Once in a while when I back out of the driveway or a parking spot, the steering feels funny. Kind of like it's sticking or resisting....sort of like when 4X4 is locked in on dry pavement. Has anyone else experienced this? It doesn't happen all the time, maybe about once a week or so. I have no idea where to start looking for the cause of this....any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Anybody have any ideas????? It's starting to happen more often...I'd like to find the problam before something really gets screwed up.

 

At low engine speeds, the "hydroboost" system (which operates both the power steering and the power brakes) doesn't have enough "oomph" to do both. So if you're idling back out of a spot and applying any brakes (like, a downhill roll that you're trying to control) you'll find the steering can feel like it's locking up. This problem is only exacerbated by the somewhat goofy steering geometry of the 4x4 front axle, which it sounds like you have.

As a test, try starting the truck, standing on the brake, and turning the wheel (lotsa luck). Is that what you're feeling when you're backing up?

There have been people who have experienced this in much more frightening ways - like when their engine is at idle because they're going down a steep twisty hill, and they try to scrub off some speed with the brakes as they go into a turn... but the truck doesn't want to let them turn!

At one time, Ford was playing with new steering gears and Pitman arms and stuff to try to help this. I know my 2000X had the problem bad, and it's greatly diminished on the 2003 6.0L F250, so I figured some parts changed in there somewhere. If you have any warranty left, you might try complaining to the dealer. Or even to the NHSTA.

Duncan

 

That is, if his vehicle is diesel...I *believe* that the gassers are standard vacuum operated.

 

D'oh!!! <looks at his sig, smacks forehead...>

OK, clearly the steering must still be operating off of a pump, don't know about the brakes, they might be vacuum. But that could leave a weeka pump (at idle) as the cuplrit for his steering, I guess.

Duncan

 

You might still be right. I remember on the 5.4 I used to have, when you pressed the brakes or moved the wheel at idle that the RPM's would drop just a tad...

 

Okay - I tried it last night, when I hit the brakes I can do about a quarter turn and then it stops dead, can't turn it if my life depended on it.
My X is a 2002 V10 4X4 with 74k miles - warrenty is long gone!!!!
Is this something that will cause mechanical problems in the future?
Any idea what it would cost to get it fixed? Or should I just live with it?

 

It's not something that can be fixed by replacing a broken part - all your parts are working as designed. Someone else who had it done might know more details, but I'm 99% certain that Ford came out with some *different* parts (steering box, I think, and maybe a different drop arm?) that helped in many cases. That was OK when Ford was experimenting with solutions on their own dime (warranty); I'm not sure how eager I'd be to head down that path on my own though. And you'd need to make sure you actually got the different parts, not just new ones of the parts you already have.

You could also try searching for existing cases at http://www.nhtsa.gov/ or submitting your own new case.

Duncan