Getting my tax return in the next few days and looking to tighten up the front end. My 90 eddie bauer is really bad on the road, especially on bumps and uneven surface. I am fighting it all the way down the road!! So what to replace?? What to look for? Is it:

1. Ball Joints (my suspect)?
2. Linkage (visual inspect looks good)?
3. Stabilizer (its new)?
4. Steering shaft (borgenson replacement would be nice)
5. Steering Box (would have to buy new pump too)
6. Other??

Looking to see where I can get the most bang for my buck. My 90 EB has 155,000 mi....

 

Look at radius arm bushings. Loose radius arms will make you wander badly. PITA to replace too.

 

I drive my Bronco straight when I'm drunk, it's pretty weird..

seriously though, did everything and replacing my balljoints is what fixed the wondering! Didn't tighten up steering at all, or any other cool side-effects, but I got to stop correcting my center all the time.

Also dropped my stabilizer, seriously overrated..

just inspect the stuff, there's no way to know for sure without troubleshooting and we can't do that for you. For ball joints, is there play? if no, unhook your tie rod end and see how tight it is for you to turn the seperated wheel. For rod ends and stuff, see what happens when a helper turns the wheel, do they roll, is there flex, is there play? is there play in the gearbox? just .. do stuff

 

Its bumpsteer just remember to dri e the nice car to the bar on game nights lmao seriously though going from my ram with great suspension and tight rack n pinion to the bronco is day and night. I have found tge more i fight the wheel the morr it wonders

 

If the only slack left is the steering box and you plan to keep your Bronco (who doesn't) the Red Head Steering gear rebuild has been perfect for me. Just like new.

 

Take it to an alignment shop, they will tell you what needs replaced and what doesnt. swing by a wrecking yard and get the saginaw power steering pump and bracket out of a 88-91 year van to swap into your bronco. then order the Red-Head steering box, i am going to get one also. this will cure all your ill's. you shouldnt need a steering stabilizer all it does is mask problems.

 

The wheel was harder to turn than I expected on the Red Head. However, I resisted the temptation to try adjusting and it has broken in wonderfully and easy to turn. BTW, I never have had a stabilizer.

 

mine is going in for the same thing. Ive had a red head for about 2yrs and they are a solid gear box. mine still wanders pretty bad, thinkin ball joints but im not a frontend guy.

 

serious when I say the balljoints were my main cause for wondering. It's cuz you overcorrect when they stiffen up. If they broke loose and are worn that bad, they are constantly changing your camber which causes you to have to constantly correct.
Even with a healthy frontend if I jack up or jump my TTB, I have to wear it in a bit before it controls normally though, but my Bronco is special!

and F**** most alignment shops.. 90% of them are liars. Had one shop tell me my brand new balljoints were no good and my shock bushings were bad which meant they couldn't guarantee my alignment! In other words "we're gonna half-*** it, here is our excuse, don't come back complaining, now give me $250" (Burke Springs in TH and IL, don't ever, EVER EVER do business with them!)
personally I've had good luck with my local tire barn, but its because they don't want to lose me as a customer and they KNOW that I KNOW more than they do about my truck. If I pay them, they know I'm one guy they're making an honest buck from. If you ever go anywhere for service, let them know the same! "I'm only coming to you cuz I have to, you're not the only shop in town" etc..

 

no joke on the alignment shops! I have had 2 in my life I really trusted and did good work.... moved both times!

I'm gonna jack it up and investigate. Is the radius arm bushings a driveway project or worth the $ to get done??

 

they're easy if your radius arm brackets have already been drilled out and rebolted.. if not, you have to remove rivets from them so you can remove the bracket itself to do the bushing, then bolt it back up with nuts and bolts.

Technically you CAN just move the radius arm out of position instead of moving the bracket, but lemme tell you it's not worth trying.. when i tried it that way, in the end I had to unbolt my coil spring, both shocks and my pivot arm to be able to maneuver it well enough to put it back in position. Again, technically, you should only need to loosen the pivot arm, but it didn't work like it was suppose to and I'm not the only one who has this problem.

 

;-) errors did my bushings today didnt remove tge bracket i used 2 jacks one under tge spindle anothee under frame.. witg the help if a ratchet strap it took me about a 45 minutes per side. Removed only top nut of shocks and retainer clip on coil spring.......that being said it was a very strenuous 45 minutes per side. I purchased the energy suspension brand for ≈$20 what a difference in handling ride quality...

 

lucky you, when I tried I could not get the radius arm back in for nothing.. tried for hours and ended up having to remove the coil, shocks and pivot arm.. that was just one side, the other side I did in a friend's driveway without a jack in about 15 minutes just removing the bracket.

 

To the OP: Check the bolts that hold the Steering box in place, mine had washers and one of those failed, well, all the bolts became loose and the steering started to feel just like you described.

 

thanks for all the input!

Today on the way home I tried a new alignment shop. I wanted to get the tires rebalanced and have them and I take a look while it was on their lift. The tires were WAY out of balance and one rim may be bent judging from all the weights on it. I didn't get a chance to poke around too much as "due to insurance rules customers cant be out in the shop..." but the re-balance really made a difference!! Also found a nail in my tire I didn't know about! Gonna jack it up this weekend and do a thorough investigation...