 

To the OP Katrina -
Sounds like you have perhaps a few things in combination that are causing steering issues.
If your truck is in need of most major components, that's not unexpected at 140k miles; tie rod ends, ball joints, hubs, etc are all wear items. It won't be cheap, but those need to be done. If done right, that should eliminate those potential issues.

I used to work at the Ford steering systems plant in Indy, and I'm familiar with that OEM steering gear unit. Those are often referred to by a few different terms ... ball and nut, worm and sector, RV (meaning rotary valve, not recreational vehicle). It's hard to discern from your description, but it seems that you may have had a loss of assist, or biased assist (where one direction has power but the other does not). There are several potential causes, but it really depends upon the correct diagnosis of the root cause(s). These gears are SUPER SENSITIVE to the quantity and quality of the little ball bearings inside them. Additionally, they also have potential leak paths at the PTFE seals in the internal valve assembly.

What was the original cause(s) for repairs needed? And did those repairs stop the original complaint issue and create new ones, or are the original issues still present? I'm tying to understand if the Redhead gear fixed some issues and only revealed others, or if the steering gear is even the root cause? As for the steering gear, I've looked up "redhead" and found that they are a re-manufacturer. I don't know anything of their quality reputation. I would recommend you ask them to perhaps replace the steering gear yet again; could have some internal issues which are next to impossible to diagnose over the internet. Redhead has a 12 month unlimited mileage warranty; try that first. The Redhead site seems to offer the right info; they claim to do a lot of good stuff. But any shop can make a mistake.

 

I have had it serviced regularly by ford ,i have taken it to ford they sourced it out to a suspension shop... they have rebuilt the front end ...
Age has nothing to do with it sorry
So does a 13 year old child wear out ?
People bring children to my er throwing up for weeks you want it fixed correct no difference here when its been serviced regularly... and the female part of that really infuriates me

 

Katrina,

Dont let insecure macho truck guys bother you.

Nurses are angels. I know this first hand because I’m married to one.

JR

 

completely agree with the above, as I'm also married to my Angel.

Katrina, there is no reason your front end can't be fixed on your truck, unless there is catastrophic rust or damage that prevents proper mounting or securing of front end components. 140K miles is a reasonable distance to need front end repairs done. I think it's just a matter of finding a proper shop to perform the work. Best of luck to you.

 

To most people, a child, is not, a truck. Apples to space shuttles.

BUT.. just like a child, your truck needs to be taken care of, and IMHO, they DO WEAR OUT faster then children.

Again, most here think you should take it to a real suspension shop. Regardless of if you think it shouldn't wear out. Are you still running the stock tires? why not? did they wear out? same thing. Usually takes the metal parts longer to wear out then the rubber parts.. but not always. But they do all wear out.

 

Humm, truck steering comparison to a human child strange coming from a nurse. IMO

 

Like Flyct, I'm married to a longtime RN. The people/automotive comparison is something I've never heard either.
At any rate some good advice has been given as well as some smart *** comments. If a Ford dealer farmed out the work to a front end/suspension shop and the truck misbehaved that badly right after the repair, then said shop should be called on the carpet to address this situation. It seems that a routine test drive by the shop after the repairs would have turned this issue up if they did in fact do a test drive.
It basically sounds like an entire front end rebuild is in order, but as someone else also pointed out internet diagnosis isn't all that reliable. The question now becomes whether Katrina throws good money after bad or bites the bullet and updates her ride. Personally I would update it if I could reasonably afford it because it seems that the truck is essential for getting her to work as well as pulling her temporary home to work assignments.
Katrina you may want to pose any further questions at the link below. It's more appropriate for the year of your truck.
https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum30/

 

As a CRNA, I concur.

 

As just some random guy on the Internet, I concur.

 

Ok Gentlemen, play nice.

I have done some reading and have a few questions.


Did you buy the truck new or used? If used how many miles were on it.
I see Redhead steering box installed. When who where and why was it adjusted? You are not suppose to adjust and you have a Warranty from Redhead.
Did you have the death wobble, ever experience it or still have it?
Or are we talking brakes? You say almost pulled you off the road. I am just confused so pardon me

Has this truck been wrecked possibly? We need to start off on a clean slate

 

Sorry Katrina for your troubles. Hope you get something resolved soon.
If you know any off road people they may now a private builder that can help you.

I use a guy who builds all kinds of stuff for 4x4 world. He knows his stuff and is cheaper because he's at his house shop.

Excuse the Donkeys here that feel good about attacking someone while there down.

 

Rebuild the whole front end. On my last 3 vehicles I rebuilt the whole suspension between 120 and 150k miles. Drove like new for tens of thousands of miles after that. Cheaper then buying a new truck. At most it cost me around $3K, but I upgraded that vehicle with aftermarket suspension and brakes. Most vehicles can be done for around $1500, if you can do the labor, otherwise it could get expensive.

Also, never go to Ford for service work if you're out of warranty. Find a local independent shop that gets good reviews. For some reason people think a dealer service tech is more capable than an independent shop. After being around the automotive trade for 20+years, I can tell you with the utmost confidence , other then wearing a FORD scripted uniform, there's no guarantee they know what they're doing. Most dealer techs are straight out of school and the dealers work them like dogs.

 

I think you may have an issue with your hydro boost unit. I have seen some cases where when you turn right it applies the brake, turn left you can't push the brake pedal. When they serviced the gearbox they should have at least flushe'd the system, we choose to replace all components in the hydro boost system when we have a pump failure, usually they fill the system with metal flakes when they fail.