Hi y'all!
About 6 months ago I bought a 1997 Ford Econoline 150 Conversion Van. I got a pretty good for which it only had 115,xxx miles on it. I drove it and I noticed that it had some play in steering wheel and it was crooked. I didn't think anything of it, I go to take it to get a inspection sticker and it fails because the Upper and Lower Ball joints were bad. I had them replaced and the van certainly rode a lot smoother but the play was still there. I ignored it for most of the summer but it has drove me up a wall. I Decided to replace the steering gear box and that did not fix the problem. After i noticed that the play seams to be before the steering gear box instead of After it. If anyone can help! that would be great!!! The van currently has 120,xxx on it. Also has a 4.6L V8

 

Follow your steering shaft until you locate this. Some call it a Rag Joint and I've had 1 break causing real sloppy steering.

 

'97's would have a steel universal joint located near the steering box on the outside. There's another inside but its rarely an issue.

William have you owned any Ford E-Series before this one? I ask because their steering is much different from almost any other car/truck you've driven. The play or looseness you describe might just be normal handling characteristics of the type. FWIW I have a friend whose first time driving my 2005 E350 extended body had him all over the road, claiming the steering was somehow faulty. Having driven that same van I assured him it was alright, he just needed a bit more seat time.

You could have issues with tire pressures, rear springs etc. Your chassis is the very light duty version and the conversion might have placed your curb weight a bit too close to the upper limit. If so without stout shocks and perhaps a rear sway bar you might experience what seems to be steering play. Some of the suspension bushings or parts could have deteriorated after all these years, things like front sway bar bushings, axle pivot bushings, radius arm bushings heck even springs might be fatigued by now.

Not what you want to hear but it sounds to me like your steering is normal, at least for your year and chassis----otherwise hope this helps.

 

Having too little +caster can manifest itself as loose steering at highway speeds. (ie: +3.5 degrees is too little, you want at least +5.5 degrees for highway speeds)

 

Yep---this is another well known and often discussed issue with E-Series. Harvard has posted a number of threads across the internet talking about this--interesting reading for sure!

 

 

My 2000 does this. I figured it was the steering box but now I wonder. I don't let anyone else drive it, as it's real bad, but it's pretty much not got worse for several years so I've just ignored it.

 

Example link to wandering and caster relationship

 

Yup. I thought for sure I would get pulled over because a cop would think I was drunk. Did exactly what is described in the above thread and my van steers like an SUV. I can drive it with one finger instead of a death grip with both hands,