90 fullsize bronco, w 6" susp. lift, 3" body lift,35" ssr's. My steering seems like I float from side to side when driving down the road. Any ideas, please share them with me.

 

Is there actual slop in your steering? Does your steering wheel have excess play? I would adjust your steering box. This will take the play out of your steering. There is an adjuster on your box, make sure not to over adjust. Turn it only a quarter turn at a time.

 

If tightening up the steering box doesn't work, then you can try an after market steering stabilizer. Of course i'm assuming you don't have one. I only have 4 inchs of suspension lift, and without the steering stabilizer, my steering is pretty crappy. You might also want to check the steering shaft coming from the column. I had to replace mine. The shaft has a slip joint in it, and theres a piece of plastic in there. I had to change mine as the piece of plastic disappeared. If that doesn't work, then it might be tie rod time. I just did those as well, and figure on 200.00 if you buy ford. I only replace the long side, and the one that bolts onto that. I didn't touch the two outer tie rod ends. Hope this helps.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 19-Dec-02 AT 01:07 AM (EST)]If the "slop" is in the steering gear, adjustment may work. I have heard mixed reactions as to the effectiveness of the so-called sector shaft adjustment. All it does is jamb the sector shaft down into the steering shaft a little further...too much jamb and you ruin the gear anyway. Not to say minor adjustments like the suggested 1/4" aren't a good start.

Tie rod ends would be my next step too. An extra pair of hands to turn the wheel while you observe steering components will make checking for worn components fairly simple. Check for play in the gear by seeing how much the wheel turns before the pitman arm moves. Check for worn tie rod ends by the same method only keeping an eye on how much wheel turn it takes before the actual steering knuckles move. Good indication of worn rod ends is usually some clunking and thudding from the front end during hard-over steering operations i.e. parallel parking.

If tie rod ends are suspect, consider replacing with better-than-stock components especially if you get off road. Performance Unlimited makes some really nice rod ends that do not require regular lubrication like standard rod ends. www.performanceunlimited.com

 

I just did the fro nt end on my 86. I was all over the road, so I adjusted sterring box, very little difference. I next replaced all tie rods, much better but still a little loose. I then replaced the pitman arm. Life is good.

Can somebody tell me what is the stock hieght for an 86 XLT Bronco. I bought it used, and it appears stock, but I seem to sit 1-2 inches higher than most broncos that I meet. Aso, this truck has the quad suspension up front. Is that stock on all brocs?

dennis

 

Quad front shocks are part of the trailering package on 4WD 1/2-tons. You should also have F&R anti-sway bars.

For stock suspension, you should have a 5-leaf 3"-wide spring pack sitting on a small cast-iron block that's obviously tapered about 3/4" in the front and about 1 1/2" in the back (Bronco only - F-series had a flat block). The U-bolts should have about 1" sticking up above the nuts. In the front, there should be about 2" between the driver's axle housing and the rubber bumper on the bottom of the frame behind the spring.

 

had the sloppy steerng on my 88 it has the following mods,
1 inch body lift and 32x11.5 inch bridgestones....

I just replaced the steering box and steering was extremely crisp after that. I also went ahead and replaced the power steering pump because the old PS pump started leaking after the box was replaced. (I think it leaked because the box had a slow leak to it.....and by replacing it with a good sealed unit the PS pump seals were the ones who gave way....)

If the adjustment works then keep on truckin and enjoy.

Do check and clean your outter tir rod ends periodically and
inject clean grease until you can no longer see the dirty grease come out of the boot. (I have done this and all of the joints are healthy.....haven't replaced one yet...no creaking either.

PS removing the pitman arm is a royal pain in the behind....

take a pickle fork and smack the small mounting hole to remove the inner tie rods first.....then take the steering box over to a shop and have them remove the pitman arm.....after 3 days of trying
I finally went and got the SNap on Pitman remover and took the arm off while the box was Off the truck....with a 3 foot torque bar...

pe patient and have fun!!!

R

 

I used a cheapo Harbor Freight pitman arm puller on my original '83 steering box last year and it worked fine. Just soak the shaft every day for a few days prior with Liquid Wrench, then try to install the puller with the nut ONLY backed-off (NOT removed) and tighten up on it. If it doesn't want to let go, smack the back of the puller shaft with a LIGHT hammer a few times and tighten up again. Eventually, it'll let go without too much force and the nut will keep it from flying off. Basically, the same procedure as for the steering wheel, but I just pull it with my knees.

 

I know some people will complain about this one, but it does work. on my 77 f-250, the seal went in the steering box, and started to pissout fluid like an SOB. I asked my Ford mechanic friend and he said take the nut off the that holds the pitman arm on, and start the truck. then turn the wheel a few times. came off like butter. POP, and off it fell. Not the nicest way to do something, and should only be used if absolutly neccessay. Just thought i would off up that piece of knowledge.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 23-Dec-02 AT 04:48 PM (EST)]Broncoguy,

I got the same advice for removing the sector shaft seal. Never really had too much difficulty removing my pitman arm. The seal removal trick is fairly common advice from Ford and other mechanics. There is no real provision for removing the seal so as I understand it the idea is to use the hydraulic pressure to blow the seal out of its seat. Then you can shut things down, replace the seal and clean up the mess. Its a good idea to have a pickle bucket or drain pan under the steering box when you do this though...makes a royal mess.

 

I have a steering stabalizer already. The power steering pump is leaking, so I will check into that.

 

All you need is front and rear sway-bars. That will fix your problem!

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 27-Dec-02 AT 08:35 PM (EST)]Sway bars will work but limit suspension travel on that 6" lift not to mention you will need drop brackets for the front one and much longer end links for the rear one. My 92 had both front and rear and I left them both off after the lift was on. With factory quad shocks and 33's on the 4" lift the truck actually handled a bit better than with the sway bars. I little more body roll, but who needs to corner at 50 mph when your center of gravity is that far up in the air?

 

I already have a rear sway bar, I took the front one off, and it drove fine for a couple of months, then started doing this.

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 29-Dec-02 AT 11:03 PM (EST)]Now that I have had my front sway bar off for a few months, my 92 is beginning to show signs of steering slop as well. I figure, its time to check all the steering components for wear and replace as necessary. Gives me a good excuse to upgrade a few things under there while I'm at it. The sway bars will effectively hide marginally worn parts because they are designed to keep that kind of play to a minumum anyway. Better to have the sway bar off and find these things before they get bad enough to become a danger to driving. My first step will be tie-rod ends because the ball joints are new just this past July. If that doesn't fix it, its steering gear time.

Keep in mind too that larger (especially wider) tires will amplify any minor steering problems. Just as they improve steering response they amplify problems as well. More rubber touching the road will do that.