1986 F250 Wandering

stripeysoxs · Feb 18, 2004

[-o< I have a 1986 F250 diesel HD. 2by4 I have had everything replaced in the suspension except the Kingpins. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and some of the solutions that might help. My milage is 119,000 and the truck has seen very little hard towing and no utility work. I was wondering is anyone knows about the steering shaft assembly and if this might may cause wondering or oversteering. And how do you check to see if its bad. Help! I'm at the end of the road on this one. I love my truck! [-o< Thanks ....Fred

Txquadhunter · Feb 18, 2004

if you've redone everything in the frontend and it still wonders. i'd check for play in the gear box they tend to wear over time. some have a adjustment bolt on the gear box that'll help tightin it up some. the best way to see where you play is. how someone turn the steering wheel side to side with the motor off. while you look over the system. you'll be looking for parts that has the most slack in it before anything else moves. this should pin point ya to the trouble spots.

stripeysoxs · Feb 20, 2004

stripeysoxs said:
[-o< I have a 1986 F250 diesel HD. 2by4 I have had everything replaced in the suspension except the Kingpins. I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and some of the solutions that might help. My milage is 119,000 and the truck has seen very little hard towing and no utility work. I was wondering is anyone knows about the steering shaft assembly and if this might may cause wondering or oversteering. And how do you check to see if its bad. Help! I'm at the end of the road on this one. I love my truck! [-o< Thanks ....Fred

Thanks...........Txquadhunter for getting back so quick ........well this is the 3rd steering gearbox in this truck so thats why i was just wondering if the steering shaft from the steering wheel to the box could make it wander also ....thanks again Fred

Gunner · Feb 23, 2004

well i have a 6" lift on my bronco and the thing wandered so bad that i couldnt keep it straight to save my life. Now this doesnt fix it all the time but it worked for me. If you look at the gear box in the center down by the bottom you will see an adjusment screw. That srew tightens the rubber bushings inside the gear box that keeps your steering tight. we all know what happens to rubber over time. That is why the screw is there. now you have to be careful not to over tight or you will be replacing the gear box again. just turn it half a turn and turn the wheel. keep doing it untill the steering gets tight again. i did this the got my 32" tires balanced and had everything aligned and now i can take my hand off the wheel and stay straight for a few seconds anyway. face it, its not exactly a toyota echo we are driving. hope this helps some. good luck

stripeysoxs · Feb 25, 2004

thanks Gunner
well i did all of that and still no fix well back to the drawing board
thanks fellas for all the help i'll just have to keep pokeing around at it and try to figure this thing out ..........thanks again Fred

Gunner · Feb 25, 2004

hmmmm if that didnt work then it might not even be a steering problem. you may want to check your tie rods and CV joints to make sure they arent crack or even broken. if your steering whell also shakes when you drive it could definitely be a tie rod problem. just another idea.

Gunner · Feb 25, 2004

yeah pardon the typing skills in that last post i did it quick and didnt proofread.

hawk2100n · Mar 1, 2004

you could try adding a steering stabilizer. this works good in larger trucks.

STLKIKN · Mar 1, 2004

Is your steering "twitchy"
or is it slow to return to centre after turning a corner??
You say that the front end is all in good condition ( with the possible exception of kingpins)
When the suspension work was done, were all of the bushings checked??

An incorrect toe-in setting can cause a wander problem.
Too much toe in will cause a wander with over sensitive (twitchy) steering.
Too little toe-in will cause a vauge or loose feeling, with a slow or no return to centre after cornering. I would recommend a toe-in measurement of 1/8" for your truck.
An over tightened steering box adjuster will cause slow steering with a "tight spot" on centre and slow or no return to centre after cornering. an under adjusted steering box will cause loose and vague steering.

Good luck tracking down your problem...

myers · Mar 3, 2004

Have you tries just simply tightening your wheel bearings? I've worked in a ford dealership for 15 years and i've found that mfgs. specs are a little slack on wheel bearings torque. ie. for a 85' bronco the book says to tighten the nut to 50 foot pounds and then back it off 45 degrees. I've found that leaving it at the 50 ft lbs works best.

ron753 · May 10, 2004

turn your key on just enough to turn the steering wheel without starting the truck see how much play is in the steering wheel if there is a lot of play then have another person look at the pitman arm as you move the steering wheel back and forth if the arm doesn't move very much then the gears are probably worn out
and trying to adjust it only makes the steering tight

Stephen Hawk · May 10, 2004

If your not sure about your king pins you can check that the same way you would a ball joint. Jack it up off the ground, grab the top and bottom of the tire and try to lean it in and out. if there is any freeplay then see if the knuckle moves with the tire or not A good spot to see it is from the brake disk to the wheel. If the whole knucle moves with the tire then its the king pin. if not then its the wheel bearings. Pray for wheel bearings cause if its the original king pin then it's gonna take a small sledge, a big friend and a lot of effort to drive out. Good luck to ya.

BRONCO JIM · May 10, 2004

you might want to check your upper control arms to see what shape they are in. had a dodge truck that slopped all over the place till i found a large crack in the arm,replaced it,and all was tight again. ita a long shot,but i know how desperate one can get when nothing seems to work. good luck !

Desert Rat · Nov 4, 2004

h34r:

Hi. I was browsing and I hit upon this forum.

I'm having the same trouble with too much steering play in my 88 Bronco. The guy who sold it to me said the problem is with the teflon steering bushing (or rag joint like on a chevy truck). He told me it was worn and needed replacement. This is located on the end of the steering shaft just before the connection to the steering box itself. I'm hoping this will workout and I'll update my progess.

Hope this helps someone else out.

mustangman65_79 · Nov 4, 2004

Desert Rat said:
h34r:

Hi. I was browsing and I hit upon this forum.

I'm having the same trouble with too much steering play in my 88 Bronco. The guy who sold it to me said the problem is with the teflon steering bushing (or rag joint like on a chevy truck). He told me it was worn and needed replacement. This is located on the end of the steering shaft just before the connection to the steering box itself. I'm hoping this will workout and I'll update my progess.

Hope this helps someone else out.

I was going to suggest that, thats usally what it is