Well got the brakes and rotors replaced. Ended up with new rotors, new pads, new brake lines and rebuilt calipers. Took about 4 hours. Awesome instructions at Welcome to guzzle's Powerslot/Hawk pads brake Maintenance Web Page. Ordered and received a redhead steering gear. Installing the redhead this weekend time permitting. Will post the results as soon as completed.

 

Well so much for the steering gear idea. I installed the red head a week ago and 4 days later the problem returned. The red head steering gear works well and feels great while driving but did nothing for the steering problem. When the pulling starts I do feel more of a pulsing in the steering wheel and now something new. If I am on the brakes while turning and the steering starts to pull I can feel the brake pedal resistance soften a bit. Only does it when the pulling begins. On to the power steering pump. Got one yesterday and waiting on the time to replace it. So far I have replaced the power steering fluid, drag link, stabilizer, front rotors and pads, brake lines and steering gear. I have greased everything possible on the front end and have inspected all joints and bearings for wear. Frustrating. Running out of things to go fix. Not sure what to do next if the power steering pump fails to fix it. Any other ideas out there? By the way, everything I have fixed or replaced has made an improvement in the handling of this truck. This thing handles better than new under normal driving. But when the pulling from side to side starts it's just plain junk. Like i said frustrating.

 

we have seen a few with pluged screens in the p/s resivior.

 

Resivior screen. Nice. Where is it and how do I clean it?

 

sorry I cant spell for crap it should be...
reservoir screen, and that would be in the reservoir
not something you clean. you can try and remove the reservoir and back flush it.

 

Have you checked your Hydra-boost accumulator for failure? See if there are any leaks around the booster reservoir proportioning lines and accumulator or metering valve module. Since you've tried everything else...a visual around these areas couldn't hurt.

 

speaking of hydroboost inspection look at the back side that is in the cab as well

 

sorry i havent read the whole thread and replies-

but my buddies 02? F350 did the same kinda thing, he needed a whole gear box ? or steering box ? the gears in there were shot.

 

OK, visually checked the hydoboost and all lines and fittings best I could. I did not see anything that even looked damp or damaged. Still have the steering pump to change but need an extra set of hands to help before I do that. Funny how everyone has something important to do when instead they could be up to their elbows in powersteering fluid. Don't we all love the smell of Mercon in the morning?

 

Well now, this is not even a bit funny anymore. Spent 6 hours replacing the power steering pump (by myself). Not a huge job just time consuming and at times frustrating. Couple of things I did find out the hard way is to take the fluid lines off the pump first before unbolting the pump from the block. I used a 18mm claw foot wrench attached to 2 extensions 10 inches long each and a 3/8 drive ratchet to loosen the pressure line. Maybe that would be obvious to do but it looked like it would be so much easier with pump in hand. Wrong! Also take the stabilizer loose from the drag link or you won't get the pump out from under the truck. One more thing that works really well to get the serpentine belt loose is to hook one end of a ratchet strap to the belt and the other end to a short ****** strap that I wrapped around a truss in my garage. Using the ratchet strap I pulled the belt until I could reach down with a long screwdriver and flip up the tension lock on the belt tensioner. Didn't need a second set of hands after all. Anyway after all that the new power steering pump fixed my problem for exactly 1 day. I still have the same problem I started with. So now along with replacing the power steering pump, I have also, replaced the power steering fluid, drag link, stabilizer, front rotors and pads, brake lines and steering gear (Red Head). I have greased everything possible on the front end and have inspected all joints and bearings for wear. I have also inspected for all leaks in and around the Hydro boost as well as under the dash. Next I am thinking about the front U-joints. Any other thoughts on this? Anyone?

 

My 03 250 is still making a noise when hitting the brakes every now and then. Within the next week I am going to pull the driver's side wheel for a inspection of the new rotors and pads. Kinda funny- does not make a sound all the time. No vibration. The truck has 51,000 on it and on the second set of brakes. I tow alot though- nothing heavy 6 -8000 lbs on a regular basis. Someone mentioned that some springs on the calipers may have came loose to cause the noise. Since your truck is still pulling- I would think it may be a little more complex than just brake springs, especially after everything you have replaced. Good luck with everything.

 

Did you ever get this figured out? My 04 is doing the exact same thing.

 

No, I have been driving it quite a bit. It seems to have gone away. I still think it may be the hubs. 4 wheel drive is working fine though. Let me know if you find a solution. Thanks.

 

I finally figured out what the problem was that was causing my truck's weird pulling on the steering wheel and wander after I made a turn. Turns out that the u-joint on the passenger side at the hub was bad. If you have a similar problem as described in my previous posts do yourself a favor and try this simple check. Jack the front of your truck off the ground so you can spin the front tires. Next lock in your front hubs and spin the front tires to make sure that they will turn. (Do not start the truck for this.) Go to the cab and turn the steering wheel to the left or right (a second person here would is a big help) halfway to lock. After turning the steering wheel go back and spin the tires again. You should not feel any more resistance then you did before. In my case the passenger side would not turn at all without considerable force applied when turning the wheels to the left. The drivers side spun freely and was fine. This pretty well pointed to a u-joint issue on the passenger side. Also note that on mine when the tires were pointed straight forward they spun perfectly even though the u-joint was damaged. Also note the u-joint looked fine and did not have any more than the usual u-joint slop. I had 2 different seasoned mechanics look at the u-joints previous to this test and tell me the joints were fine. I replaced the u-joint and the problem was fixed. I plan on doing the drivers side as soon as my ego heals a bit. This was a humbling experience for me. After all the money and time I spent replacing everything, the problem boiled down to a $25 part and 3 hours of labor on my part. I have been a farmer my entire life and have had 5 4-wheel drive vehicles and have never seen a u-joint have this effect on a front end. Guess I may have just been lucky. Hope this post helps someone.

 

4gottoo,

Good find and thanks for sharing your experiences and diagnosis.

Thanks...

Neil