You can check your front bearings by jacking up one wheel at a time and grabbing the tire at 12 and 6 o'clock and checking for play in the bearings. There should be very little to none. You should also rotate the tire while sitting there next to it and listen for any noise other than the brake pads lightly touching the disc. Good bearings will be silent.

Since you have already ruled out ball-joints (which is the usual culprit) then after checking bearings I would check play in the tie-rod ends and other steering components. Lay underneath and have someone slowly crank the steering the wheel back and forth while you look for play in all of the joints.

If all of that is tight, my last place to look would be a loose steering box. There is a procedure for tightening the box up just a bit (I did it) and you can find it easily with a search.

Good luck and let us know!

 

Hello DFS46,

I thx you for your reply, being a two wheel drive truck eliminates most of the 4x4 BS. I am going to replace the front wheel bearings .............they are tight but I have always heard a faint " noise", I wonder if it is possible if the wheel bearing, meaning one is heating up and binding causing the computer BS to compensate and correct with some instant fix?..........the steering box IS going to be the next change.

Regards,

FT

 

I have the exact same problem on my 2005 6 liter powerstroke F250. On a cold start, the steering wheel tubs at my hands. After all the fluids warm up, I presume, the problem seems to go away. Just curious was your fluid flush and fill the permanent fix? I too feel it is hydraulic and nature and not mechanical. There's no wonder no sway, it just tugs at my that my hands through the steering wheel. After several minutes it goes away, I presume because of fluids have warmed up.

 

To whom were you asking your question? There are 302 previous posts before yours over an 8 year period. So without a quote in your post, we have no idea to whom you are asking.

Stewart

 

I have the exact same problem on my 2005 6 liter powerstroke F250. On a cold start, the steering wheel tubs at my hands. After all the fluids warm up, I presume, the problem seems to go away. Just curious was your fluid flush and fill the permanent fix? I too feel it is hydraulic and nature and not mechanical. There's no wonder no sway, it just tugs at my that my hands through the steering wheel. After several minutes it goes away, I presume because of fluids have warmed up.

 

Sorry Ernie, that user won't be able to respond anymore because his account was suspended.

Stewart

 

Well, like so many of you other guys, I just got done reading all 21 pages of this thread. My 2004 Ford Excursion Limited 6.8L 4x4 (138,000 miles) has the dreaded pulling, jerking, drifting thing that others have reported. It's gotten to the point where I'm scared schmidtless to drive the truck. I don't want to kill myself or anybody else.


I've never felt so unsafe and certain of death in any vehicle I have driven over the past 40 years. And I drove fully loaded dump trucks with NO BRAKES.


The passenger side front tire / wheel makes a weird "creaking" sound when rotated, so I'm guessing my front u-joints are shot. That makes an awful lot of sense. I'm going to print out and perform the u-joint test tomorrow and see what up.


The truck is parked in a garage 200 miles north of where I'm sitting right now. I have a 2017 Ford F150 all lined up and all I have to do is get the Ex back here with it, and myself, in one piece. Yet, like the rest of you, if I could simply FIX this damn thing I would joyously keep it and KEEP the $20K+ the 2017 F150 is going to cost me for RETIREMENT. I'm getting too old to be wrenching on my vehicles all weekend, too.


If any of you Wisconsin boys want to know about this Ex, shoot me a e-mail because it's probably going to be sitting on a Ford dealer's lot real soon. It's a REAL NICE TRUCK in DAMN FINE CONDITION which is RARE for a 13 old truck in Wisconsin.


SO effin' frustrated.


Shockwave

 

Well, I have read through this entire post a couple of times. Been fighting the steering issues for a couple of months now. Had a mechanic go through all suspension and found no issues. I've noticed it is getting worse as it is getting colder here in Alaska. Its about the scariest issue I have ever dealt with. I have narrowed it down to the power steering pump or the gear box and many others did on here. Probably going to get the PS pump changed out. I really need to get this fixed before the roads get slick. I can't imagine dealing with this on icy roads!!

 

I should add that I had them flush and fill the PS pump. After that, I didn't notice any issues for about 10 days. But then it all started again.

 

It may appear that we are discussing two similar but different causes of the symptoms, 1) being a matter where there is a tendency to drift or wandering of the vehicle usually cause by a worn steering gear box; 2) a matter of an uncontrolled violent yanking of the steering by some external force which the driver attempts to regain control with corrective steering. In my case several years ago my situation was as the latter type (2) I describe above. The problem was that right u-joint was unquestionably seized up but at the same time it was noted that the right unit wheel bearing was worn and noisy but turned freely. After 7 years and about 50K miles the problem has never reoccurred after replacing the u joint and wheel bearing, current total miles is 177K.

The front half shaft u joints are easy to check, with the vehicle in park, make sure vehicle is not in 4 wheel drive, then turn the steering to left or right to the stop exposing the u joint you are checking, grab the u joint and attempt to turn the half shaft. A normal functional u joint will turn with very little resistance. However a seized u joint one will not be able to turn at all or at best extremely difficult to turn. On my vehicle one could not turn the half shaft at all by hand. If the wheels are straight the u joints are straight and have no effect, so the wheels must be turned to check the u joints. I'm ashamed to admit it but I never changed the steering fluid or had to as it still looks good.

I found a temporary fix when it started acting up, first regain control, pull to the side of the road when safe then stop, put the vehicle in N or P with foot on brake, then turn the steering fully to the left stop then fully to the right stop after which the vehicle would operate normally until the next cold start cycle.

In the case of the 2 wheel drive I might expect that the problem is more of an drifting or wandering rather a violent yanking of the steering. Causes could be worn gear box, intermittent pump pressure or extremely poor fluid but then again it might be a wheel bearing problem.

 

I had the same exact problem with my X... (197k miles) NOT the wander or drift, but a rhythmic pull or jerk to one side, then acting on that pull, correcting to the opposite side, then pulling back to the other side. This was very scary... couldn't go over 30mph during one violent episode.

Also, when coming out of a 90 turn at an intersection, I'd have to steer my X All the way back to straight with my hands... not the usual vehicle coming out of the turn with the steering wheel slipping through loose gripped hands on the steering wheel until straight... understand???

This went on for a couple of months from mid summer to the beginning of fall... I thought it was power steering related... until the violent episode occurred. As soon as I limped home, I put the front end up on jack stands to inspect the front suspension & steering linkage... tight as it should be. I spun the wheel on the drivers side... both free and locked manually... no issues. Both straight and turned... no issues.

Did the same to the passenger side... something was slightly binding in 2wd and totally binding in 4wd. I was having a difficult time moving the hub dial so I removed the esof locking hub and a bunch of parts fell on the floor... the locking hub was destroyed.

I had been planning to pull apart the entire DANA 50 axle to change out the inner axle tube seals (the seals closest to the differential housing that keep the gear oil in the diff housing) due to gear oil leaking from the drivers side axle tube. I had been accumulating the parts for a total rebuild. I could not wait any longer.

While ordering the inner seals, ujoints and new axle stub ends (I had a feeling that the surface of where the axle stub end rides on the inner hub bearing would be scarred up... it was) I spoke with Ammon at Ventures Truck Parts in Utah... He confirmed my suspicions about the inner hub bearings. (I also had confirmed this issue when I tore down the DANA 50).

I also put in new Timkin Hubs, Dorman ESOF lockout hubs, new knuckle seals along with the "dust seals" at the axle tube ends, new DANA greasable ujoints. I thought about doing my ball joints again, but they were solid since I replaced the OEM with MOOG greasable units in 2009.

My ball joint thread link: https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/8...ml#post7674608

Well... When my violent episode occurred I got on FTE and searched until I found this thread.

Earlier in the summer when he rhythmic pulling occurred, I thought it was powersteering related... something hydraulic. This was not the case at all. It was the two frozen Ujoint caps on the inner axle ears. (I found this out when I pressed out the passenger side ujoint) AND the axle stub surface where the inner hub bearing ride.

I am extremely proud I was able diagnose and fix this problem... Saving myself a bunch of cash and getting nice a 20 ton shop press to boot. I'm retiring after 32 years as a PE teacher and coach in June. I want to keep my X as long as possible. My youngest son went with me on the trip to purchase it 11 years ago and he informed me he wants to drive it when he turns 16 in January. My two older sons (19 & 17) want nothing to do with driving the King of SUVs but the youngest son has spent a ton of miles in the X while traveling to travel hockey games and tournaments. It is part of his life... It will be his to drive... the safest vehicle to drive due to it's size... it is fixed and safe again... in the fine weather months of the year.... I plan to purchase a convertible SHELBY GT500 with my early retirement incentive.

 

I have an 03 Powerstroke 6 liter and it's been doing the same thing work just violently jerks out of your hand I can't even turn it I replaced the power steering box I replaced the gearbox the steering box the power steering pump I mean and the hydroboost and the lines going to the hydroboost to the to the power steering pump and I'm still having the same problems like pulsating back and forth at a dead stop it doesn't matter if I rev it or step of the gas or what so I'm thinking I have a block on the line somewhere I think my dip**** friend left a ****ing o-ring and in there and shared pieces of it off is probably clogged up inside somewhere but that's sad I was just wondering if you ever diagnosed your problem would be cool to find out because I'm sick of this ****ing truck.

 

Just read. The answers are in front of you!

The answers you seek are in the thread.

Stewart

 

 

You have 100k miles on ball joints in a truck that weighs nearly 8000 lbs
no way they are not worn out
Check them again, I will assume you know how
Also look at the track bar bushings
Worn leaf spring bushings