Steering problems

[Burns]

I just had a new steering box put in, (second, actually, as the first was faulty) and an alignment done, and it's still all over the road. I've heard about something like a rag clamp wearing and some other geartype parts getting worn, but would all these (one, or all combined) cause me to have something like 2 inches of play on the steering wheel before it actually moves my tires? I've thought about just replacing the entire steering colum, from the steering box to the wheel, but that could be extremely difficult and/or expensive. Is it easy to replace the joints/clamps, and what kind/s do I need?

Thanks.

 

[wtfdissux]

who did the alignment and don't you have a warranty from the sound of it they should have told you it could not be aligned until X Y Z parts were replaced because aligning a vehicle with loose or worn parts is just plain stupid and bad business

you may want to take it in and have it rechecked and ask for a printout of the readings (make sure it does not say anything about edited or altered spec's and that it is in color as red is bad green is good) if it is bad make them redo it and they will prob. say that you need parts to get rid of the problem

yes it could be the rag joint but sounds more likely not

 

[Burns]

who did the alignment and don't you have a warranty from the sound of it they should have told you it could not be aligned until X Y Z parts were replaced because aligning a vehicle with loose or worn parts is just plain stupid and bad business

you may want to take it in and have it rechecked and ask for a printout of the readings (make sure it does not say anything about edited or altered spec's and that it is in color as red is bad green is good) if it is bad make them redo it and they will prob. say that you need parts to get rid of the problem

yes it could be the rag joint but sounds more likely not

I got the box done before I got the alignment, and it feels better than it did, but it still "wags" along the street while driving. I think I'll just get a new rag joint and go from there.

And if/when I get another alignment done, I will get a printout.

Thanks again.

 

[wtfdissux]

chances are that it is not the rag joint would be more inclined to say radius arm bushings axle pivot bushings center link inner and/or outer tie rods even wheel bearings can give you a wander best to take it back where they did the alignment heck maybe they left something loose or the gearbox failed again its always better to FIX the problem than throw parts at it until it stops being a problem and it is usually cheaper as well that's why diagnostic time is what it is we take the time to check out a person complaint and Identify the problem so they don't have to waste so much money and it is fixed right the first time

 

[snowman74]

Especially tie rods and bushings. I'd have them all checked and replace as necessary. They shouldn't have done an alignment without checking all that stuff. Once all your steering linkage is inspected, replace what you need to and have it realigned. If that doesn't take the play out, could be another faulty box.

Snowman74 >-

 

[Burns]

Well, I think it has been solved (the wandering part, at least. Still have quite a lot of play in the wheel.) I did a tire rotation, because a friend of mine had said sometimes on the front tires, the radials seem to "seperate" and cause the wheel to pull to one side. I am getting new tires soon, if not for the seperation, for the fact that they could use replacing, still some meat but not a whole lot.

The tire rod is brand new, did that when the second box was installed because it was sticking. The bushing have very little play if any, not noticable. There was someone a friend of a friend talked to for me, who works at Ford, knows a customer that replaced the lower end of the steering column for reasons that are almost identical to mine. Waiting for them to get back on that.

I'll keep up to date about it, maybe it'll help someone else out in the future.

Thanks guys.

 

[wtfdissux]

if you have belt shifting or tread seperation then your tires are unsafe to drive on depending on where you bought and mileage may be able to get pro-rated replacement on them for defect but glad to hear its getting better and let us know about the rag joint will also check with a friend at the dealer if I get the chance and am waiting for a call back from my local hunter rep. as well

 

[DeepSnow]

I have a 1993 Bronco and the very same issue. Of course, at 190,000 miles, almost everything was worn out on it. All the tie rod ends, ball joints, bushings, etc. had to be replaced and the wheel bearings. Then I STILL had the issue. The shop began adjusting the ***** on the steering box IN and the problem seemed to get better until the truck warmed up and then was as bad or worse. Upon taking the truck to a special suspension and steering shop, they BACKED OUT the ***** on the box almost a couple turns from where we had left it by adjusting it IN and this seemed to tighten everything up and for the first time, it does not wander around. I guess after months of chasing this, the solution was not all the suspension parts to begin with; but they indeed needed replacement. I am amazed at how nice the truck rides now after having all those parts replaced. Yes, it cost a pretty penny to do all that too, but it was worth it to have a nice truck again.

Now, if I could just get rid of the vibration...see my new post.