83 F250 351w.

Power steering has 2 issues. First is that there's a lot of wiggle in the steering. It's probably loose steering gears, but before I heard somewhere there is a gear-advance screw that sometimes can fix the problem. I was wondering if this is true, where it is, and if it's a good idea to advance the gears rather than replacing the whole unit (i.e. is it a temporary solution or more subject to loose grip if the steering is jolted hard?).

Second power steering item is that after driving a couple minuets the power steering stops providing power while the engine is idling. If I rev, I get back the power steering. Unfortunatley, this makes tight manuvering very difficult without a lot of shifting in and out of neutral. My first two inclinations are it's a loss of pressure or fluid. While the power steering fluid was low, filling it up did not help. I also added some of that leak-sealent fluid just in case. I can not see any leaks, the power steering pump looks new, and the belt does not appear to be slipping. I was wondering if this could be caused in the gearbox somehow or if there is another possible cause I missed.

Thanks in advance. Also, I have a digital camera, so if anyone needs pictures of things I can provide them.

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(thanks to everyone who help with the vac leak in my last post. It's running!)

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 29-Sep-02 AT 08:44 PM (EST)]Get somebody to wiggle the steering slightly while you stare at the input shaft of the steering box, and the pitman arm at the same time. If you see the input shaft moving and the pitman arm is not, then it is the steering box. Get them to wiggle the steering wheel less and less to determine how bad the slop is. If it's pretty bad, this may be why the it doesn't work well in the parking lot. Wide tires will aggravate the parking lot thing too. If the pump is working ok, you should hear it whining and making hissing noises when you try to turn the wheels standing still. The hissing noise will be the pressure relief valve in the pump opening up when there is too much pressure. A truck with extra wide tires, sitting still in the parking lot, will lose power steering sometimes because the pump just doesn't have enough oomph to turn big tires. This is normal and you will feel it give way in the steering. But it shouldn't do it all the time.

 

Thanks for the reply. With the triangular window open I can wiggle the steering wheel a little bit from the outside and I can see that the steering shaft moves and the pitman arm doesn't. The wiggle wasn't much though (I did it with the engine off--it was less than the wheel-lock distance). Heh, I'm still waiting on getting a "friend" to help me bleed the brakes... putting the hood on by myself was tricky enough!

As for the power steering failure, the truck is running on the stock size 235/85R16 "pizza slicers", and they are practically bald in front due to alignment issues (major suspension and bearing repairs scheduled in front, working on that--it still drives though). The idle isn't very fast or strong, so lack of RPM may still be a cause. But I seem to lose ALL of the power steering (I'm not strong enough to turn the wheel any further half the time it happens) I wanted to knock out the suspension and bearing stuff before going deep into steering since suspension and steering can affect each other. However, I don't see a way such an interaction could cause the problems I've illustrated here.

If the problem is truly that the power steering pump isn't pumping fast enough, would it make sense to go to a smaller wheel on the belt drive? I'd worry that it would break the pump at maximum wheel turn...

 

You can't break the pump unless it runs out of fluid. It has a pressure relief valve. Then you have to say to yourself; there are thousands of trucks on the road with that pulley diameter that work ok, why doesn't mine? Worn out and rusted balljoints can be a problem.

 

I took it into a GoodYear for an estimate of work if they put in my parts for front suspension rebuild. Found the kingpins were wobbly, and that the radium arms aren't even seating against the holes in the frame. They also tested the steering and verified that it was the gearbox causing the loose steering. It also appears they twisted the I-beams to correct for the bad boots (under a previous owner), which probably helped the steering go. So now I get to look for some aftermarket I-beams too...

(I don't have a 300lb torque wrench, and I don't have a jack that can lift that truck up by it's frame and clear the suspension from the ground...hense goodyear)

I went to an incline, left it in neutral and tested the steering. with the higher RPM in neutral (auto tranny) there is more power assist (not full assist though). I'm guessing the issue is the idle speed is too low. The problem is I don't think I can raise it without a new carb (one of the 2 idle valves is clogged, I believe. I have tried everything to clean it). I may try playing with the various idle screws again, we'll see.

Thanks for your help!

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