Hi all. Had more work done to our truck at Ford (2004 f250 SD 4x4 gas) Still having intermittent loss of steering, where it feels that there is steering failure for about three to four seconds and the truck goes where it wants and then returns to normal.
Have new steering box, ball joints, sway bar bushings,wheel alignment..we are considering ps pump as they drained the fluid, said it was black, but did not replace the pump. I have read some posts, other sites too, that state a bad ps pump can cause intermittent loss of steering. Not just the power steering but all steering, some even with no noise or warning.
Mechanic has truck and will be driving until problem happens to him. It is better than it was, as we have steering wheel return now and no front end sway now.
But it still has intermittent loss of steering at low speed, after about an hour of driving.
Any ideas are very much appreciated.
Suzanne

 

A bad power steering pump could cause intermittant loss of POWER ASSIST to the steering but could not cause loss of steering. There is a mechanical connection right from the steering wheel to the wheels which will work even if the pump is removed from the truck.

 

Hi Lazy K. Any idea what would cause this to happen from the steering wheel to the wheels?

 

The only likely thing I can think of is a very badly worn steering box but as you have had that replaced, it can be rulled out.
Are you sure you are not confusing loss of steering with loss of power assist?
If the steering wheel always stays properly centered then it is hard to see that steering has been lost at any point.

 

Hi there. No it is loss of steering when turning for 3-5 seconds intermittent and the truck just goes where it wants. It finally happened to the mechanic today..said it scared the """" out of him. He said the ABS sensor and the speed sensor etc are the problem..so we will see.
Thanks

 

Good to get a diagnosis. However neither of those would cause a loss of steering. However it would probably feel like it.
Hope you get it sorted out.

 

Hi there. Yes well they explained it that two things were trying to work at the same time and neither did so this was the 3-5 second loss of steering. They are going to remove a sensor as it is sending faulty signals and reacting with something else that is sending a faulty signal. Our ABS light has been on for awhile and the wires were barely hanging on and he figures maybe a short along with the speed sensor being faulty. We will see as everything else has been looked at and this may be a possibility. At least the mechanic has felt it now and can make a better diagnosis of the problem.

 

By loss of steering, do you mean you can spin the wheel freely, or can't move the wheel at all?
The pump should have been changed if the fluid was black, since the pump is what burned the fluid in that case. The contaminants left could be plugging the valve in the new box, causing it to reverse the boost against your input.

 

Thank you. I thought so too. It is wheel spinning freely steering. I will talk to the mechanic.

 

I'm curious as to whether this was fixed.
Do you have an update?

 

Hi there. Wanted to check in. It was the right wheel sensor. There is a bulletin talking about the sensor but it stated that the brakes would be the only thing affected. Well surprise..when there are faulty signals in the system steering can be affected as well and in my opinion possibly other things. Also good to note is that just because the ABS light is on does not mean the system is disengaged it can mean the system has a faulty signal. See the bulletin on this and add our steering problem to it. It has not happened in a week of serious driving.