I made a post earlier that no one took a stab at but i will try and revent the problem. I recently brought my F350 to the dealer, they said the wondering problem was my front and back bushings on my front leaf springs were gone or rotted through, and the shackles ect were rustd thru..They said that was causing the problem, and then they could align it. Does that seem right? Anyway I have since the been going around getting differnt opinions, and alot of guys are telling me its my "body lift" and my small tires causing the wondering, which i think is wrong because I think there unfamiliar with a 1 ton's stock suspension, and my tires are not small by any means compared to the stock 235/75/16 they come with the F350. I run 265's. Anway any ideas guys if these opinions are true. My ride is smooth, I have no shaking, or vibrating, and my alignment isnt bad, its just the loose play in the steering wheel that doesnt allow for a firm straight line path drive. I am always correcting the steering in small increments to get it to drive down the road straight. Whats not tight?

Back to the stock suspension thing, wouldnt it be if i had a lift none of the parts for my truck would fit on it. The dealer is ordering stock shackles and u-bolts for springs, if i had a lift wouldnt they need differnt sized componets. Also when i bought new shocks, they were stock shocks that fit right up, so I think he was wrong about that. Any input?

 

It's usually fairly obvious if you have a body lift. The first clue is to look at the body mounts and if the cab mounts are more then 2 inches tall then it's a safe bet you have a lift. As for the stock shock sizes, they might install fine but they may over extended on serious bumps and ripping apart. You wouldn't know they were wrong until it was too late.

Before paying a dealership to replace those parts, I would take it to an independent repair shop and ask how much it would cost to replace those parts so you have a price comparison. Usually the dealership is seriously over priced. And don't go back to the shop that told you your wheels were too small. That guy is just dumb and trying to sell you something.

The wandering could indeed be caused by the ruined bushings and rusted shackles. If that is the case then I would get it fixed right away before the axle just plain rips off.

My brothers rear shackles on his 96 f250 were almost completely GONE before I caught them this summer... I'm still trying to teach him how to take care of his vehicle better... It's been 5 years with no results. :-)

 

loose or worn balljoints, tie rod ends, or any steering linkage can cause that.

also, what makes u think u have a body lift? you dont know for sure? same with suspension?

350's sit up pretty high to begin with. try a different shop

 

excellant points guys.. I did bring it to a leaf spring shop, which also does front end alignments ect, I am pretty confident they know what there doing, I think they will nail what could be causing it. Ya I am pretty thoroughly convinced i dont have a lift, I see my style truck everywhere, and were all the same height..the dork kept referring to his "old piece of **** F150" that he hated and i think he wasnt getting that it was a 1-ton truck, unlike his 1/2ton. Anyway will update what the spring shops comes up with. I told them what the dealer thot, and he said hes scene worse bushings, and he said even if they did replace them that probably wouldnt cure the wondering problem. Thank u guys

 

Brought it to that spring shop. They found that it needed a new 3 piece drag link, both right upper and lower ball joints, and new sleeves to do alignment. $1200 to do it....But I rather do this and 100% fix the problem,then replace leaf spring bushings that wouldnt help anything

 

Replacing the leaf spring bushing with the urethane type can help give a better ride
Actually upgrading to urethane all around can give better feeling to the truck. It is stiffer than the stock rubber peices that are probably dry rotted and worn if you do a lot of towing. They might make a trans mount for your truck too. It might be worth swapping them out if you do a lot of towing and plan on keeping the truck for awhile.

 

Is your truck a 4x4?

 

Yup my rig is a 4x4 kermmydog. Ya I agree with blue beast, I bet that would be a good idea to replace them all around. What sort of bushings are you talking about tho, I would love some further detail on them.

 

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It seems like they are missing some bushings, But that's the idea the urethane gives better control since it doest squash like the rubber does. If you plan on keeping the truck it will last a lot longer than rubber with out deteriorating performance every year
I got the tie rod ends and shock bushings I forget which company I got it's been so long!! They make a big difference I need to get the rear leafs bushings too. The sway bar does it's job quick since it doesn't squash the rubber first.

 

urethane bushings are not all they are cracked up to be.
when i put the new spring and shock bushings in 8 years ago, i put urethane in cause everybody swore by them.
well it is now 8 years later, and the shock bushings are completly gone, and the spring bushings are not far behind them.
the replacements will be rubber, direct from ford.

 

is that right? I mean I dont mind going either way, I suppose OI should just get on that tho right?

 

I just seem to be the victim of disrespect. I am sick and tired of being treated like a fool. I brought my truck to that damn spring shop to get my floppy steering wheel fixed and aligned. And they came up with both right side ball joints, and 3 piece drag link, and the alignment to fix the problem. they said it would 100% fix the problem. I get a call today that says "hey mike your trucks all set, our mechanic said it drives pretty straight down the road, but it still sort of pulls in either direction. My faced dropped, and I said i be right there. In the back of my head, I am saying to myself, if its still doing that, then you didnt fix it, I am not going to pay you $1100 for nothing. So I took it for a spin, and when I came back i asked to speak to the mechanic, he came over, and was like "ya i drove her down the road, and i wasnt impressed".....Now doesnt that tell you something....Wouldnt that mean you have not found my problem. so I said how bout you tighten down on that gearbox, so he did, and it helped, but to the point where it began to bind up. So we seem to be heading in the right direction now, it seems to be gearbox related, not the other parts they replaced. The jerk off mechanic kept saying Fords are notorious for loose steering, but I couldnt beleive my hearing, thats why i came to you to fix it, to get it taken care of, not charge me $1100 and have no result. I think guys its my gearbox, even tho its only 6 months old, it was a remanufactured one from Advance Auto Parts, and I think it was a junk one, so I think a new one from FORD, will fix it, and these jackasses can refun me all the money they made me spend for fixing stuff that wasnt even the route of the problem. sorry for vent, I just cant stand mechanics that dont respect people who are paying money to get stuff fixed.

 

that is the main reason that NO ONE touches my vehicles but me.

 

and I admire the hell out of you having the knowledge, tools, and ability to do mechanical work. I seriously am going to get some courses on how to be a mechanic, so i can start doing my own friggen work. Its a field alot of people taken advantage of because your everyday citizen does not know anything when it comes to vehicles, so its very easy to charge someone alot of money when it comes down to it

 

yup. i try to stress to all the kids going into high school to take at least 1 year of auto shop, male or female.
most pooh pooh the idea. then 4-5 years later, i hear why didn't i listen to you.