I checked around in the forums and didn't see anyone else with steering problems. I have an 85' F250 6.9, she only has 116k on her, but for some reason, the steering wheel doesn't correct itself on right turns. Left turns, you let go of the wheel, and she comes back to center when the turn is finished, but taking a sharp, or curved right turn, you have to pull it back to center. There is also a bit of steering wheel play, but I have been told its old and big, and thats what it does, but I work on cars and trucks a lot, and have never seen that as being "normal".

 

How is the alignment?

2x or 4x4?

 

2 Wheel drive, but I honestly don't know, the steering wheel is centered at least. It probably needs tires as well. I am leaning toward a steering box or something. The alignment I didn't really think about though but I guess it does make sense. Thanks.

 

2 wheel drive

 

Caster camber out of whack can cause that.
Ball joints can have the caster camber messed up, so can pot holes.
Being two wheel drive, radius arm bushings could also be at fault.

 

I forgot to add some interesting symptoms too. I was on the highway the other day, and after crossing an overpass bridge, there was a few small pot holes at the end. Everyone hits them, but when I hit them, my whole truck jerked to the right and it took everything in me to correct the steering wheel, almost as if when I hit the holes the wheel just cut to the right. Kind of scary at first. The holes aren't very bad, I hit them in my car all the time.

 

I should say more like uneven road than pot holes

 

If she goes straight when you let go of the wheel on level road, and don't pull to one side or another, and there ain't no slop in the kingpins or tierods or the I-beams and radius arms, then it's probably the steering gear box that gives you trouble.

 

I had the EXACT same problem with mine for years until I figured it out so I think I know what might be the problem (sorry for the long post but I want to be thorough on this one).

Tell me if this resembles your truck:

Steering holds any position you put it in on the highway except for sharper corners where you might have to slow down a little (more than half a turn of the wheel), then it returns part ways and you have to bring it back to center,

When tracking strait, small corrections you make have a delayed response from the truck (feels like its gently resisting you). You pull the wheel slightly to one direction, but little happens. If you happen to hit a small bump while holding it, the truck jumps too far in the direction you want and now you are correcting from side to side,

Once you get the hang of driving the truck, its basically like steering a battleship down the lane. Constantly making slight corrections and having to "persuade" the the truck in a strait line instead of being able to command it. I got the hang of it eventually, but it was only when I was well rested and had a steady hand. In some cases, a wobbly tire, or rough road surface would help it return to center.

Basically, the steering knuckles are too stiff. It could also be the steering box, but usually thats not the case unless some one tried to fix this problem by tightening it up (making it worse). The delay you feel in the feedback response to your input through the wheel can be misunderstood as play in the steering.

I have since replaced both kingpins and got it working well, but my caster angle is still only about 3.1 degrees, while 4 degrees is ideal. There is an offset radius arm bushing that can correct this, I am told. The truck drives about 90% satisfactory for me now that I have replaced both king pins, but I may still tweak the caster angle to get it perfect.

Here is how to check if I am right:

Raise one of the front wheels off the ground. Feel for play by pushing the top of the tire in and out as though you are feeling for a loose bearing. Now here is the more important bit relating directly to your problem.

Place a 2x4 under the raised tire and pry it up and down a few times to see if there is any vertical play. If you can safely look under the truck while doing this, you may be able to see the steering knuckle move up and down. If not, have an assistant help you.

What happened in my case, was the king pins were factory original, and not greased as often as they should have been. There is a sintered bronze load bearing that bears all the weight on each front corner of the truck that wraps around the king pin. If this isn't lubed properly or often enough, it will get eaten away until all thats left is the steel alloy backing plates above and below where the bronze bushing once was. Those don't slide as easily and develop burrs, and now you see where the friction is coming from.

Unfortunately, replacing king pins is not as simple or cheap as replacing ball joints. The brass bushings for the pin itself are pressed in and have to be line bored to fit the king pins by a machine shop. The load bushing can only be removed once you remove the king pin. Removing the king pin often requires a shop press because they get rusted to the I beam. Depending on your climate, (salt and rain) you may not have as much trouble removing the king pins. Using heat and a BFH is not recommended, but many do it anyway. The good news is once you get this done properly, you likely will wear the rest of the truck out before having to do this again.

First thing I would do is check to see what those load bushings look like and if you have any vertical play.