Sure could use some help. I know this one has been beaten to death on this site but I seemed to have missed a most common cause of the issue I am having with my 2005 F250 for the last month. My issue is, sometimes, not always, after making a turn my truck pulls one direction and as I correct it it goes the other way. Does not stop until I either pull over and stop for a few seconds or I jerk the steering wheel back and forth violently. I have read that this can be caused by power steering pumps, brake lines, brake calipers, steering gear, drag link, u joints, front wheel bearings, tie rods, tires and brakes pads. I am sure I have ommitted a few possible causes but I think you get my drift. (pardon the pun). I am not looking for a silver bullet fix but maybe a most common solution to check out. I will post my mistakes and or solutions and hopefully the absolute fix when it happens. Anyone? I have already made a couple of mistakes. Mistake 1, It is not the drag link that was definitely shot. Mistake 2, steering stabilizer. Mistake 3, tires. Mistake 4, power steering fluid. These things I have replaced. All 4 things needed replaced but had no effect on the issue. My truck particulars are 2005 F250, crew cab, 6.0 power stroke, short bed, automatic, 20 inch rims and has 82k miles. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

 

My truck did kinda the same thing. It turned out to be the ball joints. The were not sloppy they had actually gotten dry and kinda seized in the sockets. The dealer called it memory steer.

 

you left out ball joints, also common at 80k. not even going to try and guess on this one. best advise is take it to good shop for daig and save the cost of shotgunning parts.

 

As I said, I probably omitted a few causes. Ball joints? Good thought. Memory steer? Never heard of it but sounds like it's worth a look. Any other things that might point to ball joints? Rust? squeaks? Hard turning?

 

when my ball joints went out it would make a horrible grinding/rubbing sound when i'd turn.sounds to me like you have steering box issues, especially if you have to shake the wheel back and forth to correct the problem.you could also check the steer shaft, maybe its binding?.my truck's starting to wander, so what youre experiencing is probably in my future.

 

I did check the steering shaft and did not find any problems. I am going to check it again though. I may have missed something. My problem started subtle at first. A twitch here and there, a strange momentary pull once in awhile and now I can't drive 20 miles without having to stop and let what ever it is correct it's self. I'm leaning towards the steering gear but wish I had a clue that said "Yup that's it". I did try as Cheezit said and go to a repair centers. Actually contacted 3 of them. Each one had a sure fix but 3 different fixes. That's why I'm asking advice on this forum. As common as this issue seems to be there is surely a "Yup that's it".

 

my steering gear went bad and would not let the wheel return to the middle without a jerk.I am leanig toward steering gear on this one.

 

Good info. 2 votes for steering gear. Yours and mine. Looking at ball joints also.

 

i can tell you its not the drag linkage. i just replaced mine and its a factory only part ($300). im having the exact same problem as you. im having a new steering box put in as we speak. i will get it back tomorrow so hopefully thats the fix.

 

This may already have been addressed. Replaced Brakes and Rotors, Driver's side sounds like a scraping noise when applying brakes. Locked the hubs on the fly last winter -around 20 mph spinning when it engaged made a huge slamming sound. I should have let the rpm's die down. Could it have caused the ball joint to go bad or did I mess up the locker. It doesn't always make this sound, usually under medium to hard braking and turning. I'm leaning towards either a wheel bearing or a balljoint. Any ideas or advice would be greatly appreciated. 2003 250- 51,000 miles stock. I haven't has any steering issues- pulling, jerking etc. Just the scraping sound almost like a bare pad on a rotor. Thanks for the advice. FTE- The Best! Jamie

 

I would check the spring that retracts the pad from the rotor. I had the scrapping sound as you described when I forgot to put install that piece after replacing the pads. Sounded nasty. Good luck

 

Thanks for the info, I will check that asap..Again thanks

 

new steering box in today and it fixed the problem.

 

That's awesome. Glad that fixed it. Going with the steering gear replacement next weekend. Doing a front brake job while I'm at it. I'll about have the front end of a new truck when done. I will post how it all turns out. Thanks all for the help so far.

 

I started having the same problem today. If I turn left, it pulls to the left. Turn right, pulls to the right. Stepping on the brakes seems to help. My truck is an 04 F350, ext. cab, long bed, 4wd, 6.0 P.S. and 130,000 miles. I am anxious to see what others have to say.