2000 powerstroke f250 4x4 loose steering

[pigbristles]

i can't find anything loose or worn. wears tires evenly. i installed new shocks and new stock sized tires. its better but not good especially when i hook up to a 5500# trailer. it is like the steering is to easy and over steers plus a little body roll added to it. any ford owners have or had this problem? jim

 

[Braaap12]

Maybe somthing loose? I dont know where to start here, are you leaking any powersteering fluid anywhere? My dads 02 had a small crack in the powersteering hose just under the power steering resivoir....Probably not whats causeing this but its worth checking...

 

[Ryan31]

its probably in your steering box, they have been known to wear out. The simple check would be to have someone turn the tire while your looking at the steering box. that would tell you if it is in the steering componets or if its in the ball joints.

 

[zach13]

check the ball joints and tie rod ends. get one front tire at a time in the air and push pull twist whatever is needed and see if anything moves at all.

 

[94fordguy]

I once had to replace my steering gear inside the steering box as everything else had already been replaced and was tight, yet the steering was still loose... you might try that.

 

[pigbristles]

thanks for the thoughts. jim

 

[racincowboy]

This is a pretty common problem with the superduty trucks. Most go with a redhead steering box to take care of the problem.
Feel free to check out www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum31 that is for the 99-03 superduty trucks gas and diesel.

Just in case you have any other issues with your truck. You can also go over there and search for your steering issue as well. I have saved a ton of money from this forum fixing things myself. I will not let a dealer touch my truck again for any reason as most screw up more things then they fix. At least that has been my luck.

 

[blackcat900]

if its worse when towing maybe the rear of your truck is squatted enough to take the weight off the front axle that will give you a loose feeling. The f-250 trucks sit pretty level empty compared to a f-350 and maybe with the trailer tongue weight you may be feeling problem. That my 2 cents from a fellow ford owner.

 

[Jaynelson]

Those trucks wear out ball joints like it's their job.....so that's definetly a possibility. But if that's all tight then worn steering box would get the finger point. When we take them on trade usually one or the other or both is worn. Worn steering box is usually a dead spot on center that keeps getting bigger....wandering or "following" after you steer a little I would think ball joints.

 

[pigbristles]

thanks for the ford forum link. i turner in the stearing box adjuster a little. will drive it tomorrow to see if it helps. i think it will take a new box to fix the problem. jim

 

[RMKcowboy]

This is a pretty common problem with the superduty trucks. Most go with a redhead steering box to take care of the problem.
Feel free to check out www.ford-trucks.com/forums/forum31 that is for the 99-03 superduty trucks gas and diesel.

Just in case you have any other issues with your truck. You can also go over there and search for your steering issue as well. I have saved a ton of money from this forum fixing things myself. I will not let a dealer touch my truck again for any reason as most screw up more things then they fix. At least that has been my luck.

Good to see a familiar name, I go by superduty4x4 on FTE

 

[cwh]

Check the alignment. A little toe out will make it wander. Crawl under there with a tape measure, it'll either be toed in or toed out. Not too hard to do.

cwh

 

[pigbristles]

well i am installing a stearing box. i will have the results in a few days. jim

 

[pigbristles]

update

i installed a rebuilt steering box. not perfect but much better. i am going to have a frontend shop take a look one of these days. jim

 

[highmark18]

Where did you get the rebuilt one? I may be looking at the same thing....

 

[pigbristles]

napa. under 200.00 with a limited lifetime warranty. easy to install after you get all the stuff out of the way. jim