Steering Fun

[BrianX128]

So now that I got the tdi, the IDI's have been seeing a little less daily driving (although when it rains I've been driving the 6.9 and it rains almost every day here so not that much less) and the other day I had something happen before I've never had happen ever in any vehicle and I'm super confused. This is on my 85 F350 4x4.

I was pulling out of a intersection and at the stop sign as you pull out you were facing downhill pretty steep. As I turned left and shifted into third gear, the truck started pulling pretty hard to the right quick enough that if you let off the steering wheel it would have took you off of the road. I just held it at center and it didn't seem like it wanted to let up, so I "******" it to the left and then it started to want to go that way but not quite as strong and I was trying to think what could this be? And as soon as that thought came into my head, the issue just went away entirely.

The truck just had it's annual PA safety inspection where wheel bearings, excessive axle play, and tie rods and the like our checked over. Nothing seems awkward on the truck looking at the front end. It just was aligned a year ago when I got new tires. I did hit a deer on that side of the truck but all it did was dent the bumper pretty good (got a new one) and now I have only had this happen twice in over 3000 miles. Both times turning left.

What am I missing here? steering box isn't falling out, steering shafts are still bolted in good. Tiny play but nothing weird. Lug nuts still tight. I don't notice any u joints that look unhappy and there are no vibrations or noises at all. I jacked the whole front end up and tried to wrestle both tires around in any direction to feel play and there is nothing.. I had wondered if a brake caliper was sticking the first time it happened and then it didn't happen again for two months until the other day when this happened. I tried pressing the brakes and it stopped evenly so I tried the turning left thing. It's not just sloppy steering play though the truck doesn't have sloppy steering at all and it feels like it's bad alignment pull, but the fact that it can go away for a month and not do it makes me think it's something else.

So confused.

 

[Thewespaul]

Binding ball joint maybe? I would just get under and start moving things around till you find something that doesn’t act right. Something wasn’t happy

 

[BrianX128]

The worst part of this is during the TDI purchase I forgot about this issue and turned left at that turn in the IDI the other day and had forgotten about this happening for a month and the truck was fine. Hasn't happened for 1200 ish miles.. Just forgot to post on here about it and look at it. I looked at my U joints in the front axle and they aren't new but they looked ok. No play or anything, I guess one could be seized but I put the truck in neutral and 4x4 and jacked the front end up with the hubs engaged and spun the tires and it just feels normal. Even so when I have the truck in 2wd with the axle hubs disengaged the u joints wouldn't be spinning so.. I guess I need to look again under there and maybe have someone turn the wheel back and forth while I'm under the truck or something.

 

[Garbage_Mechan]

One thing to think about is a sticking spool valve in the steering box. It is a rotary hydraulic valve that directs the pressure and flow from the power steering pump to the “ cylinder” in the box. I have had about 3 cases of it over the years. One on my old 72 ranch truck I have never fixed. It does it every day just once. One good jerk of the wheel and it is unstuck. Not for an on road vehicle. If you would like to discuss with a steering box builder call my buddy Mark at Straight Line Steering in San Jose Ca.

 

[chillman88]

Binding ball joint maybe?

That was my first thought as well. Worth checking. Have they been greased recently?

 

[subway]

while others suggestions are good and worth checking in know i had an issue like this in my Jeep. i could not figure it out for a while but i it would randomly hang on my steering. i found out when i dug into my axle for other reasons the u-joints in the knuckles were binding when they aligned a certain way. replaced them and back to smooth turning.

 

[BrianX128]

So this all but went away again and then the other day while I was driving home my steering had a funny feeling in it while going down the road in a straight line on the highway. While I had the steering centered, the last direction I would have told the steering box to move in would every 3 seconds or so send a tiny pulse through the steering wheel like it wanted to keep going that way but me holding the wheel straight kept it from doing so.

Then when I got home I noticed my power steering was only on the dipstick 1/8 of an inch after just being ran so I topped that off and that problem seems to have went away, but the next thing that happened was if I was "returning the steering to center" from a turn, there was a stutter in the steering and once it got back to center it was fine.

This video is what my steering looks like just sitting flat. The front axle hubs are disengaged in this video fyi.. I don't know if the axle shafts are supposed to move like that or not it just looks funny to me.

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I greased the front axles anywhere I could with a needle as nothing has a zerk on it on this truck anywhere I can find but nothing looks that worn out. I couldn't make the u joints do anything funny on the front axle but I tried to get some grease in that general area just hoping it would work it's way somewhere.

The problem didn't go away returning to center and I drove the truck for two days and then I drove it once in the awful storms we've been getting here in western pa and the truck for sure got water in everywhere front axle related and now everything is normal I can't make it do anything strange..

I don't know if any of this means anything to anyone, I'm hoping some grease worked it's way into the suspect part and the water thing was a coincidence, I'd rather the grease be making a stuck part happy than water because that isn't going to help anything longer term.

Guess I'm just going to have to keep driving it. Power steering isn't leaking either, it's went 400 miles since I topped it off and its right where I filled it to.

 

[subway]

i still think it is the the universal joints in the knuckles, you can see them binding then popping into position. they should be able to turn smoothly with the steering knuckle. everything else looks good.

does the 4x4 make noise when it is used? running it in 4x4 on a rainy day so the system gets some slip might help loosen them up but if they are truly binding they would need replaced.

 

[Thewespaul]

Oh yeah that’s u joints. You can see them binding on the driver side. Not as critical but you can also see you leaf springs moving side to side a bit from worn hanger/leaf spring bushings.

 

[BrianX128]

I've been running it 2wd but with the hubs locked and then in straight sections throwing the t case in 4x4 on the way to work and maybe they are frozen but they aren't "wallowed out" like I've had a few driveshaft u joints where they have play in them.

I do kinda remember this happening after the truck sat a couple weeks undriven after I got the TDI. With the garbage weather lately I've been taking the 6.9 in case I have flooded roads and whatnot but maybe the driving freed it up.. maybe a lot of PB blaster is in order.

 

[subway]

the u-joints in my case were not wallowed out either but the seals had failed and the whole needle bearing set up was a rusty mess. it actually made it bind tighter, i could hardly move them by hand.

hopefully some PB will get them to loosen up some.