Hi guys, was hoping I could throw one at ya regarding steering.
Would love to hear your thoughts and questions and appreciate the help.


97 F250 HD 351w

basically what's goin on is if i am going at about 50-60 mph on the highway and hit a bumpy road the truck wants to fly all over the place. Sometimes, when i get to the part with noticeable dips and bumps i could swear the truck is about to take off; like what it's really doing is gaining momentum to literally blast off into the sky.

it's kinda scary actually. also, i dont know if this helps but in general the wheel has some slack before turning it affects the turning of the car.
not much mind you but i can tell. i can swing the wheel about a quarter to an eighth of a turn while driving and nothing happens.

im sure something is loose or possibly old and in need of replacement . . . what do you guys think it is?

no real vibration at highway speeds in the steering wheel but i feel it in the truck . . . does that make sense? like, i can feel it as my feet are touching the cab floor (the vibration) but not in the steering wheel. it pulls slightly to the left. it doesnt really pull at all while breaking hard although i havent really been paying attention to that nor have i had to brake hard recently.

i am just trying to throw out any suspension,brakes or steering symptoms i can think of

grease fittings were done about 5 months ago

feel free to ask awy, im sure there's something i might be leaving out.


thanks again guys i appreciate it.

 

if you are bouncing around when hitting bumps you might wanna check out your shocks.

 

There's a preload adjustment on the steering gear and I would check the tie rod ends and other joints on the tie rods IE where they connect together an at the pitman arm.

 

sorry, forgot to mention, shocks while probably original seem fine. . . i dont mean bouncing around so much as the truck wants to go every which way but straight. it literally feels like i lose control of the steering for a split second . think of it this way. . . imagine that the front wheels came off of the ground as if you had just hit a speed bump at 80 mph, you know how the front wheels would more than likely come off the ground for a split second and turning the wheel to steer straight to correct/make sure you keep going straight when you "land" does nothing? well, thats how it feels for a split second.

i am sure the wheels dont actually go off the ground or nothing but it certainly feels weird.

the reason i say the shocks seem fine is because when it doesnt keep bouncing (too much) when i push down on the truck to do the expert scientific "see if it keeps bouncing" shock durabiity test lol

theyve got about 74K miles on them and must be original although it WAS a county truck so maybe they were switched at 50-60?

thanks again guys

 

maybe a belt going in one of your front tires? And make sure you don't blast off into the sky!!! lol very descriptive.

 

If you're getting 1/8-1/4 turn of the steering wheel for a dead zone, then you probably need to look at getting your steering gearbox replaced. A dead gearbox works two ways: input from you has no effect within that dead zone, and hitting bumps will allow the steering to change without giving you tactile feedback at the steering wheel.

Jason