I've had a problem on my 01 f250 superduty 2wd since new with a severe shimmy in the front end since the truck was new. The whole truck will shake violently sometimes after hitting an irregularity in the road with one wheel. Ford never found anything wrong with the front end. At one time the front end would start to shimmy on a very smooth road at about 50mph but for the most part the hard violent shaking usually starts around 65mph after hitting a bump in the road with one wheel. I finally did an adjustment on the steering box and that eliminated the 50mph shimmy on a smooth road. Could my steering box be bad now and probably bad when the truck was new? Has anyone had to replace a steering box on a late model superduty for problems such as I have described? I have read on here where a few people had steering boxes replaced under warranty but I don't remember what problems they were having to warrant a steering box replacement. By the way, the truck is at 48000 miles now and this problem has been with it since it was new and all the front end components are still tight and there is no problem with the ball joints. The steering box is the only component left that I could see as being a problem. HELP!

 

I would start with making sure the gear lash tension is set correctly in the gearbox. Does the steering feel loose or does the truck wander? To set the gear lash correctly requires using a inch pounds torque wrench and with the pitman arm disconnected from the drag link setting the gear lash by adjusting the allen set screw on top of the gear box. It will require removing your steering wheel center section and air bag. If you let us know the answer to the question about wander I can give you the instructions on how to do this properly. Better still has Ford ever looked at this adjustment to make sure your steering box is set correctly? I know my 1999 at 25000 required a steering box adjustment and from what I understand this is not uncommon in the Super Duty. PS When I asked Ford about this on my truck they said the spec was correct but when I did this myself the adjustment was too loose according to the Ford spec in their shop manual which will cause wander and looseness in the steering. Not sure this is your problem but it might be if the gear isn't meshing properly causing the pitman arm to have too much lash.

John

 

The adjustment made on the steering box a couple of months ago took the looseness out of the steering wheel and corrected the wander and the shimmy on smooth roads. After one of the violent shakes the steering will be loose right afterwards for a few miles but then will eventually get back to where if feels okay. This is why I'm thinking that there is a problem in the steering box.

 

You say all the front end components are tight but have you or have you had somebody you trust gone over the front end to make sure? I know this may sound silly but have you or Ford checked to make sure the steering box is tight to the frame and how about the pitman arm to the steering gear? You say Ford has checked the front end items but I have found that sometimes these kinds of things are overlooked. I don't want to sound cynical but I don't necessarily trust what a mechanic says unless I have a track record with him. Too many of these guys are quick to give an answer without doing some real checking. If everything else in the front end is tight then your probably looking at a replacement steering gear.

John

 

I know what you mean about trusting a mechanic you don't know so I and a mechanic friend went over the front end of the truck together and I know that there are no wear issues with anything. I may have to do a more thorough inspection around the steering box and where it mounts to the frame ( have heard of cracks in frame where steering box mounts ) but at this point I beleive it is an internal steering box problem. I think my next move will be to replace the steering box but I'm going to keep the old one and disassemble it. It's just one of those things that I need to know if there was a problem in the old steering box. If all of this doesn't cure the dangerous front end of this truck then my next truck won't say Ford on it.

 

I have a small amount of "wander" with my 92 F150 4WD. Just noticed after doing a ball joint and tie rod end job. It's not bad, but I would be interested in specifics on how to check/adjust the steering gear lash. Thanks.

 

gibsonj,

Assuming everything else is tight in the front end here is the procedure. Often times people will tighten the gear box to compensate for other wear in the front end, e.g. worn tie rod ends, pitman arm, etc., which you do not want to do. You will need an inch pound torque wrench and a pitman arm separator in addition to allen wrenches, open ends, etc. You might be able to get these from Autozone, Pep Boys, etc., on their lender program. If you have an airbag in the steering wheel you need to disconnect the battery(s) and wait about 15 minutes to allow any capacitors in the airbag circuit to discharge. Remove the center of the steering wheel including the airbag. Separate the pitman arm from the drag link using the pitman arm separator tool. Set your inch pound torque wrench to 15 inch pounds. Mark the allen set screw on top of the steering gear so you can use it as a reference to the original position. I use touch up paint for this and it works very well. Holding the allen screw, loosen the lock nut for the allen screw and back it off about a half turn. Reconnect the battery(s). Start the engine and turn the steering wheel completely from left to right and back count the number of turns required from left to right and vice versa. Half of the count of the turns of the steering wheel is center. At center using the torque wrench on the steering wheel nut tighten the allen set screw just enough to reach the 15 inch pounds torque setting. Again turn the steering wheel completely left to right and back again and then center the steering wheel. Measure the torque setting to make sure it is just at 15 inches and not less or more. Shut off the engine and disconnect the battery(s) and wait 15 minutes. Holding the allen set screw tighten the lock nut. Reattach the drag link to the pitman arm and reinstall the steering wheel center and airbag. Reconnect the battery(s) and you are done. This will set your steering gear lash correctly and should remove excessive play in the gear.

John

 

JT:

I want to compliment you.

That was the best description I have have seen for setting the backlash.

One note though. To anyone doing this. Make sure that when you remove the airbag, point that dang thing away from you. Static electricity can set the thing off when it is unplugged from the system.

 

Just a wild guess: have all the wheels been balanced? A speed-related problem kind of implies that something that rotates is to blame.

 

Thanks, jtmerritt. Great description.

 

I seen and had this problem before on a dodge truck, turned out to be a bad shock. everything was fine until you hit a bump then the whole truck would seem to jump off the road and the steering wheel would whip.

 

Hello all,

JTmerritt's post seems the most appropriate for my question, but I'm still not sure we are talking about exactly the same steering problem as the "backlash" correction and/or adjustment.

My 1995 Bronco seemed to have developed a steering wheel play of at least 3-4 inches turn before the front steering can be felt. That play is clearly felt with the engine off and the wheels on the ground. I can turn the wheel which feels loose before I can actually feel any positive contact with the other steering system parts. On the road this is dangerous because when I try to normally correct, steering wheel turn must overcompensate before road correction. By the time correction is made I could be over the line or in the ditch. This loose steering condition could certainly be called "wandering". After I had ABS front repairs when the ball joints were also replaced at which time the front end was also alligned of course, this steering wheel play was very noticeable. I can only suppose it was not so noticiable before because the wheels & front end were so far out of allignment they were fighting each other and causing road contact wheel friction which effectively cancelled most excess wandering.

Since that ABS service I have had everything in the front end serviced or replaced including tie rods and radius arm bushings, which seem to have improved the condition but not by much. It would appear the only thing left is the steering box which I understand costs about $400 to replace. I am assuming that box is the one located between the steering wheel and parts, and the front end steering mechanism parts, and has a worm gear which might be adjustable. Is that the next thing to do, or is there something else I should check?

 

sounds like you could try to adjust the box if all the other frontend parts are in good shape, loosen the lock nut while hold the adjuster screw, back the lock nut off a little at a time and turn the adjuster in slightly. check the wheel, if it stll feels loose adust alittle more. this should help. if the box is bad i replaced one on an f350 4x4 about a year ago from autozone for like 150.00 (rebuilt) and the core was 100.00.

 

You can try and adjust the gear preload as kenjan61 suggests but if you should tighten the allen set screw too far you can damage the gear and/or have bad steering wheel return. That is why I recommend the use of the inch pound torque wrench and making the adjustment according to specification. Ifyou decide to not use the torque wrench approach then I would recommend that you clean around the adjustement nut and screw using brake parts cleaner and mark the adjustment nut and screw with a touch up paint kit. Just draw a line across the nut and screw and steering box so you can use it as a refernce for how much adjustment you are making. Tighten no more than an 1/8 of an inch at a time until you have removed the slack. If you don't feel comfortable doing the adjustment you can take your truck to good front end repair shop and have them make the adjustment for you.

John

 

I would suggest that you install a new steering damper and new front shocks. There are a lot of shocks that are better at controlling the front end than the stock units.

Also, jack up the front and check the tires for an out-of-round condition.

Another easy thing to try is to check your front tires on a bubble balancer. (Occasionally dynamic balancing masks a problem.)

After everything else you've done this should take care of the trouble.