Were there different steering box ratio's offered throughout the 99-03 trucks?

My steering wheel only rotates 1.5 turns from center to left / right until it reaches the stops at the knuckle.

I drove a buddies truck 01 7.3 4x4 and his wheel rotates 2 full turns from center to left / right before they reach the stops. I had so much more maneuverability in his truck.

I measured the stops on his knuckle and they were 1.75 inches long. My stops are (were) 2.25 so I shaved .5 inch from each stop. Still I only get 1.5 turns from center to left / right. And now my steering has a .5 inch gap from the stops at full turn . I guess by design my truck was supposed to have crappier turning radius than the rest of the 99-03's??

I've always just lived with almost not making a u-turn in your average 6 lane intersection. I've accepted the horrible turn radius until my recent findings.


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Difference is pitman arm length. An inch that contributes to making steering faster or slower. 4X4 Moog PN is an inch shorter than the 4X2, making steering faster. RWD version (including X) is an inch longer making steering slower.

I have the longer pitman arm atm on my 4X4 since it was the only available at the time. I can see why they specified a difference 4X4 vs 4X2 but it isn't a game changer.

 

Did your buddy do an axle conversion with a later generation axle(s)? @Dan V put some '05 axles under his truck and it drove exactly like what you're describing.

Eh? Doesn't a longer pitman arm travel a longer arc for a given angle of rotation, therefore making the steering faster?

 

@FordTruckNoob as you know, my Johnny Cash truck is a 2001 with a 07 coil front axle with a 2015 steering gear and the 2015 pitman arm. If I were the OP, and wondering, I'd pop the drag link off the pitman arm and then count the turns lock to lock on the steering gear. So the OP might have 05 and up steering gear with the shorter pitman arm of the 99-04 SD's. Retaining the older pitman arm is a way to mate the differing drag link stud taper of the 05+ pitman arm.

And Noob, you're correct...longer lever equals more distance (at the end of the lever) for a given angle of rotation.

 

Whoops, sorry Dan. '07 axles. I still can't believe how that steering wheel keeps going and how the turn keeps getting tighter and tighter.

 

​​​I see what you are saying about pitman arm length making it harder or easier to turn the wheels. Would that necessarily make the total steering travel less or more? Let's say I test out two separate pitman arm lengths. Would the turning radius of the truck change between the two?

I should also point out both of our trucks have leaf spring front axles. An axle conversion to an 05-up would also mean converting to coil springs and radius arms, or so I thought.

I can certainly remove the drag link and count the turns from the steering box output shaft.

 

The length of the pitman arm also determines the steering angle your front wheels turn through, subject to other limits like the stops on your axle, the length of the moment arm on your knuckles from the virtual kingpin to the tie rod end, etc etc. Imagine you are swinging two poles the same angle. One pole is 5' and the other is 10'. Which pole has the tip travel further?

Also, if you have 4x4 the stop is there to prevent you from over-articulating your u-joint. Is your 0.5" of air after grinding your stops down because your u-joint was binding?

 

I'm saying that you might have a 05+ steering gear...only. They swap right in. The 05+ is considered an upgrade over the 99-04 units. And the 2011 unit a bigger upgrade....but more things need to be changed.

 

Alright that makes sense about the pitman arm length now. I'm going to see him tomorrow I'll have a closer look.

Before I ground the stops there was never any air between the knuckle and the stop.

About the U-joint binding thats kind of my point. On my friends '01 axle his stops are unground and are 1.75" in length. Mine were 2.25". That leads me to believe something is different in the design between the two years. But my understanding was the axles and steering from 99-04 are the same.

 

What year is yours? These trucks had Dana 50 axles halfway into the 2000 model year and the Dana 60 thereafter. I wasn't aware of any differences in the knuckles between the D50 and D60 though.

 

Oh gotcha. I must have misread that.

 

Mine is an '02

 

My '01 F250 had a D50.

 

Oops. Trucks into the middle of 2001 had D50s then. Man, the coffee really hasn't kicked in this morning.

 

Maybe it's your coffee?