Steering wheel play

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MaxPower

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Hi all,

Got a used 88 bronco everything runs fine except for the steering. I have little or no play on the steering wheel when I turn right, but on the left side I have a good 2-3 inches of play before it will turn the wheel. Its still drivable just annoying as ****. Any ideas of where I should start looking to troubleshoot this?

Thanks,

Max Power

 

Yardape

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Check ball joints, tie rod ends and drag link. Front wheel bearings can cause play and finally the steering box itself could be worn

 

pinson27

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Hi all,
Got a used 88 bronco everything runs fine except for the steering. I have little or no play on the steering wheel when I turn right, but on the left side I have a good 2-3 inches of play before it will turn the wheel. Its still drivable just annoying as ****. Any ideas of where I should start looking to troubleshoot this?

Thanks,

Max Power
I agree with Yardape,it sounds like a steering box issue.

 

jay3640

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Had the same problem on my 88. Had to replace the tie rod ends and it now drives just fine.

 

lfbco94

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i had the same prob on my 94 chnged the steering box not it, tie rod and drag link nopt it doing ball joints soon keeping my fingers crossed they're kind of expensive

 

wtfdissux

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is almost normal is in the gear box and from the sound of it someone did a good align ment on it to compensate my wheel looks like I am comanding a boat in high seas left and right to go straight

 

broncobob58

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Sounds familiar,almost every ford truck I drove that had over 100,000 had the same problem.At first it takes some getting used to but after awhile you don't even notice it.The f150 my father had and my bronco have this problem,if it starts wandering left or right you almost have to make a turn in the opposite direction to straighten it out.Eventually I'll have to change the steering box on mine.

 

STLKIKN

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Just because a problem seems "normal" doesn't mean its safe....

here is a list of things to check out before taking it into the shop if you can't perform the labor yourself.

" sloppy " steering can be caused by a multitude of problems...

some are cheap fixes, some can become costly...

This is a list of things to check BEFORE attempting to adjust your steering box.

what condition are the radius arm bushings in

are all four "c" bushings in place (79 and prior)

if you have a two or three piece steering shaft, what condition are the joints in

drag link end and tie rod end play

ball joint condition

wheel bearing adjustment

track bar bushing condition (solid axle only)

toe in adjustment

tire pressures

tire condition

steering stabilizer condition

loose steering box to frame bolts ( quite common on EB's with larger tires)

is the sector shaft in the steering box "jumping" up and down...

(this would require the previously mentioned adjustment, NOT recommended for the novice wrench turner)

Twin Traction Beam bushings

It is fairly common for 80 and newer Fords to have cracks/ break in or at the engine crossmember or the frame

where the crossmember mounts, a tire on the ground "wiggle" can be used to check these areas.

These items will require two people to check,

the tie rod ,drag link,sector shaft,and all bushings can be checked by having a friend sit in the truck and "wiggle" the steering wheel back and forth about 1/2" each direction, carefully watch each joint or bushing and look for play at each piece, for the steering box to move on the frame, or for the sector shaft to "jump" up and down ( the sector is the piece of the steering box that the pitman arm bolts onto.)

The ball joints and wheel bearings can be checked by jacking under the diff until there is a couple of inches under the tire,( use a jack stand to support the truck) grab the tire at 12 and 6, feel for top to bottom movement ( in and out) at the places you've grabbed. If you can't feel movement, the wheel bearings are ok.

Have a friend do this so you can watch the ball joints... do the same top/bottom "wiggle":

movement in the ball joints indicates wear.

Get a two or three foot lever ( steel bar works well) put it under the tire ( make sure the truck is still secure on the jack stand) gently lift the bar while watching the ball joints for movement, allow the tire to drop all the way between lifts,

up/ down movement in the ball joints indicates wear.

Toe in can be checked by measuring the difference between the centre of the tread on the front and back of the tires across the truck. Measure the tires at the same level to get an accurate measurement. The difference is your "toe-in".

Depending on your tire size, this should be anywhere from 1/8 inch to 1/4 inch.

To check your steering stabilizer, simply unbolt one end of it, see if it extends and collapses using the same amount of force each way. It should have a steady resistance all the way through its travel in either direction, without being harder one way or the other.

One other item to check while your truck is in the air is the axle u-joint, lock the hub, turn the steering to full lock ( either direction) and turn the tire. If you feel a tight spot as the wheel turns, make note of where the grease zerk is, if during the next rotation, the same resistance is felt at the same point in rotation, you have a bad axle u-joint. If you change an axle u-joint DON'T forget to grease the spindle bearings!!!

Good luck in doing your inspection... if you find any thing that you feel is worn, make a note of it and take it to your local shop, most places around here will do a

steering inspection like this for about 1/2 hours labor.

 

Big_Ford_POS

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Your never really going to get the play out of a truck of this age unless you replace most of the front end together, or fairly close together. Everything wares together until something breaks like a ball joint or tie rod end. just fix what you can and live with the rest. The longer to drive something the less you notice after a while. And shit, after you replace something, something else with break. Remember try to replace shit in pairs.

 

ski.dive

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I took my 1990 Bronco to a professional front end shop because of play in my steering wheel [alignments is all they do]

They turned my steering box ***** 1 1/2 turns, it now feels tight and NO play.

They have been doing this for many years with great results.

 

ski.dive

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The alignment shop did this for me, but this is what they did to stop the steering wheel play.

==If you look at bottom your steering box, there is a nut with a ***** in the center of the steering box.

you must loosen the nut first in order to turn the *****.

start with a quarter turn...

then test the steering wheel and continue turning the ***** until it feels tighter

1/4 turn test,another 1/4 turn test ,etc.

my steering box requires 11/2 turns=***always leave a little bit of play in your steering wheel.

 
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