I grew up with cars back in the late 60's and early 70's. Thats when you knew what was what. I could rebuild an engine blindfolded. Today you can't even see the engine. But isn't technology great anyway!

Thanks for the tip.
Mark

 

Not arguing but giving a counterexample. My father bought brand new F-150's in '88 and again in '93. Neither of the trucks had a hint of looseness in the steering; I drove both of them a bit. Of course, he only kept them 5 years each so who knows when they loosened up. Now, my '91 I bought used with 189,000 was loose as a goose, all joints checked out OK so I carefully tightened the box, with the front of the truck jacked up by both I-beams. I adjusted cautiously bit by bit, and made sure the wheels turned nice and free as I did it. That truck tightened up just as tight as both of my father's new trucks.

They don't have to be loose. There is something wrong if they're loose.

To the guys who are doing this by trial and error: There is a very specific procedure for doing it correctly in the Haynes. You pull the pitman arm off of the bottom of the box, pull the steering wheel cover/airbag off, and adjust the box until it takes a specific amount of torque, in in/lbs, to turn the steering wheel by the nut in the center of the steering wheel. This is even done at some specific position, IIRC something like a quarter turn right from on center or something. I did not do this, I did it by feel but probably got lucky.

Too tight and you WILL destroy the steering box.

 

Very Interesting Story.

I too agree that the steering should not be loose,,,at least not dangerously. My truck is new and I have this issue. I was planning on doing the "tightening" this past Saturday, but didn't get around to it. I will go slow when I do get to it,,I wouldn't want to damage the box as you said. I was a machinist for 20 years and I know about mechanical tolerances.

You know, There's always something to dislike or make better,,,,,but these trucks (or any vehicle) shouldn't be allowed out of the factory as loose as mine is and I don't think that I'm complaining needlessly.

I really don't want to bring it back to the dealer unless ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY!!!! They screwed up things real bad when I brought it in for the "free" oil change they gave me.

Mark

 

Just finished yanking manual and installing pwr steer in my '72 4WD. I've changed everything from top to bottom, and everything helped as far as loose steering. Looseness can come from box, tie rod ends, kingpins, rag/ujoint on steering shaft, wheel bearings, weak stabilizer,bad tires,shocks,etc. It all adds up. When you tighten that screw on top of box, there is a fine line between taking up a little slack, and going too far.

 

I don't hear my power stearing pump 'whine' when I rock the wheel back and forth in its "loose zone". The stearing shaft that goes to the box moves fine with the wheel. Could this help pin-point where the problem is comming from.

 

The whining means it's building pressure, basically working to move the steering. If you have play there's very little resistance to build pressure against, so you don't hear it whine. It doesn't matter where the play is, so no, it doesn't help diagnose. However, if you have someone turn the wheel back and forth within that "free" zone, you can watch the components and see where the play is. For example, if the steering column moves but the pittman arm on the bottom doesn't, you know the steering box is the problem. If the pittman arm moves but the draglink doesn't, the balljoint at the end of the pittman arm is the problem. Etc, etc.

 

Good procedure to follow,,,,,,logically of course!

 

Hi guys

I`m new here but joined this forum looking for answers to a few little queries I had with the Expediton I bought recently.

It is a 98 EB 4x4 with the 5.4 motor. I bought it to tow a trailer next summer. All well and good and also we get crappy weather over the winter here in Alberta. The great white, indeed.

Anyway, I have noticed the steering all over the place, the constant small corrections at approx. 60 to 70 mph.
I took it into the shop for realignment this week , my steering wheel was down to the left about 5 degrees, and the thing was tending to wander a little.
They replaced my bottom ball joints, said they were loose but hasn`t improved the wandering yet.
However I found a few interesting pointxs in my search for the truth which you may be interested in.
Hope you dont mind the cross referencing. One is a website for a group in Quebec, claiming that there is a known problem with the steering components.
http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?SectionID=3&ArticleID=20

The other is something I found on a Chevy site, seems they have the same problems.
http://www.chevyavalanchefanclub.com...3776#msg263776

From what I can tell I think I`ll try and change the front stabilizer bar bushings first, and make sure the front air tire pressure is correct. I`ll try and do it tis week providing I dont freeze my nuts off in my garage. Its soo coold here now, but not as bad as real winter.Yet!

 

Thanks for those bits of info Snodgrass.


Very interesting reading......

We get hit with alot of weather here in Central NY,,,,but not bad yet.

Unfortunately, I don't have a garage to work in......... ;-(

Mark

 

No problem, As I said I hope to get it fixed soon, depending on getting the parts this week I hope and it not being absolutely freezing.

As far as Garages go, it seems most people are lucky enough here in this part of Canada to have them ( I`m originally from the UK so its a bit of a novelty, we really dont have big garages there).
In winter its not so much the snow thats the problem here but the temperatures. In Dec, Jan and Feb, you can see temps as low as -40F, so you need a good battery and hopefully seat warmers. Keeping the vehicle out of the wind helps too, though locks are regularly frozen. It s generally very dry here probably much like parts of the northwest US. I think here in Alberta we have more in common wiht the US than Ottawa. But hey thats just my two cents!

Anyway. I`ll let you know how things go.

 

I have the same problem with my 94 F150 SB Reg Cab 4x4. It drives me nuts! I have tightened the steering box screw until it doesn't want to return to center. That makes it more difficult to drive. I have never been able to find an obvious cause. It drives very poorly in wind or on an uneven road surface. Or if the road suddently tilts or if I hit a bump. On a good road with no wind it usually drives just fine, but under certian conditions it seems downright dangerous. I have thought about replacing the steering box but I am afraid I would still be in the same boat after replacement. The steering wheel will move 1-2 inches before the steering reacts, but when I look out the drivers window the front tires seem to follow the steering wheel closely. I suppose a rubber mounted front end is never going to be real accurate, but I really hate the way this truck drives.

 

One thing I like to do,,,or would do,,,,is go to a ford dealer and test drive some trucks and see how they handle in comparison. Since '94 I'm sure things have changed a bit. We are getting more modern, but our older vehicles are remaining the same if not getting worse.

Mark

 

I agree with the ball joint issue. With my truck the steering box was already replaced before I got the truck so I don't know the condition before hand. I do know the tighening the bolt a bit fixed my problem but I do notice it still isn't as precise as i'd like it to be. I'll be looking into all ball joints real soon and if I find any to be worn I'll replace them and lossen the steering box a bit and see how it does. I'll post results here as I know we all learn from each other.

 

Looking forward to hearing your results with the ball joints.

ALthough I have just 7700mi. on my truck, I don't think the joints are my problem. (hopefully not)

Mark

 

You'll ruin the box in short order if you adjust it that tight.