Ford Super Duty (1999-2016) :: 2011 F250 Stiff Steering / Only Binds At Center
Sep 17, 2014
I got a 2011 250 SD 6.2, I have what feels like a catch in the steering, on center, when you turn the wheel feels like it just gives and stay's there, either way you turn, Checked front end, ball joints tie rods etc., the hubs are unlocked, feels like when the u-joint on the steering shaft goes bad and you get that bind. But this truck doesn't have them anymore, just a rag joint at the box. It only binds at center, and wont return, took steering stabilizer off and road tested same thing, air in tires good all the way around, has about 58,000 miles on it.
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Just bought this '08 F250 CCSB 4X4 5.4 Problem is the steering seems heavy, it tends to wander at higher speeds and won't return to center after a turn. I've searched on here and found a few possibilities (axle u joints, ball joints, steering gear, etc). I have an appointment with the dealer on Friday to fix it under warranty but he is convinced it's the u joints in the steering shaft seizing. When my F150 steering shaft began to seize, it would be hard to turn then break free then be hard then break free and this is not what is happening on the SD. I haven't had a chance to check the front end myself but not sure how you would check the axle u joints if there was no play in them. How would you check to see if they were seizing up.
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I have an 06 F-250 5.4 gas w/138k. It had recently had a lot of play on the wheel (15 degrees maybe) and last week I made the move to replace the gearbox with a redhead box. All seemed to go ok, but now the steering is stiff and it won't come all the way back to center after a turn. It turns smoothly and completely with no binding, but it has to be moved the last 1/3 turn back to center.
I flushed the fluid initially with Valvoline max life fully syn. Then second guessed myself after the problem started happening so I switched it back to regular Mercon. No improvement.
I had it on stands today and it was extremely difficult for me to turn my tires left to right manually (at the wheel). The only other thing I did was adjust the sleeve on the drag link to straighten out the steering wheel.
Should I be able to turn the tires left and right from the wheel easily? Every now and then I hear a whine from the pump which I never had before, but 99% of the time it seems fine and is quiet. it just feels like something is over tight but everything should be to spec.
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My 01 f-250 4x4 diesel has some steering wander Ive been fighting for a while. It feels like the front end is stiff and not returning right. All four spindle ball joints were replaced in the last year and a half. The tie rod ends seem to spin easily enough with a wrench but are not loose. MY question is how hard should it be to rotate the spindles with no tires or tie rods on them, wondering if my newer ball joints are too stiff and causing the wander or if everything checks out it my alignment being a little off would cause poor return?
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On a 2003 5.4 f-250 XLT 4 door, long bed
Running 285 tires, none lifted, factory lifted for snow plowing? Did have a plow mount when purchased used.
Had the truck over a year now & love it. My only real dislike is the stiff/ rough ride when empty, which is 80-90% of the time for me.
I know my truck & year have leaf springs with shock dampeners on the front, vs the coil spring and shock dampeners that came in the later years for a much improved ride. Also my struts are "Rough Country" which from what I understand are cheaper shocks. Had a 04 Tacoma I replaced with Bilstein 5100 shocks after leveling it & it was an amazing difference. So that's my only real comparison in shocks. I've read of guys replacing their entire front end for the coils & springs. Not interested in going that deep into it for a better ride. If that's my only option, all be happy with the ride as is.
What are my options if any? Better shocks/struts? Other than my rough country that are on the truck? Purchased used a year back & never felt the "stock struts".
I did find Bilstein 5160' s for my model truck. Link : [URL] .....
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I've got a 2000 F250, 5.4L 4x4 with the ZF5 5-speed transmission. Three years ago I replaced the complete clutch assembly, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, etc, and had the flywheel re-machined. Put it back in and all has been well. Only has about 15k miles on it. Earlier this week I went to drive it and all of the sudden it started getting harder to shift and by the end of the trip the clutch will not disengage at all when I push the pedal in.
Furthermore the pedal is much harder to push than it always has been. Checked the reservoir and it's fine. After some searching it seems to most likely be an issue with the master and/or slave cylinder either needing to be bled or replaced. Further reading revealed that bleeding and recommends just replacing the whole system, so I've priced that out. Was it a master/slave issue? Anything else I should check in case it isn't?
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My steering got real "heavy" almost as if I had no power steering so I replaced the power steering pump. The steering got a little easier but is still very stiff. It's extremely hard to turn at low speed just off idle...I have to rev the engine a bit to get it to turn.This is on my 1999 7.3 f350...I've ran 33" and 35" tires on it it's whole life and this is the first PS pump I've replaced since 1999...never replaced the steering box.
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I have a 2001 F250 SD V10 and when at a dead stop and with the brakes applied, steering becomes very stiff and almost impossible to turn the wheels. If I let off of the brakes and move a little the steering is just fine. I hate like hell to spend the money on a new power steering pump if it isn't going to fix the problem. Simply put, deap stop, brakes on, wheels don't want to steer. How do I fix it?
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A buddy's 2012 f250 message center is not working at all. He replaced the fuse and it's still not working. The gauges work but not the high tech information center. He isn't sure if it's out of warranty because he can't see the miles. I'm not sure that's it's anywhere related but his back up sensors do not work either.
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Just got a 2008 F-250, truck has the center console jump seat and the console lid is missing. Can you just buy a new lid or do you have to buy the whole thing? Cost? Places to buy?
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06 F250 6.0 CCSB 4x4 163K Truck was in a pass side wreck about three weeks ago. Aside from bumper, head light, etc I had to replace the track bar and then I had the alignment done. Mech said the steering was loose and was either the steering box or column.
PROBLEM: Truck drove and parked fine last night, I went to leave the driveway this morning and I had to turn the wheel full right while backing up. The wheel locked up and wouldn't turn back to the left to straighten out. Hood wouldn't pop either to check anything
I crawled under the truck, the belt was in place and I didn't see any power steering fluid leaking. Thinking it was a PS problem and the hood not opening, I basically floored it and yanked on the wheel and it broke loose. Also, for what ever reason the hood opened after that
Now the steering is heavy and the wheel doesn't center on it's own. It will stay turned when I let go of the wheel. Scared that it would happen I didn't try turning it full lock on the way to work. but it happened again exiting the parking lot, again full right lock and the wheel stuck.
I managed to yank the wheel to the left again and I heard a distinct pop from what I'm sure was the pass side wheel area.
The PS fluid is dark and I'll figure out how to change it. I've read issues from the U-joints, ball joints, Steering box, steering stabilizer, and failing PS pump could all lead to this. Being the truck had a pass side fender bender, and I'm pretty sure the pop sound came from the pass side how do I check all of these items.
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1999 F250 CCSB Lariat 5.4, 2 wheel drive. I plan to replace the Driveshaft Center Bearing in the next few days. What size is the Nut that I have to remove to remove the yoke next to it so I can press the bearing off?
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I'm wanting to grease the center spline on my drive shaft. I got the 4 bolts off with a 12mm 16 point boxed in wrench but can't get the drive shaft loose from the rea rend. I don't blindly want to go beating it out of the yoke with a hammer to try to knock it loose (but I will if I have to). What am I missing to get this shaft out?
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I found water under carpet next to door. Appears to be coming from area above center of vehicle. Only occurs during rain etc. Not from A/C or heater housing.
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I have an 03 F-250 4 wheel drive with the 6.0. For the last 3 months or so I have been having some issues with the steering system and I am not quite sure what it could be or what too look for. I have already replaced the power steering pump due to the shaft seal leak on my old one. After that I noticed that the truck would never really center the steering up on its own like it used to and that it pulled in either direction depending on which way you steered it. I then decided that I would replace the steering box on the truck. I replaced it with a Napa one. Right after that I had it on the alignment rack and the guy said it was not even out of alignment. As I continued to drive the truck it continued to pull in either direction whenever you took a hard turn in either direction. Then one night coming home from work, I was pushing it a little hard, the truck pulled itself across the center line. The steering wheel and all turned to the left. It did this 5 or so times in a row. I am also noticing some issues with my lock outs but don't know if it is tied to the same issue with the steering.
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Is there a steering stabilizer for a 92 Ford F-250 custom 2wd? and what's the difference between a f250 custom and a f250 heavy duty?
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I have a 2011 f250 6.7 and I have a very bad vibration between 40-50 that seems to peak around 45-47. It also starts again at 80+ . the dealer told me they could not find a problem. Then another told me its normal. The tire shop around here told me the tires were shot so I bought new tires. No luck. It does not affect it if I change gears.
2011 f250 4x4 6.7 SWB. 140,000 miles
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I just purchased a 99 F250 Superduty 4x4. Very low mileage (63000). Everything on this truck is great except the steering. I flat towed a 73 VW Bug about 100 miles and it was the most white knuckle drive of my life. Couldn't take both hands off the wheel without the whole truck starting to wander all over the road.
Before I take it in to have the alignment checked and get told that every single part under the front of the truck needs to be replaced, I'm wondering if this is a "common" problem with this truck that others have encountered. One person has already told me to just replace the front hub assemblies, the tie rods, and the steering gear box and all will be well.
I'm hoping all those parts don't actually need to be replaced - especially since there are only 63K miles on the truck. Tie rods seem solid with no play. Not sure about steering gear or unit bearings.
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I own a 2011 f-250 superduty, and have been having a problem with the steering, it goes from normal to lost of assist. Real hard to steer and dangerous. Then it will go away for a month, then start again. Some one on this site told me to flush the system which I did and it was fine for a month. A friend at a local ford dealer told me they had contamination in the system and I had to replace pump, reservoir, and flush system again....
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Bought my 2011 F250 6.2L brand new and have had issues with it accelerating since new. I had it in once and they replaced the mass air I believe.
When I merge onto the highway for example and give it some good gas (not really stomping on it) it down shifts and pauses like it trying to figure out what gear it wants to be in, then it picks a gear and the RPM's rev high, but then sometimes it will do the same thing again and then finally take off. If I completely lay into the throttle, it revs high and drops into a gear, then comes back out and drops into another gear, then does it yet again.
Not a fun situation to be in when big rigs are barreling down on you in the right lane! I work 6 days a week and a lot of doubles, so my one day off is usually spent running errands and dropping my truck off all day with the possibility of leaving it for two days just isn't viable, so I hate to bring it in for them to tell me it's fine.
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Love my '11 f250 SD 4WD CC SB. 6.2 with 3.73 e-locker. I've got 5 Star tunes in it, and the truck is a joy to drive empty, and tows my current 7k camper fine, though on steep inclines I wish I had the 4:30 gears.
Well, we just bought a bigger trailer, dry weight is an addtl 2400+ at 9400, so I'll need to do something.
I don't want a different truck, don't want (another trouble-prone) diesel. I think with 4:30s and the tune, I should be fine towing that trailer (with gear and passengers, probably 11-11.5k loaded). Not doing mountains here, just Michigan hills.
What's the best way to "do" a gear swap? I know if I buy a set of gears and a shop screws Em up, it's gonna whine/hum and still cost 2k to do (truck is 4wd)
I'm up in the boonies and finding a shop to swap the gears will be a problem. Getting Em done right will be even MORE trouble.
Can I just find 4:30 axles ans have them swapped (anything in t-case or sensors need to be touched?). I don't care if I lose the e-locker, I never use it.
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