I posted this in another forum earlier this week by mistake. I recieved some helpful info, but I wanted too see if anyone else could give me some more info.I just bought a 92 XLT 5.0 302 supercab truck. I had problems with the wipers but I replaced the motor and everything works ok now. The problem I have with the truck now is the steering. The steering wheel has alot of play in it, and the steering is tight. It's hard to explain, but when driving any other vehicle with power steering, the vehicle pretty much steers itself out of a turn, curve, etc. When driving this truck, you have to steer out of a turn or a curve. When you turn the wheel, the truck goes in that direction until you force it back. Its almost like it gets locked in the position it is in. I know this sounds confusing, but I am describing it the best I can. My uncle played with the worm gear and it helped with the play it the steering a little. What all would I have to replace on the front end to fix these problems. Any info will help. Thanks guys.
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Does your truck have king pins or ball joints in the front end? Are the tie rod ends good or do they have a lot of wear? Play in the wheel can be caused by a worn gear and also worn tie rod ends, pittman arm etc. Stiffness as you describe it in the wheel return is affected by anything binding in the steering from the gear all the way to the king pins or ball joints. I had binding king pins on an E-250 that caused the very problem you are experiencing. My recommendation is to first make sure that all of the front end parts that are worn be replaced, this includes tie rod ends, pittman arm, drag links, etc. King pin and ball joint wear can be checked out with the wheels off of the ground and using a pry bar to pull up on the bottom of each tire to check for movement. You can have the king pin or ball joint binding problem checked by having someone measure the resistance to turn each wheel while it sits with the weight of the vehicle on the front tires and each tire on a pivot, like on an alignment rack. With the tie rod disconnected and a bolt and nut inserted on the spindle in place of the tie rod end using a foot pound torque wrench measure the amount of effort required to turn that wheel. On my F-350 if the torque required is more than 100 ft lbs the ball joint or king pin is binding. Not sure what it would be for your F-150 but my guess is it should be very close. Also, positive caster which is the tilt of the axle back relative to center of the wheel is what causes the wheel to come back to center. Has there been any changes in the front end geometry like to the radius arm end bushings, angle of the axle, etc, that could have altered the positive caster? Also, check all bushings in the front end for wear as well. Also, overtightening of the steering gear mesh preload (worm gear to sector) will cause poor steering return. My suggestion is that you have the gear preload set to spec using an inch pounds torque wrench to be sure it is set correctly. Not only will overtightening of the mesh preload cause binding it will also cause the bearings in the gear to fail as well.

John

 

Wow, thanks for all of the information. It looks like I have my work cut out for me this weekend!!! Looks like I better get another job to support this truck too!!!