OK......Any advice is appreciated.

My big, beautiful 7.3 EX wanders all over the road. Constantly having to steer. I love this truck. I get asked about it and complimented on it ALL the time. I gave the engine some TLC last Spring and she runs beautifully, but the steering has been a headache since day 1.

This is my daily driver but I also pull a 36' camper several times a year. (roughly 9000 lbs). I can easily steer through the slop/drift when I'm not towing but whoooooee..... towing that camper on the interstate. When a big semi gets right on my left rear corner, she want to take a hard left. I know that's natural "side drafting" but the steering issue makes me WORK sometimes.

Truck has 288,000 miles

What's been done so far?

• New tie rod ends
• new drag link
• ball joints
• front hub assemblies
• steering box (re-man, not "redhead")
• dual shock steering dampener
• 2.5" lift in front (leaf spring add on)
• 5" leveler in back
• Have added Roadmaster Active Suspension Heavy Duty on rear leaf springs.
• Hellwig Sway bar in the rear. About to add Hellwig Sway Bar in the front in the next few days.

After watching some YouTube today, I am going to check the u-joints in the steering knuckles tomorrow.
Should I consider new leaf springs for the front? According to Bill @ PowerstrokeHelp.com, worn out front leaf springs are a frequent cause of drift. How does one know if the leaf springs are worn out?
Also considering adding dual shock absorber brackets and 4 new Bilstein shocks to the front.

Can somebody help a brother out?

 

Go to post #2 in the tech folder above this forum. You will be reading for a while...

 

Yes I can help you out, but first I am going to need some pics and measurements.

I need a picture of the front leaf spring taken from intro t under the bumper looking out, get the bump stop in the pic please,
same with the rear spring but from the hitch and then crawl under and take the pic from the driveline looking out.

measure all 4 corners from the center of the hub then straight up to the bottom of the fender arch.

lets start with that and please, until we get an idea of what you have please don’t add any more suspension stuff,
Any chance you have the spec sheet from your last alignment ? If so post up those specs.

have no fear we WILL get your Ex steering great and tracking straight as an arrow.... if you work with me on this...it takes a bit of investigating to sort through via the internet.

edit... what size tires do you run and go check all 4 pressures and post up exactly what they are now.

 

I will get all that info and get back to you! Thanks!

 

more questions....

did you install the lift, road master , ball joints, rear sway bar, steering gear or did a shop do the work ? actually a history of each item and why you did it and did the wander get better or worse ?

hubs, did you replace the locking hubs or the wheel bearing hubs ?

how long has it been wandering ?

anything you can add to the story is helpful ( even though i already know the solution, its just a matter of not spending
more then is required