Thank you for the link Stewart_H, will keep this in mind - may still need to do this but will know better after more driving!


I have owned e99 F350 4x4 for nine years and it's always had slightly noticeable but annoying minor steering wander on a highway which has remained despite having over the years inspected and replaced several front end parts needing replacement, including tires & alignment, new wheel bearings (Dynatrac conversion), new shocks and adjusting steering gearbox slack etc. etc.
Replaced the Pitman arm ball joint few years ago and the rest of them are in very good shape and obviously replaced the previous owner. (The truck has around 230,000 miles on).

Still a fine truck after all these years & miles, but I never liked how the steering "feels" and my old 1984 F250 4x4 6.9L cc is definitely still better in that regard, but only in that regard!

Last week I finally got around to replacing the e99 steering stabilizer which looked like it was original and after removal realized it had totally lost any resistance to moving the piston either way.


Many more miles of driving needed before the final word, but I am glad to report after having one unloaded highway test drive of about 20 miles, that the steering wander seems to be gone!


👨

 

I have several Ford Trucks - 2 Excursions and two E350 hightop wheelchair vans.
They all have common attributes - even between the 4wd and 2wd trucks.
After some miles, like more than 100K they develop steering slop and start to wander on the highway.
You need to get rid of the slop. Check ball joints and steering gear and linkage. I just replaced all of my ball joints on a 2005 E350 Extended van and it didn't cost $200 in parts.
The steering linkage (all of it) was replaced by a PO.
There are some very good videos on Youtube on how to replace ball joints efficiently.
I really like the Moog joints.
After the ball joints I still had a wandering issue. I tightened the steering box 1/3 of a turn and that made a huge, huge difference.
My E350 did not come with a steering damper and I have them on both of my Excursions. So I ordered a used setup off of Ebay for this van.
Bump steer is an issue on these vans/trucks as they age and the damper helps that a lot.
They Ford trucks are really great... the engines, transmissions and rear ends last and last.
Dodge Trucks and now GM Trucks look pretty sad in comparison.

 

Man o man I have been putting off tightening my steering box for....years!!! Why am I so lazy about this when I know its sloppy? (rhetorical)

 

I can't advise you on why you are lazy ;-)... but I adjusted my 2005 E350 down through the hood opening. I removed the coolant bottle hose to make a little more space.
I used a 5/8" box wrench for the lock nut, and a 3/16" allen wrench for the screw.
I wiped off the grease and dirt with a paper towel soaked in alcohol. Let that dry then marked the screw with a sharpie so I had a reference.
Its a stretch to get in there but I have fairly long arms. I used a chunk of steel to wack the wrench and loosen the nut, they hold the nut, turn the screw inward and retighten.
It took me 45 min the first time, to do it again is probably a 15 min exercise after gathering the tools and materials.
Its not that easy, but it really doesn't take much time and the white knuckle driving time has been cut down considerably!
Now you really have no excuse. :-)

 

OMG I dont have an excuse now! So long lazy days...

 

FWIW, I had Duck Fan (Peter) replace EVERYTHING steering related on my e99 last year. It's no surprise that it now drives and steers like new.

 

Reading through this thread now. New front end new springs new tack bars new shocks new steering gear box new tires new head lights, changed the oil, new new new...old albeit slightly better wander.

 

Sounds familiar...

 

Dont forget the wheel hubs and ball joints..

 

I did it. I finally did it. I tightened the steering gear box a 1/3 turn and wow what a difference. I had no good excuse for waiting this long.

 

Good for you.I have also thinked about tightening that sucker a bit..Or a lot..

Next step is new steering gear.
Tightening is only a bandaid and it will eventually wore the gear to its final end.

SkySkiJason wrote not so long ago about this subject in some thread..

 

I don't think band-aid is a good metaphor SkiSky. The adjustment is there precisely because they know the gears will wear. At 230k miles to be able to tighten the steering rather than having to put in a new box is awesome. 10 minutes and your steering is 100% better.

I don't know how many times this can be adjusted however. I'm an idiot for not having done this years ago.

 

When I first got my truck the whole front end was pretty rough then after I put 20k on it was done. I replaced it part by part always getting a little better but not where I wanted to be. Recently the long tie rod passenger side was failing at the crimp after 70k. When getting an alignment 2 shops told me don’t worry about the driver side it’s “fine”. As usual I ignored both of them knowing the other tie rod is probably done. I replaced both upper drag links, the long tie rod. Then due to time constraints had to drive 1k miles before replacing the other tie rod. The drive was a bit sloppy I then took the passenger side tie rod out of the cab and installed it. What a major improvement from my part that I was told is just fine. The tie rod was locked up and would not even move when I hit it with a mallet. It’s best to do a full front end rebuild or if not in the budget. Come up with a plan to replace all the front end parts one after the next but don’t stop until they are all done. My truck lifted truck now drives like our stock ranger.
shocks
tie rods
drag links
adjustment collars so you dont have to fight the old ones
ball joints -including seals etc
Pittman arm
steering gear
And as some stated the unit bearings
track bar bushings
sway bar links
next for my truck is new front springs and hangers .....gonna suck $$$$ but There’s no other option to keep these trucks well fed!

 

I agree. I changed part of the front end and then had to go back for the steering linkages. At 195k mils I should have done it all at once.

 

Agreed on the do it once strategy with front end components. If you see slop all over just do the while dang thing.

But on mine I could see no slack anywhere except the tie rod at the pitman arm, so I replaced it. 3 times! The last with a Moog part that endured. Raybestos was the worst.

And just recently the 3rd adjustment on my rebuilt Red Head box, another 1/8 that got it perfect.

Tight as a Ford nun now.