Hello, I have a 2003 with 56k on it and recently noticed a lot of slop in the steering . I got underneath and had my daughter wiggle the steering back and forth and sure enough, both the upper and lower drag link ends were shot.
I replaced them, had it aligned and asked the guy doing the alignment if he checked the ball joints. He said yes, and they were fine.
Well, this weekend I towed for the first time in 6 months, and it wandered all over the place so I knew something else had to be wrong.
Well, long story short, I put a bar under them and pulled up and had about 1/4 inch of play in all of them. I got suspicious because I started to hear a clunk under my feet when I hit bumps in the road.
Can bad ball joints cause a sloppy steering feeling? Obviously tie-rods and drag links can, and my tie rods are fine, but I didn't think ball joints really affected steering that much. I guess the extra weight while towing just magnifies the problem, right?
I plan on replacing them soon, just wondered if this will fix my problem...
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2003 F250 Lariat CC SRW 4X4, 6.0, Auto
any component of the front steering/supension being bad can cause any number of problems. My old '86 F250 gasser wore out tie rod ends twice in the 140K miles I had it. I just had to replace all the ball joints and tie rod ends on my daughters '01 explorer. She would have shuttering and wander with no load above 35MPH. It takes a few "special" tools to press out/in the lower ball joints. If you replaced the tie rod ends then I would certianly look at the ball joints. One last thing I told my daughter to get an alignment and the next day the tire shop told her the wheel bearings were shot.
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1994 F-350 7.3 IDI Turbo, crew cab,LB, Dually,
ATS Turbo upgrades, 3" DP with 3" exhaust Magnaflow XL muffler
1997 Jayco fifth wheel 323RKS, Robins 16K dual axis hitch
Apillar pod with: Autometer C2 Series gauges: pyro,trans, boost
Hypermax Cowl induction
Flex-A-Lite 26K tranny cooler w/fan
K&N air filter (we'll see in a million miles)
Tekonsha "prodigy" brake control
Yes, any loose component in the front end can cause a wander, with or without a load. Tie rods of course are most important but every single joint between your hands and the road is important to have a tight steering wheel. Take the truck to a shop that you trust and have them give the front end a good shake down.
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99 F-350 DRW Lariat 7.3 Auto- DP 280k, handheld tuner, no cat - Wrecked in Springfield, Missouri RIP, you will be missed!
1987 Mustang GT Cobra Clone- crate motor, and more suspension than I know what to do with
03 F-350 DRW Lariat 7.3 6-Speed 4 inch ProComp lift LT315/75R16, 5 in spacer between duals.
Banks Monster Exhaust, w/Turbo Elbow
DP 80econ
8,200lbs---Cat Scale
wow 56k, shouldn't ball joints and tie rods, etc go at least 100K+ my psd had 220k and still had all the stock balljoints and etc, just replaced every thing in front end and drives like new! keep them greased up
1964 F350, 24v 5.9 Cummins not even close to broke in, New Nv4500, Turned Np205, Custom Dana 70s Front and Rear, Two 20000lb PTO winchs, 14" lift, 49" iroks!!, 97 PSD acc. with wire harness swap, 87 F350 frame (still sits in shop with fresh coat of JD green/yellow paint "Built Not Bought" 0 miles,
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94 f250 idi turbo sc e4od alum fac rims 149,289 --dana 60 frt with posi--10.25 rear w/posi--shouldnt get stuck!! ats turbo 3" parts on--what a diff from stock turbo!!!!!--- also 96 F250 with 305,000 is fixed!!-- 7.3 rattler-also 85 6.9-needs new engine!! tired!!
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- Wrecked in Springfield, Missouri
RIP, you will be missed!
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