Tackling Loose Steering: My Ford Super Duty Truck Front End Problem

Рет қаралды 5,946

11 ай бұрын

Thank you for checking out this video. After replacing my steering stabilizer, drag link, tie rod ends, and ball joints, I am still having loose steering that is borderline unsafe on the road. It requires a lot of correction and active steering to keep the truck straight.
I have checked other components and came to the conclusion that I may need to replace the steering box. Once I do some diagnostics, I'll update you with my findings. Cheers!
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Пікірлер: 48

@powerstrokemaintenance 6 ай бұрын

Update: it was the track bar. Specifically the upper track bar joint that connects to the trucks frame. It was completely worn out.

@mattsmith3305 3 күн бұрын

I have the same issue on my new 2023 F-450 limited with only 280 miles on it. The service person at the Ford dealership drove it and said it was fine. I plan on taking to a different dealership.

@paul91103 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing this. No issues on mine with 54K and stock tires/rims.

@powerstrokemaintenance 11 ай бұрын

Good to hear!

@Silver_State_Superduty 11 ай бұрын

Crazy I think my pump just went literally when you posted this. 17 f250 6.7 with 107k miles. Had 38s for 40k-ish miles and now 35.5s for another 40k miles. Funny enough I drove it home on the freeway and couldn’t tell it went out. But surface streets it felt like was putting all 250lbs into making 90* turns😂. Anyway good luck with fixing the play issue. It’s always been a thing and just know 100k miles is when shit is designed to break right after warranty’s are up😢😂

@powerstrokemaintenance 11 ай бұрын

Interesting! How are you planning to fix the pump issue? Are there any aftermarket options or just ford pumps? Agreed on the steering. Mines always been loose feeling but recently it just got REALLY loose. I just don’t know how to quantify or explain that 😂

@Sh3rwood 11 ай бұрын

Seems somewhat normal for a solid front axle steering setup. Mine doesn’t have play, but it’s not going to be as precise as a small car or even another trick with independent front suspension. Leveled with 37s

@powerstrokemaintenance 11 ай бұрын

That’s a good point! Thanks for the comment. I don’t think I did a good enough job explaining the situation in the video. My bad. I’ve always had the loose solid axle steering feel, but recently it got a lot worse, like worse than a 95 350 I used to drive 😂

@davidgee7508 6 ай бұрын

It's your steering box. You can try to adjust it if it's not a lot of play. I replaced mine on my 05 f250 after installing bigger tires.

@powerstrokemaintenance 6 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment. It ended up being my track bar. Top bushing was shot. What did you replace your steering box with though? I’d be curious as it’s something I’m sure I’ll have to do at some point…

@bryantheawesome 11 ай бұрын

"...I'm gonna sell this toilet." Stealing that.

@powerstrokemaintenance 11 ай бұрын

😂👌

@jgriffin7340 6 ай бұрын

I have a 2014 F450 cab and chassis that feels like when pulling a trailer the rear end feels loose when the trailer is pushing. I found a worn lower ball joint and tie rod end I’m going to replace and hope it fixes the problem. One thing to remember, when you talk about not towing or hauling heavy loads, these still carry a lot of weight just the truck itself. Big road tractors that don’t haul heavy loads daily still wear out, maybe not as fast, but the weight of the vehicle will wear these components. Mine has 185k, and has been loaded or towing every time it leaves the driveway.

@powerstrokemaintenance 6 ай бұрын

That's a great point. Thanks for the comment! It ended up being the track bar. Was the lower ball joint and tie rod end the problem for you?

@jgriffin7340 6 ай бұрын

@@powerstrokemaintenance oh I have them but haven’t had a chance to replace them, I know they will have to help because with it jacked up between both parts the wheel moves probably 3/4” with a pry bar.

@powerstrokemaintenance 6 ай бұрын

Ah makes sense! The good ol pry bar will tell you a lot haha

@AnieDabady-c5p 21 күн бұрын

It's your U-joints. For sure. My jeep has the same issues.

@powerstrokemaintenance 21 күн бұрын

I’m afraid it was actually the track bar

@Dieselman6.7 11 ай бұрын

Very interesting.. I also notice a little play on my f250 and it bugs me as well, I just ordered the Carli adjustable track bar and torsion sway bar, I’m just winging it with these parts so we will see if it improves or not. My truck is leveled with 35 inch tires as well and I have the fox ATS front stabilizer, I’m curious to see what your bro says on the diag. I use my f250 for work, I fix wind turbines and haul around a 8k generator and it’s been great so far, I’ve had my truck for a year, it’s definitely been a dependable work horse for me.

@powerstrokemaintenance 11 ай бұрын

Glad to hear it’s been a good work rig for you! The steering does seem to be a weak point across all of fords trucks. I wouldn’t care so much about it being loose if the parts didn’t already have a tendency to fail haha let me know how you make out with the Carli parts!

@Dieselman6.7 10 ай бұрын

@@powerstrokemaintenance hey man that Carli adjustable track bar fixed the wondering on my f250, I highly recommend you look into it. Also it’s good to note that the new track bar gets torqued to 400 ft lbs

@powerstrokemaintenance 10 ай бұрын

Good to know! Thanks so much for sharing that. I just ordered the PMF adjustable track bar and hope to have it installed this week. Which end gets the 400 foot pounds?

@garlanminton7084 29 күн бұрын

I am having the same issue, I can't find your 2nd video on this.

@powerstrokemaintenance 26 күн бұрын

Here you go kzfaq.info/get/bejne/rNyndJB9qKrehmg.htmlsi=05I3VMTM6keC4rrt Mine ended up being the track bar

@donaldlee1525 21 күн бұрын

I have a 2019 f250 super duty four-wheel drive with the same problem and it has been worked on. It's only got 17,000 mi on it and I've had it in the shop four times. Just to let you know it's not a unique problem. I guess it's pretty,

@donaldlee1525 21 күн бұрын

Oh and by the way I do not have 35s on mine. It is a stock 18-in wheel

@powerstrokemaintenance 21 күн бұрын

Did they fix it? Mine was the track bar

@jimdye7431 8 ай бұрын

I’ve been having a similar problem, it’s on 35s. Just spent over 1000 bucks for new steering components including a dual stabilizer. At highway speeds it still has play, it’s frustrating.

@powerstrokemaintenance 8 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment. It’s a frustrating issue. What brand of new steering components did you go with? I ended up installing the PMF track bar and apex steering linkage kit. Truck is rock solid now. No play or death wobble

@jimdye7431 8 ай бұрын

@@powerstrokemaintenance honestly I’m not sure I had a shop do it. Thanks for the tip, I’ll try that out! Nothing was wrong with the steering box?

@powerstrokemaintenance 8 ай бұрын

@jimdye7431 no problem. And it wasn’t the steering box. It turned out to be the track bar. The joints were completely worn out. If yours hasn’t been replaced I’d check that for sure!

@jimdye7431 8 ай бұрын

@@powerstrokemaintenance I just had the joints replaced that and the steering stabilizer. Thanks again!

@go-getter796 2 ай бұрын

When using oversized tires 1st thing to do is change the shock.. bilstine 5100 or 6112 or fox 2.0

@powerstrokemaintenance 2 ай бұрын

Yes it does make a big difference!

@steves8530 6 ай бұрын

I just got my 250. 2019 so 4 years old. I had a Jeep Wrangler with 35's and never had these problems even with worn out parts as I have replaced ball joints and tie rod etc and t didn't seem to make things better and not that they were bad before. Obviously, totally worn out joints could cause this but to me it shouldn't ever be so bad that you get death wobble which I never had but with my Ford it seems a bit looser than what it should be. It's the same steering setup so really no difference and Jeep parts are way smaller than the Ford components. The only difference I see is the steering stabilizer is on the drag link and not the tie rod like a Jeep. It would be interesting to see a bigger stabilizer fixed to the Axle and the tie rod that would potentially dampen the shimmy before it gets to the steering components. I agree that going with a RedHead gear and adding a hydraulic assist cylinder in place of the stabilizer should completely get rid of this. Just my thoughts.

@powerstrokemaintenance 5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the comment. This turned out to be the upper track bar joint. It was completely worn out. Partially my fault as I should’ve replaced it sooner. It just baffles me that parts like that wear out so soon and unexpectedly. I may still do a red head box at some point for the performance. How long have you owned your 2019 f250 for? Did you buy it new?

@21psd 11 ай бұрын

35" inch tires aren't really "oversized". Sounds like it could be your steering box or the u-joint on the column. If there isn't anything obviously loose, I would go to a junk yard and source a factory steering box from there.

@powerstrokemaintenance 11 ай бұрын

Ok thanks for the advice! I’ll give both those a check when I get back to the shop

@Uncle_Fester24 11 ай бұрын

Someone else had this issue with adaptive steering and the cause was batteries going bad.

@powerstrokemaintenance 11 ай бұрын

That’s interesting. I don’t have adaptive steering but that’s wild that that system has its own batteries haha

@Uncle_Fester24 11 ай бұрын

@powerstrokemaintenance no it works off your main batteries I'll find the video. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/er50ddGd0sCok6M.htmlsi=_1tgEkrcqIF83okx 1 minute in

@powerstrokemaintenance 11 ай бұрын

@Uncle_Fester24 ah gotcha! Thanks for sharing that video!

@jmedic8373 6 ай бұрын

Any updates on this?

@powerstrokemaintenance 6 ай бұрын

Yes, it was the track bar!

@orangektmkid 11 ай бұрын

These trucks don’t steer like a ifs track with a rack and pinion

@powerstrokemaintenance 11 ай бұрын

Agreed! Solid axle will always feel loose but mine recently just development an excessive amount of play… perhaps I did a poor job of explaining that in the video. My apologies!