My 86 250 Supercab with long box, has a steering problem. First, it has alot of free play in the steering wheel. Second, when turning to the stop, it turns sharper to the left than it does to the right. I was told that I probably need to replace the drag link. I know I need to also check the rag joint, etc. My question is what to do first. I believe that I will probably end up replacing most of the front end, but which part do I start with first. This won't happen all at once as money is tight.

 

How is the steering box. Ford steering boxes were not very good I had to replace mine at 140,000 miles and it was not in good shape at 120,000 miles.

 

Does it have a lot of free play throughout its range, or when the steering is centered? For example, does it have free play when you are going straight, but if you turn the wheel one turn either way does the play go away?

I once had a similar situation with a 66 Mustang. It turned tighter to the left than to the right, and it had a lot of free play at about 1/2 turn to the left. The problem: The steering box was worn out at center (where it spends most of its time and takes most of the abuse) and the previous owner turned the wheel 1/2 turn to the right and realigned the front end with the box turn 1/2 turn right. Then he pulled the wheel off the steeing shaft and rotated it 1/2 turn and put it back on. This "hid" the loose steering box - when you were going straight you were on a tight part of the steering gear. You would only notice the play at 1/2 turn left. The car would turn fine to the left - all the way to the stop, but turning right, the steering box ran out of travel before it reached the stop.

Good luck,
Jim

 

I have heard that the steering box could be the problem, but the front end has a lot of parts that interact, so I thought I would check before I start replacing things. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

Actually I have been doing some more testing and I think that you hit the problem on the nose. It has some free play mostly from about 11:00 - 1:00 and the steering problem. In fact whenever I turn the wheel to the stop to the left, it feels like the tire is slipping as it turns. Anyway, The steering box was probably worn, one of the previous owners did what you described and now the steering box is worn out again. I'm going to start by replacing the steering box and go from there. Thanks for excellent description.

 

Tighter turns to one side and not the other would be hard to say as obsolete but 2 things can add to or make this happen are:

1. Bad components that let the wheel/s turn on one side more than the other.
2. On the back of the steering knuckles are bolts that stick out and that is the stop limiter. It a knuckle has been replaced or someone has adjusted the bolt it would cause the same problem

Both would/could cause wheels to slip in a tight turn!

 

The theory on the steering box is close, but not quite right. Your steering box may be bad, as well as some of the steering joints. But what I can tell you is, the turning sharper one direction than the other is causing some of the play, and probably has damaged the steering box. If you install a new one, you may damage it if you drive it this way.

First off, most all steering boxes, including mustangs, have a tight spot built into the box when it's centered. This tight spot gives it a good road feel when driving straight down the road. When turning a sharp turn, the steering box loosens up, making the wheel easier to turn. If your steering linkage is all out of wack, then you are not driving down the road with the steering box in the center, so it feels loose. You can also adjust the box, but the adjustment should not be made unless the box is in the center.

Also, there are no stops inside the steering box. The box uses the stops in the steering system to limit the travel. If the steering linkage is way off center, then in one direction the steering box will bottom out inside before it hits the linkage stops. Over time this will damage the box internally.

When you put the new box on, what you need to do first is leave the pitman arm off, but put the steering wheel on temporarily. Turn the wheel till the box stops. Then turn it the other way, counting the turns. Divide the number of turns by 2, and put the steering wheel in the center. This is the center of the box.

Then adjust the tie rod ends till the drag link bolts to the pitman arm, with the wheels pointed straight ahead, and without turning the steering box off center. When you get it fitted up, then the box will be centered when the trucks goes straight down the road, and you can shift the steering wheel around on the splines till it's level going down the road.

 

This is great advice! This is what I was really looking for when I posted. I am new at this and sometimes really need things detailed out. I can understand these directions and will make sure that I get everything centered when I replace the steering box. Thanks!

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll make sure to check the stops so they are adjusted evenly.

 

Before you pull anything apart, there are a couple of things to look at.

First, when your steering is straight are the pitman arm and idler are at about the same angle with respect to the centerline of the truck? The geometry varies from vehicle to vehicle, but in general when you are going straight the pitman arm and idler arm each point outward slightly from the center of the vehicle. Do they point outward at about the same angle?

Second, with the horn button removed and the nut that holds the steering wheel on, is there an alignment mark on the steering wheel adjacent to the spline when it attaches to the shaft? Does it line up with the mark on the shaft?

If someone turned the box 1/2 turn and realligned, you will find that the pitman arm and idler arm are at wild angles and the allignment mark on the steering wheel and the steering shaft are 1/2 turn out.

On some vehicles, the pitman arm can be removed from the steering box and rotated a few splines then put back on. On my 66 Mustang this was not the case - there were three places around the steering box shaft where one tooth was left out of the spline, so the pitman arm would only go on one way (well, 3 ways, but two of them were not remotely useable).

Good luck.
Jim