Terrible steering problem...

[Foxtrot]

Hello all,

I have a major problem with the steering of my 1971 Ford F-100 and I cannot seem to figure it out.

First, a little history as to what I have had done. When I purchased the truck I knew full well what I was buying. The steering on it was completely jacked. When driving and going a around a turn or even merging lanes my steering wheel does not turn back towards me AT ALL. If I let go of the steering wheel the vehicle will continue to turn at the angle I let go at. I figured that had to be the tie rod assembly so I took it all apart and put all new rods in. The old ones looked like absolute hell and didn't have anything left to the ends of them. Unfortunately they didn't fix the problem one bit. Next I decided to take it down to our local tire shop and ask for an alignment to see if they could tell me anything. They were no help either. They even said that they could not align it because my entire steering system was not up to par for them to do service they could warranty but they never told me what I needed to get fixed.

I've had people tell me it is the king pin bushings (I currently do not know what those are but will soon find out). The truck does have power steering and there is some kind of a leak causing it to squeal when I turn but nothing major that isn't stopping the power steering from working. Also, I do have 15" rims on the truck on the front and back which large tires on them. I am not sure if that could cause it either.

I am not the best at home mechanic there is but if I know the names of parts I MIGHT need I can go from there to troubleshoot the problems. Any ideas would help.

Thanks,
Foxtrot

[papabug71]

My truck does the same thing. I have to watch it when im out cruzing. Its the steering box. My front end guy says mine has a "dead spot" in it. I guess thats front end guy jargon Im not worried about it cause im going to power steering soon, so i'll have to get a new box anyhow.

Any shop that tells you they cant or wont line up a twin I beam front end means they dont know how OR have the tools to do it.

[Foxtrot]

Hmm, never had anyone say a word about the steering box. Is it something a mechanic can look at and know how to diagnose the problem or is it a "Fix it and hope that's the problem" kind of thing?

[papabug71]

A little bit of both I think. On my truck, I can wiggle the steering wheel back & forth & feel it. Its kinda a "bumpy" spot in the steering wheel. I doubt you could feel it thru the steering wheel since you have power steering, but you might be able to.

[Foxtrot]

Just checked and it's fully smooth turning both ways. I'll bring it to the local shop here and see what they can come up with.

[fordman]

the king pins are the pins that hold the spindles to the i beams of the truck. did the alignment shop check them for wear? that is about all that is left to replace if you replaced all of the tie rods and draglinkage stuff.

the steering box does have an adjustment to it. that adjustment lowers and rasies the gear inside of the steering box to better mesh with the horizontial gear that connects to the steering column. if you go to far one way or another with the adjustment you will cause premature wear to the whole steering gear gears.

large wide tires will affect how the truck steers.

the whine in the power steering pump is when you turn too far. dont max out the turning radius or steering wheel. ford pumps are famous for this whine. what you can do is to try and drain the system of the fluid that is in it. remove a hose put it in a bucket and start the truck then also turn the wheel to try and purge the fluid from the steering gear. once you get all the fluid out you can refill the pump while running with Type F transmission fluid only. do not use power steering fluid. that is wrong for your pump.

keep us updated as to your progress or finds abotu the problems you are having.

[Foxtrot]

Well the whining isn't like the maxed out whining. It whines no matter if I am partially turning or fully turning. I have Type F transmission fluid sitting around so I will try bleeding the lines and using that. As for the steering, I am going to go ahead and replace the king pins to rule out that as a possibility and if that doesn't work see if I can find someone to help with the steering box or just buy a whole new one.

Thanks for the help guys,
Foxtrot

I'll definitely keep the thread updated.

[Foxtrot]

I took the truck down to my local tire shop since I don't have any automotive machine shops near me and the lifted the truck off the ground and attempted moving the wheels back and forth. When they did that it took two people to turn the front wheels by hand. They said with the wheels off the ground they should be freely moving back and forth with a minimal pushing or pulling. Unfortunately they didn't really know what that meant or how it was fixed. I asked if they knew anything about king pins and how I can tell if they need to be replaced and they showed me the location of the king pins and there is a terrible amount of rust around them.

Will king pins cause the wheel to not move side to side properly when there is no load on the wheels or is it something else that is causing such a still wheel? With how hard they were to turn I am 100% positive whatever is keeping them from turning is my issue with the wheels not auto-correcting themselves during a drive.

Thanks,
Foxtrot

[fordman]

yes the king pin is the pivot point of the spindles. if the king pins were worn they wouls show the wear by being loose when you pull in and out at the top and bottom of the tire at the same time. from what yo uhave said it at minumun needs grease to the king pins. but it is probably too late for that. the king pins are probably already worn out with that going on with them. but i could be wrong.

[Foxtrot]

They attempted to put grease into them for me but both sides would not allow for ANY grease to go in....

[fordman]

they are plugged up with old dryed up hard grease. you will probably not get any in there. one thing that may turn out bad is if you heat the i beam and spindle to melt the grease. but if the king pin is worn the hard grease will be gone. and let the king pin slop more if the king pin is bad.