As alot of you have been reading my 04 F150 4x4 was pulling to the right a while ago. I had a sticking brake and fixed that. I then found one of my IWEs were shot and i replaced those and now the entire front end is free. I also had two alignments at two different places before all of this and they both came saying that it was already aligned. Well the problem seemed fixed for a couple days after i fixed the 4WD, but then the pulling seemed to reappear. So I went to a more respected alignment shop this morning (drove a little out of the way to get to it but wanted a real good job) and he put it on the rack and showed me on the computer that it was pretty much perfectly aligned. To the point where the only thing that was left to do was turn a few adjustments a half a thread, which wasnt going to do anything. So i explained to the guy everything i have done and my complete problem (i told him this before it went on the rack) And that i swapped all tires around to find a bad one, and swapped out a diifferent set of tires and rims with the same effect. Another guy came to look and me and the other guy were under the front of the truck while the alignment guy got in the truck and turned the wheel back and forth. Everything looked good, no looseness, slop, or parts bent. But the guy picked up a clicking noise while the wheel was being turned left and right. I heard it too. So we were under the truck and he grabbed the steering rack and said he could feel the click and hear it. So me and alignment guy went or a ride and he agreed that it wanted to go right and that it felt more like the steering didnt want to center up. It wanted to drift right most of the time but every now and then it would want to kick left for a second and then back to the right side drift. So he recommended getting a new rack, because it shouldnt click and that the gear could have been jammed and skipped a tooth, or is baddly worn.

So i agreed that it was making noise and clicking. So I have a extended warranty that i bought through a third party from the dealership, it covers the rack and gear box and all of that stuff. So i stopped at the dealership on my way home and explained to them the alignment processes ive been through and parts ive replaced that were not working right. And im scheduled to take it in on Wednesday and my salesman is putting me in another truck to drive while its in there.

Has anyone else had a similar problem with the rack messing up like that? And does it sound like im following the right road with this diagnosis now. I know the problem cant just be me cause everyone elses cars i drive on the same roads dont pull right. Thanks again guys!

 

Have the alignment shop increase your caster split.

 

I dont want them change my alignment to compensate for a problem. ill have them check out the rack and pinion stuff. If that checks out then ill talk to them about changing my alignment. There has to be something that is making it pull or the steering not center up when it is supposed to. It does a little bit of both.

 

I had a similar experience with my '04 last year. I found the "clicking noise" to be the inner left tie-rod, the only part of the rack that is serviceable. I believe I paid around $45.00 for the part at the stealer. It took about 20 minutes to install. Problem solved.

 

I was at the tire shop getting my tires rotated and wanted the alignment checked. They came back and said that my inner tie-rod was worn too and had to replace before they could align again. I went under there and moved things. There is a very very small amount of movement. I sometimes drifts to the right but not much. He said you cant service the inner but the outer you can. Is that true?

 

i wouldnt mind if was the inner tie rod end, but i would prefer if it was the rack, cause my warranty doesnt cover the tie rod. But I just want it fixed now. So i dont care what it is at this point now. I hope they fix it quick and it straightens out.

 

Roller,
On the '04, the left inner is serviceable. The right is not. Sorry XJ, not trying to hijack your thread.

 

Its ok. Left being the driver and right being the passenger? Could a inner tie rod end worn out on either side cause a pull to the right? Or would it be more suseptable to be the passenger side? Thanks.

 

XJ,
I am sure that, depending on other variables, it could be possible. All I know is that my truck was pulling to the right, with clicking sound as you described. I replaced the inner on the driver's side, set the tie rod length as it had been previously (no alignment) and wallahh, good as new.

 

Could there be a problem with steering box that will stop it from coming to center and staying there.
not sure if our trucks have an adjustment screw on the box.
just a thought.

 

Im not sure if the problem is with the steering box, the rack, or the tie rod ends. Im taking it in on wednesday for them to figure out. Im really narrowing it down now. Ive fixed everything with the brakes and the IWEs, and have rotated the crap out of the tires and switched rims and tires to eliminate the tires as the problem. So im really left now with the steering. Either its the box, rack, or tie rods. Hopefully they will get it now, there isnt much left to check or replace. And im not too worried about it now. The rack and box are covered under my warranty and the tie rods arent, but they are not as expensive. I just really want it drive straight. I will be exstatic when it does.

The click i experience isnt noticeable when your in the truck and turning the wheel back and forth. You have to have someone else turn the wheel while your under the front of the truck. It clicks once when you turn it one way, and then again when you turn it the other.

My question now is, if the tierod is bad, would the alignment still come back fine? Cause now ive had it on the alignment rack at three different places (and they charged me less than $25 each time cause they didnt have to do anything). Everytime it comes back almost perfect. The thing is with the inner tie rods is that they are covered with that boot, and if you dont take that boot off to check it out you wont see the tie rod are being bad, right? So if all three places were too lazy to pull the boot and check it, it could have been worn and no one would have known.

 

Alright i crawled under the front of the truck and had my wife work the wheel back and forth while i looked around and felt around the tie rods and the rack. I had her work the wheel just enough to flex the steering but not turn the wheels. i noticed that the driver side tie rod felt loose and i could feel the "click" more pronounced in the driver side tie rod. I also noticed movement in the driver side tie rod when there wasnt any in the passenger side. All it took to make the "click" noise was working the wheel back and forth a little bit. I didnt pull the boot off cause i didnt have time but now im suspecting the inner tie rod on the driver side.

Even if the inner tie rod on the driver side is worn, would the alignments still come back ok? What i am thinking is that the inner tie rod is worn and letting the wheel vibe back and forth or tilt inward and wanting to pull the truck to the right and i have to tilt the wheel to the left to keep going straight. If it was the rack, wouldnt it be sort of loose on both ends? Thanks again for the input guys.

SAKO- sound like i might have the same problem. Also i looked at the repair manual for my truck, it shows the same part # for the left and the right inner tie rod end for the 04-05's. Wouldnt that make them both serviceable?

Here is a link:
www.fordparts-fordparts-fordparts.com

 

I researched the inner tie rods a little bit and came up with this post:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/7...-not-help.html

It states in the repair manual portion of the post that the boot creates a ait tight seal around the inner tie rod and the connections to the rack. Its just a little too coincidental that the driver side IWE on my truck was shot also and looked like it ingested water/contaminents. Im just wondering if before i got the truck if the front driver side was submerged under water or something to that effect and while the IWE got contaminents in it that the boot for the inner tie rod also got contaminents in it and wore away the grease and wore the inner tie rod joint as well. Im might be looking into this too far but it seems a little weird that the two air tight components on the driver side failed. Well hopefully i found the problem and the shop can fix it easily and my truck will now drive straight! I cant wait!

 

Sorry to hear about the problem, XJ. I thought all that you had done with everything else had things whipped. I wouldn't think that a worn tie rod would make the truck pull. It might allow it to wander some. Usually camber or caster are what makes a vehicle pull to one side or another or binding wheel bearings or calipers. It is possible for a bad valve in the rack to make it pull. The pull you are experiencing could be hydraulic in nature. Keep us posted.

Greg B

 

I wouldnt think the tie rod would be causeing this either, but Sako seemed to have the same problem with the same worn part that i think is worn. So its going into the shop on wednesday to check it all out. Im certain we will get it nailed down now. But from what i saw tonight under the truck i think it has something to do with the inner tie rod on the driverside, it clicks or pops with each slight movement of the steering wheel back and forth.