Help Needed Steering wander

[atomicglock]

Lately I've been getting some weird wandering problems in the front end of my truck, but nothing like this morning. It's all over the road! Nearly impossible to keep in a straight line. I can feel resistance in the steering wheel and when I try to correct it the truck goes flying off in the other direction.

I replaced the drag link end that connects to the pittman arm because it seemed loose, but that didn't help much. I then did a search on here and someone suggested removing the damper, which I did, but that had no effect either.

I've read there's an adjustment you can make to the steering box, but I can't seem to find it. Could somebody point me to the instructions on how to do that? My Haynes manual doesn't say anything about it. Also, any other ideas that might be helpful? Thanks

Howard

 

[Tail_Gunner]

It might be a combined total of slop from different sources.

Mine was wandering all over too. I got the front wheels off the ground and found a bit of play in the ball joints. I just replaced them about 3 weeks ago. A LOT of wander went away with new ones. I still have some, but it is alot better than it was. I'm going to try checking the tie-rod & pitman arm ends with a dial indicator to see if I can detect any more play there. Then I'll go from there.

 

[atomicglock]

It might be a combined total of slop from different sources.

Mine was wandering all over too. I got the front wheels off the ground and found a bit of play in the ball joints. I just replaced them about 3 weeks ago. A LOT of wander went away with new ones. I still have some, but it is alot better than it was. I'm going to try checking the tie-rod & pitman arm ends with a dial indicator to see if I can detect any more play there. Then I'll go from there.

I've tried jacking the front end up and checking all the joints. Everything looks and feels tight.

This all started last spring when I had the pump replaced, but then the symptoms went away and I had no trouble all summer. It's only resurfaced since cold weather has set in.

Howard

 

[DaveBen]

You can tighten up the steering box by looking for a nut and bolt on top of the box. The bolt is an allen bolt and the nut us a jamb nut. Loosen the nut about 1/2 turn and turn the bolt down until you feel a little resistance. Tighten up the nut and road test. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE BOLT, you will over tighten the box and cause to to wear out very fast.

Dave

 

[atomicglock]

You can tighten up the steering box by looking for a nut and bolt on top of the box. The bolt is an allen bolt and the nut us a jamb nut. Loosen the nut about 1/2 turn and turn the bolt down until you feel a little resistance. Tighten up the nut and road test. DO NOT OVER TIGHTEN THE BOLT, you will over tighten the box and cause to to wear out very fast.

Dave

Thanks. I'll give this a try tomorrow.

Howard

 

[whiteduty]

Take a close look at the output shaft on the gear box where the pitman arm attaches. Mine broke like if you twisted a tree branch. I have never seen it happen before, or since then and I have been in the auto industry for 20 years, but it is possible.

 

[JLDickmon]

well, the converse is also true..
if they ball joints, etc are all dried out and binding, it could also cause a wander, as you're going to be over-correcting...

you could pop the tie rod ends out of the knuckles and see how easy it is to swing it while you have it jacked up checking ball joint play..

I had this happen on an OBS truck just yesterday..

 

[atomicglock]

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up taking it to the Ford garage today. I'm probably gonna take it between the cheeks but I need it to get back and forth to work and at least it'll be fixed.

Howard

 

[Tail_Gunner]

Thanks for all the replies. I ended up taking it to the Ford garage today. I'm probably gonna take it between the cheeks but I need it to get back and forth to work and at least it'll be fixed.

Howard

Let us know what they tell you.

 

[atomicglock]

Let us know what they tell you.

Well, I got my truck back last night. They claimed they took the front end apart and couldn't find anything wrong and that all it was was an alignment problem. Paid for it and went for a test drive. Something still didn't seem right but the wandering problem was gone... or so I thought.

Drove her to work this morning. Still seemed as though something wasn't quite right with the steering but again, no wander, until I got about 10 miles from home. I made a hard left hand turn and I instantly knew there was going to be problems. Sure enough she was wandering all over the road and I could just barely control her. After a couple of miles I made a hard right turn and heard a clunk. After that she tracked fine. The dealership will be getting another call this morning.

Howard