steering play shifts at higher speeds

[CoBroncoMark]

my '96 has steering play that shifts at higher speeds. Anything over 40 gets scary there is normally a little play that you can't even feel at stop. But while driving it feels like the front end (or the body) shifts suddenly opposite the direction you are trying to steer. It's like you have a little play...then a lot of play.....then back to little again.

 

[paul rondelli]

We are all probably in need of a steering pump rebuild and new shaft by now. This is on my to do list.

From owning a number of Fords over the years .... any time I have issues with drivability/ shaking/ especially at different speeds ... the first thing I always go to is wheels and tires.

you have to rule out that the wheels and tires are not causing the issue ... before you start looking at anything else.

Have you tried rotating the tires to see if anything changes?

 

[Motech]

my '96 has steering play that shifts at higher speeds. Anything over 40 gets scary there is normally a little play that you can't even feel at stop. But while driving it feels like the front end (or the body) shifts suddenly opposite the direction you are trying to steer. It's like you have a little play...then a lot of play.....then back to little again.

Hello @CoBroncoMark and welcome to the forum. You will find loads of information here, and many very helpful and knowledgeable people.

Check your radius arm bushings first of all. That and the steering gear mounting to the frame. Those are the two items that come to mind first when steering gets sloppier at speeds than it is standing still.

 

[CoBroncoMark]

We are all probably in need of a steering pump rebuild and new shaft by now. This is on my to do list.

From owning a number of Fords over the years .... any time I have issues with drivability/ shaking/ especially at different speeds ... the first thing I always go to is wheels and tires.

you have to rule out that the wheels and tires are not causing the issue ... before you start looking at anything else.

Have you tried rotating the tires to see if anything changes?

So I do have mismatched tires. Brand new rear tires and older on front with still plenty of tread. Did not want to put new tires on front until I get it straight.
All tires are the 31x10.5(265)x15 which is optional for this year although the door tag says 235.
Brand new ball joints plus alignment. "Didn't have the right spacers but the camber is within spec" they say.
Drove on dirt road and then asphalt leaves about an inch of dust on inside tread due to massive positive camber. I THINK it should only be +/- .5 degree.
Camber is consistent, wouldn't account for the "shift" in steering but would account for the way it gets caught in pavement tracks.

 

[goodO1boydws]

I'd check the wheel bearings too.

If they're loose it would ADD TO to the significant amount sf body lag/lean and "snap back" that is often felt on older or high mileage vehicles when sudden, large angle, or higher speed steering corrections are made.

SELF-overcorrection happens AFTER the maximum amount of lateral weight transfer of the vehicle has compressed all of the (most likely worn and/or soft) resilient suspension and body bushings to their individual maximums and they then rebound in the opposite direction towards their "normal/centered" position and at first overshoot that neutral position and then recenter.

Any overcorrection happening would be further magnified if the tire pressure was low enough to have too-flexible sidewalls for the amount of weight being transferred side to side on the tires and have them not experience lateral deflection too.

Anyway, the point at which there would be the most "looseness" in the steering would be while the suspension and body mounts were rebounding from their most compressed lateral positions towards their least, and if there was any difference in the camber settings from left to right......that could make any actual steering reaction favor one side.

 

[wyo58]

The steering gear box on your Bronco and F150's and even F250's are all the same and are not the best at staying tight internally. I've had many of these on various Fords and have found they all tend to loosen up internally fairly quickly. As for Camber I have always tried to get as close to zero as possible regardless of Fords Specs. .5 Positive is as far as I let get from zero. If you have a lift and the castor is off or even if it is not lifted, having positive castor on one side and negative castor on the other side will make it dive into and out of ruts (even those on black top and concrete. While Castor is not considered a tire wear problem it will wear your steering gear out faster. It sounds like you have done alot on the front end, but check those steering links closely for any play what so ever.

 

[goodO1boydws]

wy058 is right about the steering box getting loose.
Even the older full size FoMoCo cars used that type of steering box (if not the SAME one).

Its easy enough to adjust the gear mesh to reduce the slack somewhat, but it usually doesn't help very much for the following reason.

ALMOST ALL wear to the gears happens in the range of mesh where the steering wheel is slightly off center to centered, (where the gears are positioned almost all the time) so you can't simply crank the adjuster down to eliminate play while the steering wheel is in that middle position, or you may not be able to turn the wheel out of that centered range.
And just shy of that point you hit a range where you can steer ok, but the steering wheel doesn't want to return by itself. If you leave it THAT way, the bearings are overloaded and you'll cause damage to the box and accelerate wear to the power steering pump.

So, if you DO try it, a simple way to do the adjustment is in very small increments (1/8 turn) and drive around for a while, making left and right turns at slow speed, (preferably in a big parking lot) between adjustment, checking for steering wheel return with your hands loose on the wheel or better still off.

Here's a link to a write up of the full procedure if you want to do it the BEST way.

Please post -Correct Way- to adjust the steering box ***** on Bronco

Guys; Please post -Correct Way- to adjust the steering box ***** on Bronco

www.broncozone.com

Another thought.,
Once you do fix the current problem you might consider adding a steering stabilizer if you don't already have one. It would help some with wheel darting from tread catching on grooved or broken pavement or when crossing open grid steel bridges-if you have any of those).
(The last are even more fun on a motorcycle with blocky tread, if you can't cross em at an angle)