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I’m on an extended road trip. I’ve been over some very rough roads. The day before yesterday I noticed that making a right turn had less power assist. Today it’s “Armstrong” steering when turning right and normal turning left. I took it in and had it all gamed, hoping that would fix the problem, but the tech said he thinks it’s the steering gear box.
here’s the problem, I’m 1000 miles from where I need to be in 6 days. Is it dangerous to drive the truck?
Is it dangerous? depends on your definition, if you think that the ability to emergency steer is necessary, then yeah its dangerous. If you believe you can handle the physical rigors of hard right turns, even at highway speeds, then maybe its not. I'd not chance it and just get the box replaced and cut out part of your trip to get where you HAVE to be in 4 days. The box should take a tech under 3 hours to replace.
IDK, If this is your 2000 with over 250k on it. It's a good probability it is your gearbox, I would make 100% sure that's what it is and for a Mechanic to say "He thinks" is not very reassuring to me. Plus the cost of the box and labor, it'll be $500 to $800 or more depending on the cost of the part.
Did you confirm the ball joints are turning? When was the last time you flushed the steering system, you could have debris blocking the passages.