steering wander
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Senior User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 134
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From: Austin, TX
steering wander
I have a 2003 V10 2wd F250 with about 10,000 miles on it. Lately I've been noticing that I have to steer alot more to keep the truck going straight. It happens on both smooth and rough surfaces. I brought the truck to the dealer and didn't get much help. They checked the suspension (which was ok), did an alignment, saying the toe was out a tiny bit, and lowered the air pressure in the front from where I like it at 60 psi to 50psi. It didn't help at all, and the wandering was still there. I'll probably go back, but I was wondering if others were having this problem. I think it could be a tire balance issue, although they feel ok, or a problem with the power steering, or just the way the truck drives.
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Joined: Apr 2003
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From: Northwest Arkansas
I have seen this problem talked about on here before so I don't think that it is an unusual problem. I have heard that Ford only aligns one in five vehicles that come down the assembly line, but I have no way to verify this of course. You said that the dealer performed an alignment so that rules out that area. I have also heard that the stock steering stabilizers are not that good. You might upgrade to a Rancho or other aftermarket steering stabilizer to see if that helps. I don't believe that they are that expensive. I don't know if this will cure the problem but you might do so more research on it and see what you think about the idea.
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Joined: Oct 2003
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if your runing 60 psi in the rear tires , put it where its supposed to be.................the truck will sway without proper rear air pressure and feel "floaty" going down the highway . also the longer the truck the more noticable it will be . my tires call for 80 psi cold and thats where i run them............also if you have rotated your tires lately the fronts that are now in the back need to scrub off the "high spots" to have a full tire foot print on the ground.........
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Senior User
Joined: May 2003
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From: Austin, TX
The sticker on the door says to the rear tires should be inflated to 70psi and the front to 50psi. I've always put 60psi in the front because it felt too soft with the lower pressure. I tried lowering the pressure back down to 50psi, but it didn't seem to help. As far as tire rotation, I did it once so far at 7,000 miles and was going to wait until it hit 14,000 (10,000 mile currently)before doing it again. I might rotate them a little earlier to see if it helps.
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Senior User
Joined: May 2003
Posts: 134
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From: Austin, TX
cphriste,
How bad was the steering wander in your truck, and was it there from the beginning? The wandering on mine just started and it's kind of minor, but still real annoying after a while.
How bad was the steering wander in your truck, and was it there from the beginning? The wandering on mine just started and it's kind of minor, but still real annoying after a while.
