steering wander problems
#16
04-02-2022 | 02:40 AM
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I had a similar problem with my 2004 f250 crew cab. When I turned the wheel and let go it wouldn't return to zero, and it would drift on the road and jerk side to side real hard and fast. So I jacked it up and took my tie rod off. then I used a big screwdriver and put it threw the u joint and rotated it so the yoke was straight up and down (like a plus sign, not an x) then I turned the tire both ways to full extent. It pretty much went where ever it wanted to and and was loose. I then rotated the u joint 90 degrees so the other axis of the yoke is up and down, and repeated the last step. This time it was a little harder to turn the wheel and it didn't move around freely. This meant that the the Bearings on this axis of the u joint was bad I Replaced them and the problem was solved. It increased the handling dramatically and was easier to turn than it was for the last 20,000 miles when I didn't notice any problem at all. And u joints are easy to change and cost about $30. Im only 18 and I had the whole thing tore apart, fixed, and reassembled in 3 hours
#17
06-29-2022 | 09:18 PM
5th Gear
Joined: Mar 2019
Posts: 5
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excursion wandering
I have a 2001 Excursion with the 7.3. I have replaced the steering gearbox, front end bushings, shocks and had it aligned. It has 130,000 miles on it. It is a chore to keep it between the lines at highway speeds. If the road is humped in the middle it handles even worse. It can be unsafe when I am towing my toy hauler down the highway.
I took it to a good frame and alignment shop and he says the bushings in the leaf springs are a bad design. He recommends I replace the spring packs and find some that don't have the stock ford rubber bushings. I am looking for springs with a bushing that has a metal sleeve around it so it will last. Any suggestions out there. Not looking to lift the rig. Thanks...
I took it to a good frame and alignment shop and he says the bushings in the leaf springs are a bad design. He recommends I replace the spring packs and find some that don't have the stock ford rubber bushings. I am looking for springs with a bushing that has a metal sleeve around it so it will last. Any suggestions out there. Not looking to lift the rig. Thanks...
#18
07-01-2022 | 09:44 AM
Tuned
Joined: Feb 2020
Posts: 476
Likes: 89
From: Owen Sound Ontario
[QUOTE=Kusich;15438533I then rotated the u joint 90 degrees so the other axis of the yoke is up and down, and repeated the last step. This time it was a little harder to turn the wheel and it didn't move around freely. This meant that the the Bearings on this axis of the u joint was bad I Replaced them and the problem was solved. It increased the handling dramatically and was easier to turn than it was for the last 20,000 miles when I didn't notice any problem at all. And u joints are easy to change and cost about $30. Im only 18 and I had the whole thing tore apart, fixed, and reassembled in 3 hours[/QUOTE]
This man has got it figured. There are a few guys that have come up with this conclusion. If the truck doesn't get the hubs locked in often then one axis of the u joint can get stiff and when it spins itself in line with the balljoints then it will cause stiff steering and wandering.
This man has got it figured. There are a few guys that have come up with this conclusion. If the truck doesn't get the hubs locked in often then one axis of the u joint can get stiff and when it spins itself in line with the balljoints then it will cause stiff steering and wandering.
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