sloppy steering question

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Feb 23, 2004 | 12:47 AM

galaxierace

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sloppy steering question

My truck has some of the worst sloppy steering i have ever had the utter displeasure of experiencing.. Its down right scarry driving it down the road. Its a 1977 f-250 supercab, 460, c6 2wheel drive, power steering,power brakes. does having this problem mean that i need to be worried about loosing total control of the vehicle, like is the steering going to go completely out on me while driving????? Or could a person just deal with driving it this way for some time? How does one go about fixxing it? Please use lamens terms as im sort of mechanicaly retarded

. Thanks

Feb 23, 2004 | 12:59 AM

Torque1st

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Joined: Sep 2001

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The first thing to do is get educated. Read ALL the posts here on steering problems... -No that would take years! Plan two, stick with the education but just read as many steering posts as you can. Basically it amounts to removing every sloppy joint that you can.

Feb 23, 2004 | 07:36 AM

Jimbare

all alone in the world

Joined: Feb 2002

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From: oklahoma

grease everything real good, kingpins can be a pain, check your shocks and radius arm bushings. i have driven ford pickups for almost 30 years, had one that didnt like one brand of tire and would scare you to death with those tires on it. changed about everything else before i changed the tires but that was it.

Feb 23, 2004 | 08:41 AM

GLR

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Joined: Sep 2003

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From: NY and VA

Check the tie rod, and drag link (the long rods that connect the wheels together) for play. It can be nasty if one lets go.

Feb 23, 2004 | 08:43 AM

73Custom

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Joined: Apr 2000

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From: SD

Look over each steering joint as someone moves the wheel back and forth. Any amount of play or sloppiness means that part needs replaced. Start with the rubber joint where the steering column bolts to the steering gear box. Then crawl under and check each of the tie rod ends. Let us know what you find.

Marty

Feb 23, 2004 | 08:52 AM

sglaine

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From: Where Critters Are Free

Sloppy steering

I recall that lot of those trucks in that era had that same problem & most of the time it was the steering box. I can rember our fire chief had the same truck & had the same problem with it it took him a long time to figger it out. Others at the time told me that worm gear was the culpret.

Feb 23, 2004 | 09:23 AM

beartracks

Lead Driver

Joined: Nov 2000

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From: Albuquerque

If it's that bad and you are not familiar with steering I would have it looked at. Some shops will give you a free estimate. If it's something simple you could have it fixed or put it off for a while. At least you would know if it's safe or not.