I want to start by saying that I know there are a lot of threads on here about Econoline steering and handling. I think I've read them all. Some of them helped me make improvements to my van, a 2006 E250 4.6 with a high top. It was a bit scary when I bought it almost a year ago. You've heard this before.... lots of wandering and steering inputs, especially at highway speeds.

Since buying the van, I've done the following to address steering issues:

Alignment (caster at around +5 degrees on both sides using caster sleeve)
Tightened steering box
Added steering stabilizer using OE Ford parts and Monroe damper from NAPA
Had three different shops inspect all front suspension components. Nobody found any issues with ball joints, tie rods, etc. The shocks aren't exactly fresh, but not awful.

The tightening of the steering box and steering damper seemed to help, improving stability at high speeds.
And yet, I'm not feeling completely satisfied.

So here's my question(s), what should I do next to get that last bit of better steering/stability?

1. Sway bars and bushings: I've noticed that the sway bar bushings in the i-beams are shot. So I plan to replace those with some urethane units from Energy Suspension. But before I do that, should I consider going to larger sway bars instead? Will that improve high speed stability much? In the past on other cars, sway bars impacted cornering more than high speed stability from what I remember.

2. Steering box: I also noticed that the steering felt much better after tightening the steering box, but, and this might be my imagination, it seems like it might not be as tight, just a month later. Is it time for a new box? I'm hesitant to tighten it again in fear of over-doing it.

3. Lastly, I'm wondering if I should have it aligned again. I'm wondering if I can get more than +5 caster to improve high speed stability. The steering doesn't return to center the way most cars do, and these vans can go up to +7 and still be in spec. The last shop couldn't get it more than +5 degrees without having the camber go to about -2.5, which is out of spec, so I'm wondering if a better shop, could correct the camber and get more positive caster.

Or, am I just expecting too much from an old van with 320k miles?

 

Are there tires that track better?

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 178K miles

 

Not sure. I’m currently running Continental TerrainContact AT tires as I use this van both on the highway and on rough terrain. The issues were there with the HT tires I had before too.

 

Absolutely your expectations far exceed the design of the chassis and suspension of an E-Series. Its not the age or the mileage you're dealing with as much as the original design and Ford's idea of what and how the E-Series would be used. They never intended them to be Formula One cars.

What are these "high speeds" you're talking about? What does this van weigh when its loaded as a daily driver? Front to rear weight bias? Is the body the extended version or just the standard?

You WILL benefit from renewing any and all bushings such as the stock sway bar bushings. It wouldn't hurt to have the axle pivot bushings inspected by any of the numerous shops you take the van. Adding a rear sway bar does offer a significant improvement but still no F1 car results. Sway bars are not necessarily for "high speed stability", their benefit comes into play when the vehicle is making turns. While "high speed stability" MIGHT "improve with their addition or strength increase that's not their purpose.

You can NOT make an E-Series van into a F1 car!

What specification or procedure are you using to "tighten the steering box"? Yes you are probably approaching over doing it and ruining the existing box. A new box will still not give F1 car results----again its the design of the box not age!

Stop comparing an E-Series to "cars"---they are NOT the same! Maximum desirable caster should be +5, exceeding that spec gives you considerable tire scrub and still doesn't produce F1 results. If the latest shop couldn't/wouldn't add more than +5 caster because camber would be out of spec you've found as good a shop as you can---most would have done as you asked and not paid attention to the results. I'm sure they'd be happy to sell you new tires though.

You can spend a ton of money on guessing what new or stronger component might improve things to a small degree but you're chasing your tail thinking an E-Series can be made into a BMW 6 series. Over three different E-Series (1997 and later) in the past 12-14 years I've attempted to "improve" my suspensions and know from experience most the most costly changes yield the smallest changes---apart from a rear sway bar and robust shock absorbers all around.

 

Test drive the latest model, lowest mile Econolines available to see if steering and tracking are much better. It’ll give you an idea of what’s possible vs swinging in the dark for any improvement.

JWA, does it help to lower rear tire pressure when running empty? I recall a spec like 55psi unloaded, 80psi loaded.

Sixto
07 E350 5.4 178K miles

 

Where did you get the max specs? I logged into Mitchel and they state caster for 2004: Left 4.0 +/- 2.75 and Right 4.5 +/- 2.75. The math says 6.75 max on left and 7.25 on right. Unless they changed something for 2006. Also why couldn't the steering gear be worn out at 320K? He might be adjusting the gear lash but even if that is good there are all kinds of parts in there that would allow for slop. I say buy a new steering gear and go with a Red Head or a Blue Top.

 

It sounds like you've done quite a bit of work already but as stated before these are trucks, not cars so you can't expect miracles, but these are things you should check to get the best handling.

Drag links,
sway bar bushings,
Twin I-Beam bushings
Pivot bushings
radius arm bushings
Decent set of shocks for the type of driving or hauling you expect to do.
When adjusting the steering gear box, make sure you only adjust it 1/4 turn at a time, lock it down, take it out and drive it before making another adjustment, tightening the adjuster too much will only cause damage to the ***** and ramps inside the box.

My 1990 E150 felt like it was floating, I can steer it with one finger with no pressure or resistance on the steering wheel, I'm sure there are some worn parts on it, but I started with a new set of heavy duty front shocks from Gabriel, and IMO, it's almost like brand new, night and day difference.

Good luck with this.

 

Monotube shocks.
2" rim spacers in the back.
Any stabilizer bar with aftermarket design,is superior compared to OEM.

 

Check your front wheel bearings. Any play in them will cause a lot of wandering. Your steering box is worn out also. No amount of adjusting will help these Ford boxes. The only thing adjusting does is make the steering wheel harder to turn, and will NOT return to center. Been there too many times.

Do check the swing arm bushings. Do it with weight on the front end. Look to see if the center pivot is centeren with the bolt or drooping. That right there can cause some wander.

Get the biggest front sway bar for your van, and get a good size for the rear. You will be surprised at the lean and cornering difference. I put a huge Addco on the rear of my Aerostar and the difference was night and day. The van would squat in turns instead of leaning.

Recap:
Check wheel bearings
Check all tie rod ends and pitman arm
Check swing arm bushings
Check radius arm bushings
Steering box most likely worn out, check rag joint and intermediate shaft also
Use heavy duty shocks
Too much air in the front tires will cause wander
Get HD sway bars front and rear

 

Oh good lord......................

You're welcome to do as you please with your own van as I don't really care. My "max specs" come from experienced alignment technicians---they say just because a spec says +7 caster is possible there's nothing saying that's desirable---notice the words "possible" and "desirable". It's "possible" to inflate my tires to 110 PSI but is that "desirable"? Running caster exceeding +5 affects tire wear due the scrub radius being adversely affected.

I honestly don't know of any vehicle with a front suspension like the Ford E-Series running anything close to +7 degrees caster. If anyone here knows of such a vehicle please fill us in on that bit of info.

This issue as put forth by CyberEric has more to do with the design of the as-built front suspension. He could replace every associated part and in a very short time would be complaining how the lose steering feeling has returned. Design deficiency's cannot be overcome with simple replacement of parts with the same new parts.

Redhead steering boxes once upon a time were among the best re-man'd parts on the market but understand they're just Ford designed boxes albeit carefully rebuilt---they do not change one bit of the original design. Additionally they do not even begin to address the stock E-Series suspension meaning its just one small part of how van's handle. There have been recent complaints of their quality and longevity so I'm not sure if they've been able to overcome whatever issues they were having. IIRC there was a change of management or ownership which might have play a role in their problems.

Adding stronger shocks and sway bars along with replacing any worn bushings is one way to change the E-Series handling characteristics, tires and tire pressure also effect it. Once again they're not cars and just cannot practically or affordably be made to be high performance lower center-of-gravity vehicles.

 

First, thank you all for the helpful responses! I'm going to try to respond to each of your questions, but before I do, I realized I forgot one bit of information.

5 months ago, I drove a 2011 E450 U-haul. Despite having a similar chassis underneath, I was kind of blown away by how much more stable it felt on the freeway (65 mph or so) despite having way more side area for crosswinds to affect it. While driving on the freeway, I had to do none of the constant steering inputs to keep it on the road, unlike my E250. I know it's not apples to apples, but I figured it's the same chassis, why does this steer so much better. I looked underneath, and noticed a few differences; one was the steering damper, another was the mounting points of the anti sway bar, and another was the radius arm bushings or brackets. I think of that van as a point of reference, even if it's not exactly the same. It prompted me to add the steering stabilizer (which did help some). I would like to drive a newer E250 to getting an even better comparison, and I will try to do that.

@JWA: Your reminder that these vans are not cars is well received, I hear you. I think it's important to keep expectations in check. The high speeds are 50-75mph, when I start to notice more steering inputs are required, as compared to the E450. I don't know fully loaded weight, I need to weigh it. It's the extended version, and is pretty loaded as I live out of the van. I have wondered if I need more spring in back as the van looks a little lower than in front (maybe I can post a picture).

I used the procedure that Mike1 mentioned above to tighten the steering box. It definitely helped a bit. The steering still requires a lot of corrections, but it is at least less movement now to make those corrections. That said, it seems to be getting looser in just a month. Thanks for the info on the caster. I had never heard of caster impacting scrub radius before.

I've also heard bad things about Red Head recently. Does anyone have a better option for a new or rebuilt steering box. I understand there is "design deficiency" to the front suspension geometry, I just want to explore what are the best options out there. My experience with the 2011 E-series has me wondering if the 2008+ have a better steering box. When I look at OEM Ford parts, it looks like it's a different part number. Do you all think it might be a better design?

@tabijan: That's a good idea, I am going to try to do that.
@Shanester: I too am wondering if a new steering box would help.
@Mike1: thank you for the rundown. Curious, which shocks did you go with from Gabriel?
@yardbird: Good stuff, thanks! I've had most of those items checked many times, but I'll check again. When you say swing arm, do you mean the I-beam, where it attaches to the chassis? Which HD sway bars do you recommend?

 

I went with Gabriel 81744 for the front, the rears didn't need to be changed. There's better shocks I'm sure but I had these on an old E350 and they were great for over 50k miles. And they're really inexpensive, as low as $18 per shock.

 

I don't think you can buy a new steering box anywhere but if the Red Head ones are not good anymore then look at the Blue Top ones. If you think the rear is sagging then I'm betting the rear is overloaded and is making your problems worse. Get it on a Cat scale or whatever scale you use get separate axle weights.

 

@Mike1, good to know, thanks!

@shanester1, Thank you! Where can I find a cat scale? Just Google it?

 

[QUOTE

@shanester1, Thank you! Where can I find a cat scale? Just Google it?[/QUOTE]


https://catscale.com/cat-scale-locator/