I've been having some odd steering conditions the last couple months. It started off as occasionally pulling incredibly hard one way, but would go back to perfect alignment if i JERKED the steering wheel. Then it slowly got worse and the jerking didn't always work, not to mention was quite unsafe. It eventually got to the point where it would usually pull one way or the other ( this is compiled over a long period of time and testing, wind has no effect on the coniditon), or be perfect. Sometimes left, sometimes right, and would usually fix itself after an undetermined amount of time. Id be compensating by turning the wheel the opposite way and it would magically fix itself and go the direction i was turning, and once I corrected it would go perfectly straight, with no pulling, just a slight wandering. Now I've got 35" tires on a lift, and it usually pulls right. I almost took it back in until it started driving perfect occasionally. Then today it pulled somewhat right, then got to the point where 2 seconds of not steering at 55 mph meant I'd be in the ditch, and then drove perfectly straight after several minutes. Balljoints are recent, alignment is a week old, tires are in good shape. I'm thinkin steering column or something to do with the tie rod ends or somethin? Any thoughts are appreciated, as I have no idea where to go next.

 

everything from teh gear box up to the steering wheel shouldnt be causing a pull.
dp you have automatic hubs on your truck?

 

No we switched it over to manual hubs since the automatics went bad from never bein used. Warn locking hubs, and they usually get used once a month just to keep it all in working order.

 

WAG, it could be your power steering pump starting to go out and losing pressure. I know on tractors if the pump or the steering valve starts to go it will cause the tractor to turn one way or the other erratically and with no warning.

 

Any way of checkin pressure or seein if its good still?

 

when it seems to be working, do you have play in the wheel?

when it is not working, does the amount of play change?

 

The amount of play in the wheel stays consistent. It has slightly more play than my dads 03 F-250, but nothing unusual for a 12 year old truck with 204k miles. I have noticed a slight drop in mileage (even before the bigger tires, which only made it drop 1 mpg ish) too. Would I be crazy to think that perhaps a brake is stickin occasionally? It would explain the mileage drop and the steering somewhat. I noticed when the rims were off the hubs did require a lil work to turn by hand. Buts thats just a WAG

 

looking at the pinpoint tests in the manual i have, there is nothing that exactly matches your symptoms.

in light of that, have you ever got the weight off the wheels so you can move things around and find play/grabs?

 

check the simple things first. Air pressure.

The first time I got big tires on my first new truck the dealer put 80 PSI in them all around. It was an F-150! It called for 35 front and 41 rear. I DID hit a ditch about a mile down the highway from the shop that put them on because it got in a rut and jerked the wheel out of my hand. These were 33 inch BFG mudders.
Back then I didn't know much but my father told me to air them down to the door sticker and it drove perfect after that.


If this doesn't help, or really even if it does then flush out your power steering oil. That usually makes a huge difference on trucks that have never had it done. All you have to do is get your wifes turkey baster and suck some out and put some new in, Mercon usually or type F on the 91 and older mostly, whatever your owner manual says.
On these bigger trucks an inline transmission filter is usually a good idea too on the PS system.

Check your steering stabilizer too if you have one. I've replaced them countless times because they were so bound up the trucks were near impossible to steer.

 

Air pressure was checked at set at 60 lbs awhile back on the stock rims and tires, but that didn't help it any. Right now the new tires are all within a couple psi, but I'll put them all exactly the same way for s & g's. I think I'll steal my moms (no wife for till I get outta college) turkey baster and give it a try. There currently is not a steering stabilizer on the truck, but the lift came with one and its going on either tonight or tomorrow night so we'll see if that helps. Would a sway bar help at all? My lift also came with sway bar drop brackets, but since I dont have a sway bar its not too handy. And the truck steered the same today. Pulled right on the way to school, pull REAL hard for a minute here and there, drove perfect for a few minutes. On the way home it was either pullin right ( 3-4 seconds would put me in the ditch if i started counting while going perfectly straight in the middle of the road ) or drove just perfect, but did wander back and forth quite a bit.

 

maybe u-joint in the front axel

 

the u-joint is where i was headed with my first post but i fell asleep last night! thanks for posting it. i have had a small handfull of trucks have a very similar concern to yours that the owners replaced the entire front end steering components including the gear box and pump with no fix, i found the front u-joints seized and this caused the sterring to bind up and pull

 

Either way the steering stabilizer should help for the time being so it wont jerk the wheel out of your hand as easily. Good cheap insurance.

 

Check your front callipers brakes might be sticking

 

I put the steering stabilizer on tonight and it helped somewhat, mainly just when I hit bumps though. As far as the u-joints, everything was replaced in the front axle when the trans was dropped in two years ago (30k miles). Could they still be a problem when they are that new? Any way to check? My next step is jacking up the front end and checkin to see how easily the wheels spin tomorrow night.