Hi, my new 64 F100's manual steering effort is alot higher than I would have thought, to the point where I do not feel safe driving it in traffic.
The previous owner had replaced the king pins and bushings recently. What can I do to make it easier to steer?
*What tire pressure should I be running? It has radials on the stock 15 inch wheels.
*Where do I need to grease/lube other than any fittings that are there?
*How can I draing the steering box? Is 80/90 gear oil the correct fluid? Is the fill plug on the top/front of the box?

I am ordering a service manual which I know would answer some of this, but I haven't received it yet.

Thanks
Taylor

 

1st off, Welcome to FTE, I hope I can be of some assistance to ya'. . . .

one reason these trucks have such big steering wheels is because they steer like trucks, which of course they in fact are. The fact 64s have single I beam front axles exacerbates difficulty in steering because of linkage geometry required for that type of axle & suspension.

In addition if any 1 of 3 critical settings, Camber, Caster & Toe-In are "off" amount of difficulty also increases. I don't believe Radial tires are easiest steering tires even on a suspension designed & tuned for them, but I can see how they' contribute to difficulty steering a single I Beam with parallel semi eliptical front springs.

There is probably no 1, single, causual factor, but accumulation of multiple factors all working against ease of steering. I would speculate it is the main reason so many folks opt for power steering, even tho 61 thru 64s are a bit more complex, difficult & costly.

I'd tell you this very same problem is what caused me to sell an integral bed 62 back before I figured out I could swap frames so easily. I regret that mistake to this day. I well empathize with your feelings of marginal safety, at speed, in traffic, in inclement weather. Being where I am here in Forida, with frequent changing weather, torrential storms, and crowded roads with unsure drivers, I just ran out of patience and I got another truck. I wish I knew then what I know now, but then again, mistakes are the best teacher IMHO.

As for draining your 64 steering box there's no drain plug. Yes 80/90 MP Gear oil is fine, and so is STP or Motor Honey or any other Scientificall Treated Petroleum or hi density synthetic Lubricant within the 80/90 viscosity index. And lastly yes the fill hole is on the top of the steering box.

FBp

 

It sounds like I should get my alignment checked. Especially since the previous owner did front end work and may not have had it aligned.
Any idea about tire pressure and where I should grease?
Thanks

 

Inflate 'em to MAX pressure. Also Caster and Camber cannot be easily adjusted on straight axels - requires bending the axel and/or changing axel spring pads. Toe-in is about the only easily checked and adjusted alignment.

Easy way to check toe-in: Jack up the front end and measure the distance bewteen tires in two spots, using the center grooves as your measuring points. Measure the distance between the front, then measure between the back. The distance on the backside of the tires should be about 1/16" longer. Adjust the tie-rod acordingly. This isn't exact, but it should get you fairly close.

If the rake of the truck has been changed - bigger springs in back, lowered front end, or something - the caster will be off.

All that won't make it hard to turn, it will make it real squirelly though.

16" tall narrow tires will help. Bias-Ply instead of radials are supposed to help too.

Check for loose wheels on the front too - jack it up and check both wheels for play by grabbing the top and bottom and trying to make it move at all. If it does, it's either the wheel bearings or the king pin.

Grease the king pins every oil change at least - and make sure the grease is woked in well. Make sure your linkage is tight and grease well also.

We have a couple non-power steering trucks at work that I can turn with 2 fingers at a stand still. Just gotta keep working at it until it is right.

If you decide to take it in to get it aligned - take it somewhere were they no how to do straight axels - not the bonehead teenager at the local 10 minute oil change shop.

 

As a general rule of thumb, keep your tire pressures 3-5 lbs off the the maximum pressure listed on the sidewall of the tire. True for any vehicle. The owner's manual recommendations are designed for pleasant ride, not best handling and best tire wear.
Other points: when you grease front suspension, take the load off the joints by getting it up off the ground. Shouldn't need to be said but the grease will get to the load side of the joints this way but not on the ground loaded. Be sure you dig into the top of the king pin area accumulated junk to find those fittings and replace any fitting anywhere that doesn't retain the grease with its spring loaded ball (the springs break) or if grease won't go in at all, pull the fitting out, dig some junk out of the hole, replace it, try again. Another point is wheel bearing adjustment. Learn by watching movement how to feel any play or slop in the bearing adjustment versus any wear in the king pin. The bearing adjustment should just barely take the slop out but no more and any play at all will add to the steering effort because you lack full bearing contact on the races.
Wayne

 

good info guys. I filled up the box with 80-90 and lubed all the fittings, including 2 per king pin and one on the steering column. I wish I had read this before, because I didn't realize it should be off the ground. (it makes perfect sense why!)

Standing still, the effort is still MUCH higher than I think it should be. It gets sloppy at speed though. I will look at repacking or replacing the bearings next. I remember how much of a difference fresh bearings made on the standing-still steering of this Fiero I was working on.

Are there some adjustments that can be made to the steering gear? I remember reading about some that can be adjusted, but I don't remember which vehicle it was.

 

Your steering box can be adjusted. Best you get your shop manual out and follow it to the letter. The adjustment is easy if done right. DO NOT under any circumstances over tighten it. DO NOT!!! You can chip the gears. Box adjusting should be done prior to alignment so your steering wheel stays centered.
If you are going to repack your front wheel bearings, purchase new grease seals and use disc brake bearing grease (higher temp) whether you have discs or not. Also roll back the cups on your drum brake cylinders and see if they are damp at this time and may need rebuilding / replacement.

 

If the truck tends to veer off suddenly when hitting bumps and such, there are problems in the alignment. If its got play in the wheel, check all the linkage and gear box.

 

Steering 101
The concept of steering is to facilitate a footprint transplant effect.

To do it, a point ahead of vehicle, based on vehicle specifics is determined and then alignment adjustments are dialed in so theoretical centers of toe in & caster converge at that point. Camber (envision an inverted smiley face smile) creates a parabolic arc of theoretical wheel centers when steering wheel turns steered wheels side to side.
This arc crosses the point ahead, where the foot print is to be transplanted, in the vertical plane. Toe in is in the horizontal plane and caster in in the depth or distance plane. When camber is correct 1/2 of the arc of each steered wheel should more or less equal 1/2 of the total arc, and their arc center should fall over that theoretical point where the foot print is to be transplanted. When all this is more or less correct, it will have capacity to engage a couple of laws of physics.
Objects in motion tend to stay in motion until acted on by outside force(s) correct?
This means things with mass and velocity want to continue straight forward. Steering is the mechanism that applies outside force(s) by "bending" a path or trajectory of the mass with velocity in it. However this only applies in a dynamic situation but not static situations. Without wheels rolling across a surface before them, steering linkage and effort has to overcome inertial weight and resistance of front 1/2 of the vehicle.

It's why static vehicles have stiff or difficult steering. In fact most manufacturers will reccomend vehicles not be steered when standing still. Between inertial loading and conflicting effort applied by linkage when statisc steered, there is a Bind or binding of the process and that binding is what you are feeling.Aside from making it tough to crank your wheels from side to side while standing still, it is also applying undue wear on all the moving parts involved.

Although powersteering eases the effort required when standing still, it does not stop wear or damage static steering results in. IOW it is easier to crank wheels around, but it also results in more wear & damage to a steering system. Most often alignment will change, but steering gear and/or steering rack & pinion wear also results. Tire wear is anither negative result of static steering.
The vehicle need not be rolling along. all that has to happen is the wheel rotate the slightest bit and all that stressing is relieved and it goes away. I'm talking 6 inches or so forward or back relieves undue loading, stressing and inertial resistance of static steering.

FBp

 

I got the physics FBp unfortunately, on my ultratight city streets/driveway/garage a 6 inch roll might mean that the kinetic energy of my truck will be translated into kinetic energy of headlight shards of my neighbor's Cadillac. The wear to the components on my truck is trivial compared to that!
With all of those forces against me that I can't control, I might as well correct the things that I can, so thanks to all of the good info you guys gave, here is my plan:

1. lube the truck again with it raised
2. service or replace bearings, replace seals
3. adjust steering gear (as soon as my shop manual arrives)
4. address any other loose parts in the front steering and suspension (alot has recently been replaced)
5. maybe get skinnier front tires (it has 235's now)
6. I do know a really good (but expensive) old-school alignment/suspension/frame guy I will go to for a proper alignment and to bail me out of any problems I create.

 

These trucks were designed when the only tires availible for them were Bias ply. The design of the radial makes they harder to steer they have a softer ride (usually softer sidewalls and wider footprint) the same thing that makes them harder to steer. This is not true of all Raidials. Bridgstone has a tire out there called the Vsteel that follows the lines of the old bias plys. stronger sidewalls and runns about 65 psi. This tire has a smaller footprint and is easier to turn with manual steering. I have not checked into the 16.5 and 16 sizes but I know that this is ture for the 15"