I've got a 94 FS Bronco w/5.8 and 99,000 miles. Always had scheduled maintenance. Recently, when I turn right (stop/turn or big curve) it starts pulling hard to the right....then, if I turn left (curve or stop) it starts pulling hard to the left.... ??? The only thing to note is that the power stearing box has a leak that I've been topping off every so often until I can buy a new gear box or rebuild it.

- The gear box has been leaking a lot longer than this probelm, but could that be the cause? or ball joints/ tie rods?

????

 

Honestly it could be "all of the above". You can check ball joints and rod ends with the "wiggle" tests and visual inspection. The steering gear can be checked for backlash which would manifest itself as "play" or "slop" between the steering shaft and the pitman arm.

DON'T let anyone try to tell you you need a steering stabilizer to FIX the problem. (Can't tell you how often I have heard that as a catch-all answer to steering issues).

If you need to check balljoints and rod ends, park on a level surface with the front wheels pointing straight ahead, set the brake and raise one front wheel at a time. With each front wheel perform the following tests.

Grab the entire wheel/tire at 3 o'clock and 9 o'clock positions and see if you can shift the wheel left to right as though you were trying to change the direction the wheel is pointed. If you get play of any kind, have someone perform the test for you while you have a look at what components are shifting to allow the play. To much play will be indicative of rod end problems.

The same test should be done but by grabbing the wheel/tire at the 12 o'clock and 6 o'clock positions and trying to rock the wheel as though it were leaning inboard or outboard. To much play is indicative of ball joint issues.

A small amount of play from BOTH tests is more likely to be a wheel bearing issue but excessive play from both tests would/ could indicate impending failure from rod ends and ball joints.

Apologies if you already know what you are doing with this but I have to assume a "lowest common denominator" unless I know the person posting.

One question that I could ask that might help in determining the problem... Do your front tires wear evenly across the face of the tread? Do they "cup" (sawtooth shaped wearing of the tread near the inboard or outboard shoulder of the tire)?

 

Sorry, I've been awol for a couple weeks... I've been swamped in a major way! Anyways, thanks for the run down. I'm trying to get some time to check the wiggle and the waggle this weekend. Since my gearbox is leaking I might just swap that out if I can block off enough time. I'll let you know what I find. The run down was perfect btw, I'll always listen to the same instructions I "think" I already know...you never know what you might miss....

Tires seem to be wearing evenly... although they were worn bad when I got the Bronco due to the Radius arm bracket being bent and the bushing shot. Then I broke the threads off trying to get the nut off, so I just replaced the whole Radius arm. had the alignment checked and I lucked out...perfect. I could cheat and take it into the shop for a free inspection but I'm worried about 2 things... one...they see one possible problem and I just "have to" get that fixed first...which doesn't solve it and 2, I'm concerned about saftey driving it 20 miles...

 

One thing I failed to mention in my initial post was a check of the axle pivot bushings. They tend to go on older trucks. They frequently manifest themselves by allowing a bad negative camber appearance to the front wheels. Typically though, this problem is associated with severe cupping of the tread on the inboard half of the tread. If the tires are wearing evenly across the tread now, I would be interested to know what you discover the problem to be. Given that your alignment is in good shape and you have no serious tread wear issues it would almost HAVE to be associated with the steering gear issues.

 

Thanks. I'll take a look at that. Besides the Radius arm and a bad ingnition module, this is the first issue I've run into with the Bronco. The previous owner not only did every service in the book but left me the reciepts for each service as well. It was well cared for when I bought it a couple years ago. Unfortunately, I need to replace a few panels and the tailgate now... Michigan Rust. But steerting comes first!

 

I spent extra money on a steering gear but it was well worth it. Having read that many people were not satisfied with the typical rebuilt ones I got a rebuilt from Red-Head steering gear and have been extremely pleased.

 

Thanks. Ignition module was not the black one. drove me nuts trying to figure out why my starter was not working right though.... then I thought it was the netural saftey on the trans... then a mechanic friend figured it out...