Again with the wandering front end problem... - Diesel Forum

60psd · 05-25-2005, 05:27 PM

I posted a while back about my trucks problem with the front end wandering all over the lane(steers like a boat). I've been to the dealer several times and they said all was fine. They did replace 2 tires, saying that the road force was too high and that was causing the problem. I then pretty much gave up trying to fix the problem because I can't be without my truck for long periods of time. The problem is really getting bad now and I tow alot which makes for a miserable tow because my constant overcompensation on the steering wheel trying to keep the truck going straight makes the trailer sway back and forth. Can anybody help me out? I'm frustrated and the dealer is no help, say everthing is normal. I noticed that I don't have a steering dampner on the truck, would installing one help? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

FHAREN · 05-25-2005, 05:40 PM

People say that tightening a nut on top of the steering box will increase the mesh of the gears and tighten up the steering a little. Be careful, a small increase in gear contact tightens up steering a lot.
Frank.

--edit b/c I can't spell.--

FHAREN · 05-25-2005, 05:47 PM

mine wanders pretty bad also. Next time I am under the truck I am going to investigate this steering box I've heard of..also I need to look to see if I've got a stabalizer...
I've got to get mine fixed to drive safely, I haven't even towed with mine yet... I can only imagine how annoying it would be with a trailer swaying back and forth back there.

60psd · 05-25-2005, 06:02 PM

Yeah, you really have to concentrate hard to keep the truck in its lane and deal with the trailer sway. Its really miserable on those long hauls. Has anybody else heard about tightening the nut on the steering box? Im not complaining here, I love the truck, I just need help with this issue.

fpizzo · 05-25-2005, 06:27 PM

I've heard there was/is an updated steering box depending on the VIN#
I've done the nut adjustment on my 64 Falcon and it's worked to help with steering loosness...

MrHavasu · 05-25-2005, 07:07 PM

I have the same problem and dealer has been no help. I have a steering dampner. I took it in today to a good front end shop and the camber was off on both wheels. (of course the dealer said everytrhing was fine) Caster was good and so was the toe in. They said somehting was definitly not right about the steering, but it was not coming from the suspension. It is steering box and above, just not sure exactly what. Not sure what to do now.
Terry

60psd · 05-25-2005, 07:10 PM

I'll check with the dealer about the updated steering box...thanks. In reference to the nut, do you just turn it to the right alittle at a time to tighten it up and then drive it to see how it feels? Trial and error?

60psd · 05-25-2005, 07:14 PM

It looks like I'm not the only one with this problem. It is a very annoying issue. I'm off tomorrow, so it looks like I'm going to have to try the dealer again.

HBO1 · 05-25-2005, 07:20 PM

[ QUOTE ]
I'll check with the dealer about the updated steering box...thanks. In reference to the nut, do you just turn it to the right alittle at a time to tighten it up and then drive it to see how it feels? Trial and error?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was plagued with the same problem, seems like so long ago now. I did just as you suggest. I don't think I turned mine more than a quarter turn total, but must have done a lot of increments, maybe 5 tests. Sure doesn't take much and you don't want to overtighten, can not only be dangerous but can waste the steering box in a hurry. In this process I also added a Rancho Steering stabilizer....mine had none at all. Can't say the stabilizer helped much with the wandering, but took a lot of steering wheel shock out of bumps and potholes.

Hope it helps for you. I have since added a 2" mini-spring lift and much larger BFG's than my stock 235's. No wondering, has been driving excellent.

Going_Going_Gone · 05-25-2005, 08:00 PM

Actually the nut is a jam-nut on a threaded shaft that pre-loads the gears inside the box. With the wheels pointed straight ahead, you would hold the shaft stationary with an allen wrench and loosen the nut. Then you could turn the shaft inward (clockwise from the top) in no more than 1/4 turn increments. This will take any slop out of the steering box, but is no fix for wrong alignment settings. You can do a lot of damage if you overtighten the preload.

Caster and camber changes require tapered and expensive sleeves and it seems that there are very few truck alignment techs out there with the knowledge or patience to get these angles to the optimal settings and, since Ford has such a wide range of settings for being "in spec" most alignment techs only adjust toe because they don't know what setting is optimal, and most customers don't want to pay over a hundred dollars for an alignment. There is an interesting discussion in another section.

Link here.

FHAREN · 05-25-2005, 10:15 PM

Ok,
I crawled and shimmied my way under the truck and found the steering box that ya'll have spoke about. Now my question is how the heck did you get an allen wrench up to the top of this bolt. The clearance in this area is minimal at best on an 05...any advice ?

DACOTT · 05-25-2005, 10:18 PM

I dont know if it is the same setup, but I had the same issue with my 04 psd X. They replaced the steering box with one they (dealer).had in stock and it was worse so ford overnighted a new one and it is much better. This apparently was all done with consultation with ford tech support. This was @ about 22000 Mi. I think there is a problem they are aware of.

60psd · 05-26-2005, 11:11 AM

Well, I took it in to the dealer and they said to bring it in next wednesday and they would check it out. I spoke with the service advisor and the diesel tech. They told me that "all" crew cab long beds have the problem because they are so long; and when you add a trailer, it only gets worse. Their answer was to buy a dually. I told them that the truck wandered when empty and not towing also. Maybe I need to look into another dealer, everytime I go to them with this issue, they think its a joke and say that "they all do it" "its a crew cab long bed". Well, I'll let you know next wenesday what they say. If anybody has any other suggestions that may help, I do appreciate them. Thanks.

sticksnglue · 05-26-2005, 07:18 PM

Mine doesn't wander, just constantly pulls to the left, same answers, "within spec". Now with the 'wandering' problems I've noticed a pattern; could be, loose bolts, shocks don't fit right in the mounting holes, loose stabilizer, but it's usually bad ball joints or steering box (my quess), alignment usually never fixes it [img]/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shrug.gif[/img]

chipster314 · 05-26-2005, 09:11 PM

what I did is take the air filter out, even the tube that air minder sensor is coonected to. (take out air minder first before trying to pullout tube, makes for easier removal). Then I found the right size allen socket(size??) from my socket set. Put this it the bolt, then a 5/8" wrench to loosen the jam nut. I then had a very small open end wrench that fit around the hex part of the socket and used it to tighten the bolt.

Hope this helps

Now how do you know if you are going to tight???