Hey guys I posted this question/issue over in another forum with no real help or solution...so I installed the PMF RSK on my 97 F350 RC last week and everything bolted up nicely and now I'm having some issues with the tie-rods. The truck drives straight and rides good but when making a "sharp" turn at slow speeds (like 5-10mph) the tie rods will roll forward and will not return to normal location unless I turn the steering wheel back the opposite direction sharply, then everything is fine and the tie rods will roll back to the correct location!? It drives straight with no play going down the hwy and ONLY happens when making a sharp turn at slow speeds. The adjustable trac bar and drag link are close to parallel (couple of degees different). Was thinking maybe a 3' drop pitman arm "might" help but not 100% sure, so I talked with Trevor at PMF and he said the 3" may or may-not help some but is not needed, thinks there is something else going on in his opinion...The tie rods "seem" good and are OEM ford with unless than 10k miles on them. No real play or wear in them. The truck drove good and straight before with no steering/tie-rod issues. Any thoughts or advice?

FYI-- I went with the SD U-code springs from ATS. Junior at ATS was great to work with and I would highly recommend ATS!!

 

Following along.

 

Jarrett thanks for your help and time last week in talking me thru everything! Appreciate bro!!

Still trying to find a good solution to solve the issue. I talked with Ruffstuff and the tech I spoke with said they don't really have a solution for that problem. Their product "the cure" might help some but due to the design of the 92-97 F350 tie rod ends, the tapered stud is to long for "the Cure" to be effective. Talked with Junior over at ATS, which is a great guy, but again, no real help in figuring out what is going on! I hear a lot of guys have this issue when install the PMF RSK 2.25" and most just say it's no big deal, they all do that...I still don't feel good about that and hope I can get it figured out!

I also, called SKY and asked them "if" their kit had the same issues and the tech there said "yes, that is a common problem but as long as the geometry is good and everything is bolted up tight, you will just have to live with it". Which is basically the same answer I got from Trevor over at PMF. Well, I just don't wanna live with it UNLESS I have no other choices. Hope someone here has come up with a fix!!

 

Are you on fb?

 

I am interested in this. I have the SKY setup laying on the shelf waiting to be installed. I know several guys have either the PMF or SKY kit installed. Maybe I need to go back and read some as I don’t remember much issue with this happening. In your reading, is this isolated to the SD springs on an OBS or just the RSK in general?

 

Nope! why?

 

Yeah I didn't see anyone posting about this issue as well, which is why I posted the questions. According to Trevor (owner of PMF), it's more to do with the RSK and how the geometry of the reverse shackle now moves the tie rods with a different force, and that the axle now being moved as well to accommodate the RSK and the SD springs...So, in my mind, it's both!? Hoping someone has found a solution to fix this!

 

I know a fella that does a different linkage that gets rid of that issue . He is a smart fellow and someday hope to get it for my truck.

 

I sure would like to talk with this guy! I can have my wife send him a message since she is on FB. Care you send me his info? PM is fine if you prefer! Thanks

 

I sent you a PM

 

I have the PMF 2.5 kit and I have the role. I got the drip pitman and it helped a lot. Got rid of the role that I had through the middle of the turning range but not at the very end probably much like you’re talking about. I also bought the cure but I haven’t installed it yet. I can give an update when I do. When I ordered them their two desks about 3/8 of an inch thick which indeed or not thick enough. I’ve been able to locate online the same Dura rating stuff that comes in a stick that I can cut the links I need. That will be my more permanent fix.

you can also clock the connections so that it gets rid of the role. When doing that it’s just important to have a buddy they’re turning the wheel to make sure you’re not putting undue force on the connections. I had that and it worked great in my truck but I’m buying new steering components and I don’t want them to wear out quicker so I’m gonna go with the cure style of fixing the issue. The only true way to fix the problem is to get some of the steering kits That move the connection point. There’s several on the market but they can be approaching $752,000 range.

 

Thanks for the info!! I'm gonna trying clocking them (short term) to see if this fixes the problem. I am also gonna install the 3" drop pitman arm next week. I will give an update to the results!

Thanks fellas for all your help and input!!

 

I would think a drop arm would help quite a bit. It may needed to be added to the list for mine when I finally get around to the install

 

Took the ole girl for a test drive (50 miles). No more forward tie rod roll after clocking the tie rods. I'm thinking in doing this I might get some premature wear to them as well as other steering components, so yeah this isn't the fix I want but will work for now. As I stated earlier, I will install the 3" drop pitman arm next week and un-clock the tie rods to see "if" the drop pitman arm fixes the roll. Others stated it helped a lot but didn't totally fix the issue!

 

I also did the PMF RSK with SD springs and drop track bar bracket, and did not put the drop pitman arm on immediately... the stock arm defeated my puller. I didn't notice tie rod roll with the stock arm, but did notice a whole lot of bump steer. Cutting off the stock pitman arm and putting on the PMF drop pitman arm seems to have eliminated the bump steer.

The track bar is quite a bit shorter than the drag link, so I suspect that having drag link and track bar parallel is not sufficient for good steering manners. On bumps, the track bar runs through more change of angle than the drag link, resulting in different lateral (sideways) shifts of the axle and drag link end, resulting in bump steer. I think the goal is to have the shifts be the same... which would be the case if the drag link and track bar were both parallel (same angle) to each other AND same length, even if both are the same angle to the ground. With different lengths, I suspect you also need both as parallel to the ground as possible, to reduce the lateral shifts as the suspension moves.