Ford Super Duty (1999-2016) :: Steering Wander / Front End Is Stiff And Not Returning Right
Jan 14, 2012
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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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 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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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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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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2003 F250 4x4 5.4L with 35" off-road tires.
My problem is my front end started vibrating and got worst over the last 2 months. I noticed my front tires were wearing very oddly. Not the way they would if it were out of alignment. I checked the ball joints and the tie rods and all seem tight. There is no play in the ball joints or tie rods. Now I have noticed that I have play in what I think is coming from my steering gear box. I can wiggle the steering wheel and can hear it rocking but it's not from the gear box down. Could that be the problem or am I missing something. Also when turning out of a Parking lot that has a good angle to it I do hear a pop quite often but have not been able to locate where it's coming from other than it's in the front end somewhere. I just rotated the tires so now the front tires are smooth and worn evenly but I still have vibration just not near as much. It's hard to see in the pics but there's like lips on the end of the tread. The ones that were on the back are smooth and not worn like these.
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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 have a 2006 F250 Lariat CC FX4. I bought the truck with 68,000 miles about 3 months ago. This is my first 4WD and I'm wondering if I need shocks.
I know how to check on a car but this suspension is too stiff to push down a corner so how do you test? Or do you just go by the age? At freeway speeds when I hit a bump I get a bit of a shudder that makes me wonder if the axle is hopping.
If I were to replace them are the Rancho shocks OK for a replacement? I will spend very little time off road and mostly use this truck for boat towing and hope to buy a travel trailer down the road.
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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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I have a '99 F250 w/ PSD with 165k miles.
When I drive, I move the steering wheel and nothing happens for the first few degrees of turn and then I encounter resistence and it turns. It's the same either way. The vehicle seems to track nicely, doesn't pull to either side, just a lot of slop in the steering wheel.
Is there a way to determine if this is really steering related or is it just loose/worn front end suspension parts making themselves known? My guess is suspension items, but the fact the front end behaves itself when the truck is moving has me doubting that just a bit.
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My 2000 f250 7.3 has pretty sloppy steering and noise in the front end when going over bumps. I have replace the drop links, swap bar bushings, both wheel hubs including new seals and the drag link. The rest of the front end seems to be in good shape. I put it up on jack stands and there is some movement in the front end but it seems to all be in the steering box.
Steering box appears to be original with 220k miles. I went to tighten it and it appears the PO did it at least once already. Is it safe to try tightening it again? Does tightening it increase the risk of failure? I'd like to try tightening it first but not at the risk of losing steering at 65mph with my kids in the truck.
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I just replaced the ball joints on my 99 F250 SD 4x4. Driver side was a bit stiff to turn the knuckle. Passenger side is very hard to turn. The upper stud wanted to turn in the sleeve after torquing to spec. I had to lean on it to lock it into place. I have to check today to see if parts store is open to get a new set. The brand name is "Drive Works". I have installed ball joints in this vehicle previously, and in another Ford truck with the same style. I have the proper tools to do the job. I have to determine if both joints are tight or just the upper. I won't buy the same brand again.
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I have a 02 F250 4x4 5.4. As I drive and when pulling into a driveway I hear a clunk that can be felt in the floor and the steering wheel. I've replaced the wheel bearings and seals, shocks, ball joints, sway bar links and bushings, tie rod ends at the gear box and "right hand inner". The other two tie rods are tight and so is the track bar. I cannot duplicate the sound if I jack it up and move parts around with a pry bar. I can however move the steer box sector shaft upwards about an 1/8. I've adjusted the screw but it didn't do anything. Could it be the steer box or the springs? I've even mounted a GoPro underneath but everything moves and I can't tell why it is.
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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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on my diesel, the steering box has a larger lock nut on top of another smaller (5/8") nut at the lash screw. I was wondering if the lower 5/8" nut might turn with the upper lock nut if I don't also hold it in place? because if the lower nut is fixed to the cover then I don't have to worry about it. I'd just loosen the upper 17mm lock nut so I can make a minor lash adjustment.
It's just that I didn't expect to see both an upper and a lower nut securing the lash screw. I'm beginning to noticed some minor sector shaft play. being that it's a diesel the fan shroud is basically in the way, if I need to use two tools at once, there's not much room in there for two ratchets with extensions. The reason for my concern is that at center I start to see minor drift/bump steer. Haven't looked too deep in the components just yet.
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I have a 200 f250 v10 srw 4x4.. I've replaced the auto front lockers with warn premium manuals. I cannot get power to the front wheels. The lockers appear fine. I hear the actuator function when I activate 4x4. Whats the possibility of a bad transfer case or front diff and how do i check? I've searched but there seems to be a lot of non-answers.
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Ive got a 2002 f250 Sd 4x4 with 93000. Im getting severe vibration from the front drivers side at highway speed. I thought it might be a warped rotor but i cant feel it in the brake pedal, when I put the brakes on. How can you tell when the hub bearing assembly is going bad? The truck doesnt pull to that side either. I can hear it, and feel it more when i'm going around highway corners. When im driving through town, I can hear a "clunk,clunk,clunk" noise coming from that side also.
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I'm might be needing a gear box rebuilt or maybe buy one already rebuilt.
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I think my steering gear is going out having problems and not sure what's going on got fluid no leaks??? 2006 f250 6.0 l diesel
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I noticed the front diff of my truck was whining, so it decided to take a look. I noticed that the passenger side hub would not unlock when it was in the lock position. My truck has the manual floor shifted 4x4 and the manual hubs, not the ESOF. I removed the locking hub from the hub bearing assy and I noticed that the axle shaft still moved when i spun the wheel. I know the manual locking hub is trashed (pieces fell out when i removed it from the truck) but does the fact that the axle shaft still spins in the assy with no hub installed also mean that my hub bearing assembly is trashed and warrants replacement?
Finally, the number one most annoying thing with this "new to me" truck, is this noise in the steering column. It is very hard to describe, but when slowly turning the wheel, either left or right, it will produce a groaning/grinding sound that CAN be felt in the steering wheel. There is a roughness/vibrating/binding type feeling in the wheel when this noise is made. I lubricated the boot that goes through the firewall, and the spring around the shaft behind the turn signal switch with silicone spray and the noise goes on. It really feels like it is somewhere in the column, but as I said before I do not know anything about these superdutys. I work for chrysler and I have never experienced anything like this on a dodge truck.
Its not the best but here is a video, little grinding noise that I am speaking of is most noticeable when camera angle changes to the side of the column, just before door buzzer makes noise : Grind steering - YouTube .....
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