Steering problem after offroad driving

[LonestarBronco]

Steering problem after offroad driving - Resolved

Sunday I took my F250 offroad. By offroad I mean forest service roads in Virginia. A few rocks, a little water, but mainly rough dirt roads. On the way in I was taking it easy and enjoying the view, but on the way out is I was moving a little quicker. Other than finding out just how rough the ride is in an empty 3/4 ton truck with four leaf springs, nothing eventful happened.

Once I returned to the road however, I noticed a whine from the power steering pump (louder than the normal Ford whine). As I drove on I also noticed the effort required to turn the steering wheel had increased. Finally, when turned to the right, the wheel would not return to center and the truck maintained a right-hand turn.

The whine is only slightly louder when no steering input is given, but it becomes quite loud when the wheel is turned either direction, especially in the first half-turn of the wheel.

All the steering linkage is free and clear of foriegn material. There are no power steering fluid leaks. The fluid level is within the normal operating range and does not appear to be discolored nor does it smell burnt.

I am thinking that either:
1) The pump is dying (135,000 miles) and that taking it offroad with many quick steering inputs while driving quick across rough terrain expedited its demise.
2) The violent jaring coupled with working the wheel back and forth overheated and/or aerated the power steering fluid.

Thoughts?

 

[BamaSixGun]

Lonestar, your duplicate post has been deleted.

 

[bushpilot]

does the truck track straight when pointed straight ?
just trying to make sure none of the steer linkage got bent
either while off-road or transitioning from asphalt to dirt & vise
versa.

whats the fluid level in the PS reservoir (they tend to whine
when theyre cold and/or low on fluid)

 

[LonestarBronco]

The truck does track straight. The truck was running all day, so I would assume the fluid was warm, but it was single digit temperatures outside.

Honestly, I haven't driven the truck since then. I only drive it on the weekends while at school, so it has been parked since Sunday.

 

[bushpilot]

there have been others w/ defective pumps, some recently.
the only thing that raises question is the in-ablity of the truck
to return to "straight" after turning...

my experiance w/ cars that didnt have power steering or failed
pumps was that they did require more effort TO turn but always
returned back to straight/neutral

if i had to guess id say your diagnoses is correct

 

[01platinum]

just a thought, possibly a ball joint starting to tighten up. with the water intrusion and/or shock from off-road. that will definatly cause increased steering effort

 

[LonestarBronco]

...possibly a ball joint starting to tighten up.

How would a guy check this? This does remind me, the steering makes a "squeak" ( a deep, low squeak) when turned just to right of center and back.

 

[01platinum]

How would a guy check this? This does remind me, the steering makes a "squeak" ( a deep, low squeak) when turned just to right of center and back.

you can jack the truck up and try turning it by hand, but i don't have a good reference for that. I have seen somewhere a method for doing this with a torque wrench on the tie rod nut with the truck off the ground, possibly a ford TSB

 

[Zookie400]

does it have auto hubs? sounds to me like the front drivetrain engaged when you went wheeling, and is stuck in causing a lot of drag on the front end. thats how i can tell when i forget to unlock the manual hubs on my truck, the hard steering and extra noises.

 

[bushpilot]

zookie's got a good point...although that wouldnt necessarily explain
the pump whine.