I have 2001 X V10 4WD. It has a really touchy steering to it. you barely move the wheel and you are moving. I have had a Les Schwab tires check out the suspension and alignment and everything checks out fine. I was towing our 31 foot trailer with a equalizer hitch and I was fighting it the entire way. Is there anything can do to improve the steering?
View 5 RepliesWith the break in complete on my 2015 f250 it seems as though the steering is extremely sensitive. I find that any slight movement or God forbid, (wind), it's hard to keep this truck in the lane without having to jerk on the wheel and fight it constantly.
View 14 RepliesMy rack and pinion began to fail and my Liberty developed sensitive steering (lane to lane and while towing trailers). I had it replaced locally and aligned but when I got it back it was more sensitive than before and borders on "unsafe to drive". I can imagine what it would do if I put a trailer behind it. In my mind something is binding which is fighting the steering input.
When you turn the steering wheel stays where-ever you steer to (does not return to center). My next repair is a known bad ball joint, but I don't think that is causing this. My question is at 106K could my power steering pump be producing less than full power? Is there a dampener in this system that could have frozen up? I'm ruling out the alignment for now. This is the V-6, 4WD Limited.
I truly intend to repair it forever, but if I can't get past this it goes to the junkyard.
My 'new to me' 01 Ex has 129k miles on it and the one problem is the steering. I read (all 34 pages of) the wander cure thread and I played with my steering box extensively over the last 3 weeks. The initial tightening really worked with the slack in the steering, as did adding air to the passenger front tire to even it out with the driver's side. But it did not cure everything. In fact, the tightening of the box revealed something else - the steering now exhibits what feels like binding. And now I must make minute corrections every second or two all the way down the road, even perfectly straight, flat roads. It's sorta driving me crazy(er) and my wife won't even consider driving it until it's fixed.
I was so caught up in diagnosing this problem that I completely missed that the steering wheel would not re-center itself after turns. My father noticed when he visited last weekend and tried to drive it but parked it after going around the block. If making a 90 degree turn, the wheel will maybe make it back to 45 degrees and stops. So you must manually turn the wheel back to center if you want to go straight.
So I've gone back and tried to loosen up the steering gears to start again, but now the gears seem tight regardless of how I adjust it.
I have already planned to replace the ball joints and get the alignment adjusted when I do the shocks and rear sway next week. Should i wait to see if the ball joints fix the problem or should i plan to replace the steering box at the same time? What say you all?
I am the original owner of a 2001 Ford Excursion with about 262K miles on it. I have thought about selling it more than once but I have finally come to realize that this is a very sturdy and reliable truck - so why sell it?
With that said, there are a few items that I need to address. The most important right now for me is to get the steering adjusted some how to eliminate the looseness. It is especially noticeable when driving on the interstate, I guess because I am traveling faster.
I am not a skilled mechanic but I do want to learn more about performing some of the simpler maintenance items since I have lost faith in the auto repair shops.
I have a 2001 excursion, v10 4x4 just bought it used thinking I scored until I drove it home (mostly noticeable on freeway, which I didn't do while on my test drive) the steering wheel stays straight, but the truck doesn't stay straight in the road lines,the car turns!! Feels real loose , I hear rattles, rattles going over bumps but mostly real slight uncontrolled steering and seems floaty. Is this a common problem? I did a little searching and found some posts about rattles but noble about sloppy steering.
View 8 RepliesI have an 01 Ex, 6"lift, 35" tires, 185,000 miles. I have gradually gotten to this point where the steering is very loose. I can roll the steering wheel back and forth with out "catching" the wheels & with the bigger tires, they catch grooves in the road & pull the vehicle side to side. I took in to a reputable 4x4 shop & he suggested the steering gear box was going bad. So I had them replace that. That did solve about 50% of the problem. So what is the next thing to look at??? Ball joints?
View 12 Repliesgot an issue with my 01 excursion. When driving the steering wheel with vibrate or shimmy. As in if the rotor maybe warped or tire has a small bubble in it. Here is the kicker. It does not do it all the time. Some times I can drive it and it drives just as smooth as can be and I can go all the way to town and back. Then sometimes I can drive it to town and either turn a curve or hit a bump and then it will start doing it. Then I will come back home. Then the next time i jump in it and start driving down the road and it is just fine. I just had the brakes and rotors were just changed.
View 6 RepliesI have a 2001 Ford Excursion. I had all 4 ball joints replaced and now I am experiencing poor steering and drivability. While driving in town and on the freeway I am constantly having to correct the steering. The car wants to dart to the right and then dart to the left. It will not drive straight for very long. Constant steering correction is very tiring, especially on long trips. Need to understand what is happening to my vehicle. What can I do to remedy the problem? The steering was not near as bad before the ball joint replacement.
View 14 RepliesI have a 2007 Ford Focus and 'bout a month ago, the brakes lost compression when applied. The mechanic replaced the master cylinder and we thought everything was ok. After driving it around we noticed the brakes are less sensitive then before. Prior to this, lightly taping/pressing the brakes would slow the car. Now you must press more firmly and with a bigger stopping distance. Additionally, if you press very hard or very suddenly, it feels like the roughness of the road is transmitted to the foot. It's a bit choppy too and the car won't stop for several seconds. After 2-3 seconds it does stop. This happened three times in two weeks. It's never occurred before. When this happens to my husband, he pumps the brakes to correct it, and when this happens to me, I keep pressing down 'till it works. Could the anti-lock brakes be acting up? We brought it to the mechanic and so far he hasn't found a problem.
View 2 Replies My manual 5 speed 99' 2WD 2.5L Ranger is starting to have some small problems here and there. My main concern is when I start the vehicle sometimes, there is no idle. The vehicle will turn over and if I do not hold the gas pedal down it will die immediately after about 2 seconds.
If I hold the gas down so the RPM's stay up (Around 700 RPM's or so, something just a little above 0 to keep it from dying) after about a minute, sometimes few minutes the idle will kick in and I do not need to hold my foot on the gas pedal to keep the truck from dying.
This is about all I know from the problem besides that it does not matter how long my truck is sitting. For example, my truck was sitting for 5 days and I came home and started it up just fine, but after I drove it a few minutes later and stopped driving, when I went to drive it about an hour later the symptoms came back again.
Also, My brakes are acting a little funny. I went through when I first got the vehicle and bled the brakes, took the front rotors in to auto zone or another shop and had them fixed up, and new brake pads. Sometimes when I first start driving the brakes are extremely sensitive, to the point where I apply a little bit of pressure and my truck will start skidding. This goes away after driving for a little bit though.
As I pulled in to park I slid only 3 or 4 inches and just kissed a snow bank, didn't even think anything of it. An hour later truck wouldn't start until I reset the inertia switch. Man that thing is sensitive!
View 13 RepliesI have an 06 f250 that is making a growling noise that is speed sensitive and sounds like it might be coming from the front. I thought it was tire noise from my old worn out tires but with new tires it still maks noise, but tires have pretty rough tread. How can I tell if it could be a wheel bearing? It seems like the noise quiets down a little on right turns. It is kind of a growling humming noise that changes with speed.
View 3 RepliesI'm going to try the lucas solution to see if it will clear this up- but i don't drive it enough yet to really work it in.... I know the redhead solution seems to be what I should just go to- but I wouldn't mind replacing the gasket if there is one to see if that works...or maybe its not really from the gasket?
View 4 RepliesI bought a 2006 F250 6.0L a couple of months ago, from a dealership. It's been bulletproofed already, has an intake, coolant filter kit. Has 95k (mileage). Today, my fuel gauge dropped to empty from 3/4 of a tank for a couple of miles and set off the CE light. I hooked my scan tool to it, to clear the code (P0460).
After just checking other things out with the scan tool. I cleared it and went on... I had to run to the store, later on... I was pulling out of the neighborhood and the gas pedal was a lot more "touchy" and the truck, responded to it and it launched pretty good and blew a good amount of black smoke.
Do any of you think this has/or had a tuner on it and I may have activated it with my scanner?
I am looking to swap the worn steering wheel in my Excursion. I would like a wood and leather like the Navigators have. Any tips on doing the swap?
View 14 RepliesHow many have had luck and results adjusting there steering box.I ajusted mine and it corrected the bad wandering proplem. I just hope this will last.
View 7 Replies1-My Ex steering is very heavy and some times kicking, I don't have any fluid leaks and my steering shock looks nice and clean, I did check and lubricate the ball joints.
2- how did the big 3 wire upgrade in v10, I need some pictures for grounding wires locations like engine to body, battery to body, chassis to body. Because I got a new 300 amp alternator to juicing my truck stuff and to power up the 3000w power inverter.
3- The engine exhaust fumes is so strong making my eyes burning ← . What I did is new coils pack, spark plugs, air filter, fuel filter , cleaned the injectors , checked the exhaust for leaks, cleaned the throttle.
But it's no different, I had this problem sense Day1 .
What to do with the worn out steering wheels on these rigs? Mine is worn to the point that it's getting loose on the top section.
View 14 RepliesSeems mostly for DIY'rs. Would like to start taking care of this steering issue. Steering wheel turns about an inch in both directions before wheels start to turn . How do we tighten this up?
View 14 RepliesThe truck, 2001 X, 7.3l diesel 4x4, with a couple of enhancements. (Link to original post of truck... [URL] ... )
Here is the issue, on this mornings drive to work the front end started to make a lot of noise. The noise (which was minimal) was originally thought to be caused by a front wheel bearing that was just replaced, Today it got really loud, and the steering wheel started to shake as well.
Pulled over, disengaged the hubs and the noise and vibrations went away. First thought would be that the U-joints need to be checked and possibly/probably replaced. That would be the simple solution. However, if it is not the u-joints, what else could it be?? Issue with the front differential???