That's good. The pump did it for me. (not my normal luck).

 

So far so good with the PS Pump replacement. No funny business since, but it has only been a day. Definately need the PS Pump pulley puller to get the job done, I got a loaner from Auto Zone for FREE. I recommend this to anyone needing misc. pullers/front end tools. Thanks for all of the great posts - this really helped.

 

I was wondering if a puller would work. Nothing like autozone in this small town.

 

Little update.

A week or so ago, after having my exhaust put on, I brought my truck home only to find out I was leaking PS fluid. Great.

Took it back down to the mechanic, they found something was loose on the pump itself. They tightened it up, no worries. Fast forward to that Sunday. Old Mr. Steering Gremlin decided to make a fabulous return.

It's been a very rare problem for me since. Only happens 5% of the time I am driving, and always on a tight turn. Only had a problem once with the trailer off. Overall, the jerking is no where as violent as it was pre-PS pump replacement. I suspect that some air possibly got in and is having some fun.

 

Mine acted up 1 time in the morning 2 weeks ago. Since I put the pump in 2 months ago it has been fine except the gremlin emerged 1 time the same day after I put it in. I think it is on the border of having just enough pressure to keep it working well. Air bubbles probably have a lot to do with it also. All I had to do was stop on a gravel shoulder and move the wheel back and forth a bit to fix it.

 

Try checking power steering cooler,may be clogged or damaged, had one on ranger that felt simular and it was kinked p/s cooler.

 

Thanks but this is the end of a marathon thread that we have finally nailed.

 

Hate to resurrect, but I think I am going to have to bite the bullet and just replace the damned gearbox as well. My steering is nowhere as bad as before, but it still will give me the old shakey, shakey here and then. Seems to do it more frequently on Mondays after I let the truck sit for the weekend. Overall, the steering is decent at best, but I can't afford to be jerking it in the middle of winter on icy roads when I am moving around plowing snow. I saw another guy on here review a RedHead gearbox, I might look into that.

 

Glad you brought it back. Mine acts up once in a while but rarely. Let us know if the new box helped. It should.

 

I know this is an old thread but I can't tell you how good it felt to find some credible information about my troubles. Like many others, I too took my truck to a couple mechanics for them to diagnose. After having just replaced my ball joints and rotated tires, both places wanted to start with a front end alignment. I problably need one anyway. I had it done with little adjustments made. My problem still exists.

After reading through all the threads I'm just going to replace my steering box right away. I'll post what the end result is for anyone else who is living with the gremlin.

 

Check your fan belt and PS pump first, once I got the pressure up it went away. Don't rule out dry front u-joints though because I sprayed them with penetrating oil about the same time so it is still a bit of a mystery. I still have the same PS box so that is not necessarily going to cure it. Bringing up an old post is not a crime, look a all the good info you are getting!.

 

Seized axle u-joint was causing my steering jerk.Very scary when you don't expect it.

 

Mine jerked back and forth at lower speeds sometimes and you could watch the wheel go through the motions but it could be cured temporarily by stopping in some gravel and turning the wheel back and forth a couple times, otherwise there was no way to stop it.

 

after much going over my front end from having the same problem,i got under the truck and had my freind turn the wheel back and fourth and watched everything. then noticed the one axle rotate as the front u joint was in a certain position. lubed up the u joint and tried it and you could tell the u joint was dry. replaced the u joints on both sides and the problem went away.

 

My truck had the same issues as everyone else. It would give a slight jerk to the left about every three seconds. It was timed so perfect that I was sure it was something to do with the power steering. I replaced the PS pump. It didnt do it as bad after replacing it, but it still did it. Come to find out it was the axle U joint. You could still reach around the tire and spin the axle so I thought it was OK. I jacked the truck up and locked in the hubs. One side spinned perfect and the other side had resistance. As I spinned it, the U joint would cause the steering components to push to the left, therefore causing the wheel to jerk. I would recommend that anyone with these symptons make sure to check the axle U joints.