steering problems

[stevebennett]

I have a Ford E350 7.3 diesel. I have a problem with the steering but Im not sure if its the steering box or the back wheels, When Im driving on the hiway, the van starts turning on the left and then the right and it does that for a while, it makes me change lanes sometimes.

do you know what this problem is?
email me: [email protected]

[Hollowcreek]

Originally Posted by stevebennett

I have a Ford E350 7.3 diesel. I have a problem with the steering but Im not sure if its the steering box or the back wheels, When Im driving on the hiway, the van starts turning on the left and then the right and it does that for a while, it makes me change lanes sometimes.

do you know what this problem is?
email me: [email protected]

When you say it is steering, is it a gradual drift to one side or the other that can be corrected by applying pressure to the steering wheel in the opposite direction or does it take a lot of steering wheel movement to correct? Vans are very sensitive to wind and on highway I normally find myself compensating into the wind, but it does not require much effort. If you are fighting to keep the vehicle tracking straight, it could be the steering box or bad tie rod ends. Either way 15 minutes on a front end machine will give you the answer.

[rstuehmer]

Originally Posted by Hollowcreek

When you say it is steering, is it a gradual drift to one side or the other that can be corrected by applying pressure to the steering wheel in the opposite direction or does it take a lot of steering wheel movement to correct? Vans are very sensitive to wind and on highway I normally find myself compensating into the wind, but it does not require much effort. If you are fighting to keep the vehicle tracking straight, it could be the steering box or bad tie rod ends. Either way 15 minutes on a front end machine will give you the answer.

I have a 99 E150 (4.6L) Low Top (no rise) Conversion with 60k. I have had the ball joints, power steering box replaced, along with ceramic brakes and new tires. It was wandering badly before all this. Definetely a mechanical issue. It SCARED the mechanic when he tested it! The old front tires were showing uneven wear. Well, after all of this repair ($$$OUCH) we still have the same wandering problem. I pull a 25' travel trailer and it is borderline unsafe. It is pretty close to the tow limit (5k) but it does ok if you can live with 6 mpg!

I was told by what I would say was a knowledgeable mechanic that with the ball joint replacement there is a bushing that is also replaced that limits the adjustment of the cast and camber. You can only optimize one or the other and that is why I continue to have the same trouble. The only real fix is to redo the whole front end with a cost of around $2500. An alignment helps but only a little.

Is there another way to fix this without dropping all this cash? I almost bought a used diesel Excursion but the van is way paid for and I loathe car payments, so the cheaper course was to try fix the problem.

It's a soild machine otherwise. The Little Engine That Could! Pulled the trailer from Chicago up the mountains to Yellowstone, Texas, Florida and back...in the day of $1.75/gal gas! Won't be doing that again unless I get the Diesel X...

Thanks....

[Hollowcreek]

I couldn't keep mine aligned either, even with the cams added on the ball joints. Its a bad design, apparently too light for the application. Replacing it will delay it, but not fix it. If you have 60K and have been towing a large trailer, the tranny is probably close to failing too. Mine only made it 80k before the tranny rebuild. 10K later I had to have the engine rebuilt thanks to the defective intake manfiold gasket on the 95-99 V6. I'd get rid of the truck before it starts costing money.