Hi all

my E150 is allways needed to be correctet when driving

like it wants to all over the road !

and I am moving the steeringwheel 2" from side to side before getting an reaction on the road !

real pain in the a### to drive !

anything wrong with it ? or is that normal for an E-line !

it just came out from inspection unmarked so there shouldnt be anything wrong in the outer links

anyone with some inputs please

Sincerly
JCBX

 

Check your tires. If car passenger tires, get rid of them asap or sooner. They are dangerous on the E-150. You want GOOD truck tires. Then take it in for an alignment if it still has problems.

 

Tires are the number 1 issue. You need the proper size (235/75-15) XL rated tires. Not P rated tires.

Next are the front end bushings and ball joints. Be sure to check the radius arm bushings at the rear of the arms. Also, check the bushings on the ends of the swaybars where it sticks into the I-beam.

Finally, I wasn't happy with the steering on mine either so I upgraded to a helwig front swaybar, a set of KYB shocks and a set of rear add-a-leaf helper springs.

Steve
'95 Clubwagon XLT

 

Deja vu all over again? Sounds like the way my '92 steered when I got it. The steering wheel felt more like a tiller sailboat in a following sea! It was sloppy & loose, minor 'bellys' in the road from truck wear tended to steer it. The E150 would want to go L or R on it's own & steering input didn't immediately begin to correct it, then it would flip & steer the other direction. Same with wind gusts & the bow wave passing trucks. Tires were wearing flat spots, previous owner had pulled hair out & given up in disgust.

All the usual suspects were thoroughly checked again out w/o finding any problem. A fishing buddy, who's a Volvo mechanic & FORD F250 owner, also checked it. I asked him to twitch the steering wheel L to R in it's free play, while I got under the truck to inspect the linkage & noticed a dull click sound. Traced it to the Pitman arm on the steering box, which was moving up & down (in & out) slightly, instead of going L & R.

Expect some to tell you never to touch the adjustment on the steering box. However by loosening that locking nut & turning the adjusting screw a bit, the slack was taken out of the steering box & the Pitman arm (actually it's shaft inside the box) stopped clicking & moving up & down. Now it moved only L & R and the steering has worked perfectly in the 120K since. The warning has to do with worn out steering boxes & the temptation to overtighten the adjustment, resulting in steering becoming dangerously sticky away from the straight ahead positions, that received the most wear. FORD's test procedure is a nightmare. If you've got a zillion miles, or had pump failure/fluid loss, expect to keep the Econoline, AND find excess wear in the complex steering box I recommend replacing it.

 

Hmmmmmmmmm

Pretty sure this is the thing to look for , sounds like my truck

100800miles only ..... but maybee a replacement is in place , thow expensive

checking it tomorrow and leave some feedback

Thanks for the reply

Sincerly
JCBX

 

Definitely worth a look at the action of the Pitman arm/shaft to gauge if your steering box is worn.

My Club Wagon had ~104,000 miles on it when I got it & the unresolved wandering was a reason it was being unloaded. His loss was my gain. He'd also been told he needed an expensive rear seal replacement to cure an oil leak that was stinking up the vehicle & coating the underside & rear w/oil & dust. I discovered that the rear seal was fine, still is in fact. The oil leak was from an overtighened silicone pan gasket that had split & been squeezed out. A dramatically easier, less costly, repair.

 

Deja vu all over again? Sounds like the way my '92 steered when I got it. The steering wheel felt more like a tiller sailboat in a following sea! It was sloppy & loose, minor 'bellys' in the road from truck wear tended to steer it. The E150 would want to go L or R on it's own & steering input didn't immediately begin to correct it, then it would flip & steer the other direction. Same with wind gusts & the bow wave passing trucks. Tires were wearing flat spots, previous owner had pulled hair out & given up in disgust.

All the usual suspects were thoroughly checked again out w/o finding any problem. A fishing buddy, who's a Volvo mechanic & FORD F250 owner, also checked it. I asked him to twitch the steering wheel L to R in it's free play, while I got under the truck to inspect the linkage & noticed a dull click sound. Traced it to the Pitman arm on the steering box, which was moving up & down (in & out) slightly, instead of going L & R.

Expect some to tell you never to touch the adjustment on the steering box. However by loosening that locking nut & turning the adjusting screw a bit, the slack was taken out of the steering box & the Pitman arm (actually it's shaft inside the box) stopped clicking & moving up & down. Now it moved only L & R and the steering has worked perfectly in the 120K since. The warning has to do with worn out steering boxes & the temptation to overtighten the adjustment, resulting in steering becoming dangerously sticky away from the straight ahead positions, that received the most wear. FORD's test procedure is a nightmare. If you've got a zillion miles, or had pump failure/fluid loss, expect to keep the Econoline, AND find excess wear in the complex steering box I recommend replacing it.

__________________





I've been hearing that "clicking" sound as well whenever I turn the wheel sharply and am not moving very fast. Could this be the same problem?

 

Try out the 'quote' function sometime.

Suggest you reread my post b/c the "clicking" you described doesn't sound anything vaguely like what I explained. I believe jcbx is experiencing the same kind of straight ahead wandering, that requires an excess amount of correction. If this is a result of steering box wear the issue has to do with the wear concentrated in the center-straight ahead part of the steering gear & NOT when you "turn the wheel sharply". The "clicking" I discovered was heard at rest, motor off, twitching the steering wheel in the straight ahead position. The expectation with steering gear wear is that when turned sharply you'd encounter less wear.

 

Ah, I see what you're saying. So is the noise I described normal for this type of van? There is some play in the wheel, I do have tires in need of replacement, but the grooves in the road don't dictate where my van goes.

 

Hi

Is it the "blue" screw seen on this picture that you used ?

http://198.208.187.182/internet/Part...nbr=36-0817516

like the one in red on this picture

http://info.rockauto.com/Cardone/Det.../277516-01.jpg


or is it anotherone you are refeering to ?

Sincerly
JCBX

 

reading you post once more I think it is the one on this picture where it looks like a small bit of blue paint is used for securing the nut (screw)

am I right ??

Thanks in advance !

http://198.208.187.182/internet/Part...nbr=36-0817516

 

It is the little straight-slot screw with the locking nut at its base.

I played with this screw on my old '73 E200, and it did help a bit, until the real problem surfaced--the unibody frame section where the steering box bolted on was rusted and left the box kind of dangling 8-)

THEN I had a lot of steering play...

George

 

Sorry, but I'm not familiar w/the sound you described.

However I doubt its "normal".

 

Sorry, I presumed you were inquiring about '92 & up E150. Not sure about the AC/Delco box.

On my '92 E150 there is only one slotted adjusting screw w/lock nut & its in plain sight, at top. There was no sign "of blue paint is used for securing the nut".

 

Sticky Steering (Pointing) -- This occurs when the self-aligning forces, or moments, at the tire patch are not enough to overcome friction or resistance in the steering system. In a normal condition these forces assist the driver in returning the steering wheel to within 20 degrees of where the steering wheel was positioned when driving straight ahead. A steering system with excessive resistance may hold the vehicle in a slight turn (or tend to stay pointed in the direction of the turn) when the steering wheel is turned between 20 and 90 degrees.


This is my problem ............. everything seems to be in mecanicaly correct order ! any suggestions ..... or am I going to replace every little part to seek the problem ???


Sincerly
JCBX