steering loose on '93
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steering loose on '93
We have a '93 Aerostar which the wife usually drives. I drive it maybe 5 or 6 times a year. I drove it last week and it seemed like there is a lot of play in the steering that wasn't there my last time out. I have a '68 truck and there's a good bit of play in it, too, but hey, it's going on 38 years old. The wife's seems to have come on suddenly by my thoughts.
Is there anything that could be going belly-up that would cause the sudden degradation in steering.
Dan
Is there anything that could be going belly-up that would cause the sudden degradation in steering.
Dan
Postmaster
Joined: Sep 2003
Posts: 4,452
Likes: 1
From: Southern California
The usual suspects are:
1) Tie rod ends, check both inner and outer. This is most common.
2) Upper balljoints, ususally in high mileage vans and lower balljoints in rare cases. Both are easily replaceable in spite of what the repair manual says.
3) Upper control arm bushing, again, replaceable in spite of manual.
4) Bearings, but that would be making a lot of noise. If the bearings go bad, you'll know
To check these, you need to jack the front up, one side at a time, right under the lower control arm and no where else. Use a floor jack. The jack that came with the van is totally useless. Try jiggling the wheel in the 3 & 9 o'clock positions to check the tie rods, and 12 & 6 'oclock positions to check the balljoints.
Good luck.
P.S. At 130K miles I bit the bullet and replaced all balljoints, bushings and tie rods. That really made the van drive like a new car, and the tire wear is a lot more even. At least the van can hold an alignment now. Parts are pretty cheap, and our labor is free
1) Tie rod ends, check both inner and outer. This is most common.
2) Upper balljoints, ususally in high mileage vans and lower balljoints in rare cases. Both are easily replaceable in spite of what the repair manual says.
3) Upper control arm bushing, again, replaceable in spite of manual.
4) Bearings, but that would be making a lot of noise. If the bearings go bad, you'll know
To check these, you need to jack the front up, one side at a time, right under the lower control arm and no where else. Use a floor jack. The jack that came with the van is totally useless. Try jiggling the wheel in the 3 & 9 o'clock positions to check the tie rods, and 12 & 6 'oclock positions to check the balljoints.
Good luck.
P.S. At 130K miles I bit the bullet and replaced all balljoints, bushings and tie rods. That really made the van drive like a new car, and the tire wear is a lot more even. At least the van can hold an alignment now. Parts are pretty cheap, and our labor is free
Post Fiend
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 5,720
Likes: 5
From: Washington state
also, while front end jacked up, check rack/pinion for looseness and any slack
worn soft shocks will affect steering quality, especially on rougher roads
low tire pressure will cause sluggish steering
copper is right, scissors jack that came with van will kill you, use floor jack with jack stands and tire blocks
worn soft shocks will affect steering quality, especially on rougher roads
low tire pressure will cause sluggish steering
copper is right, scissors jack that came with van will kill you, use floor jack with jack stands and tire blocks
Last edited by 96_4wdr; Jan 18, 2006 at 04:37 PM.
Freshman User
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Before you jack the van up crawl under the front and have your wife rock the steering wheel from side to side. With the tires on the ground and unable to turn easily you will be able to find the worn part easily.
I'd bet on tie rod ends.
I'd bet on tie rod ends.
New User
Joined: Mar 2005
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New Parts on my 93 Aerostar
Last spring I put new ball joints - upper and lower on my 1993 Aerostar.
The uppers bolted in, but you need to have the lowers pressed in at a shop with a press. Same for the control arm bushings. A press really helps.
I also did new tie rod ends, sway bar bushings and control arm bushings.
It was a pain in the butt to do in my home garage but it can be done. I saved a ton of $$ and the Aerostar handles like new. I just replaced the tires last week and I can't believe how well it handles.
Be sure you have the engine supported before you remove the three large bolts from the frame to the upper control arm assembly. They also hold the engine mount and the engine can fall a bit.
Good luck.
Keats.
The uppers bolted in, but you need to have the lowers pressed in at a shop with a press. Same for the control arm bushings. A press really helps.
I also did new tie rod ends, sway bar bushings and control arm bushings.
It was a pain in the butt to do in my home garage but it can be done. I saved a ton of $$ and the Aerostar handles like new. I just replaced the tires last week and I can't believe how well it handles.
Be sure you have the engine supported before you remove the three large bolts from the frame to the upper control arm assembly. They also hold the engine mount and the engine can fall a bit.
Good luck.
Keats.
Senior User
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 391
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From: brooksville, florida
I bet it is the steering rack, the cv joints in the ends wear out and that makes the steering feel very vauge, I replaced mine after 120k miles now it drive great also did the control arm bushes you don't need a press for them I put mine in the vice and that worked ok.
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New User
Joined: Mar 2005
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I did the left side upper control arm bushings with a large bench vise and it was O.K. But....
As long as I was going to have the lower ball joints pressed in, I had the shop do the rest of the control arm bushings as well and it was much easier and it only cost me a couple of bucks.
Keats
Arizona
As long as I was going to have the lower ball joints pressed in, I had the shop do the rest of the control arm bushings as well and it was much easier and it only cost me a couple of bucks.
Keats
Arizona
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Senior User
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 124
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From: Northern California
Originally Posted by copper_90680
I bought the balljoint press from Harborfreight for about $20. Looks like a big C clamp and works great for ball joints and bushings.
Good luck my bet would be ball joints.
L8R
Aaron
Nappers
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Joined: Mar 2005
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You can get a free loaner ball joint press from "Auto Zone" . You put up a deposit equal to the purchase price of the tool(s) you need and when your done, return the tools in good condition and your entire deposit is refunded. I did this when I installed the upper control arm bushings. It worked O.K. I just found that it was simpler to let the machine shop finish the other bushings and the lower ball joints. If you don't have an Auto Zone in your area, I'm sure that there's another parts store that does the same thing.
Keats
Arizona
Keats
Arizona