Truck wont drive straight

R

RollCoal9000

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I'm having a progressively worse steering problem. My truck will not return to center or drive a straight line. Caster is maxed out and still will wander all over the place.

220k on truck, stock steering box, 2" coils, extend control arms, stock trackbar with poly bushings (junk napa ones but these ones are still tight.), updated steering and bilstein stabilizer, 33" tires.

I want to stop almost running into stuff and knocking my dogs off my flatbed so I would like to fix this.
 
Steering box?
Jack the front axle off the ground, and work the steering through all if its travel. There has to be slack someplace.
 
If your sector gear nut (nut/shaft on the top of the steering gear box) is too tight, it'll bind at center and force you to left or right.

Also, if your tow is too far in or out, it'll make you dart. Target zero tow, and bias it just a hair in. Like get center and then turn the adjustment a 1/4 turn in.

Try swapping tires too if you've got a weird wear pattern.

Last thing, if you're running a steering stabilizer, sometimes aftermarket ones apply a lot of force and it'll push you in a direction. When I went to a Bilstein monotube it did that to me, so I tossed another one on in the opposite direction. Fixed the issue.
 
CorneliusRox said:
If your sector gear nut (nut/shaft on the top of the steering gear box) is too tight, it'll bind at center and force you to left or right.

Also, if your tow is too far in or out, it'll make you dart. Target zero tow, and bias it just a hair in. Like get center and then turn the adjustment a 1/4 turn in.

Try swapping tires too if you've got a weird wear pattern.

Last thing, if you're running a steering stabilizer, sometimes aftermarket ones apply a lot of force and it'll push you in a direction. When I went to a Bilstein monotube it did that to me, so I tossed another one on in the opposite direction. Fixed the issue.
Click to expand...

All this x2
 
Most alignment shops around here will assess and tell you what is wrong and what parts need replaced for free. I then replace the parts and bring it back to them for the alignment.
 
I would also recommend installing a steering box stabilizer. Made quite a bit of difference to my 96 and the way it drove.

Sent from my motorola one vision using Tapatalk
 
check all the linkage points including steering shaft play, pitman arm wear, tie rod ends, ball joints, etc. it all factors into steering slop and how the thing wanders.
you can adjust the slop in the steering box by loosening the nut on top of the box and crank the screw down 1/8 - 1/4 turn at a time till you feel its as good as its gonna get (but not binding)
Large tires will make it worse.
As far as stopping I have slotted rotors, hawk pads, hydroboost and near new everything and the damn thing still doesnt stop like a newer truck. Thats probably tire diameter versus the small-ish rotor diameter they used back in 95.
you can do a ford dana 60 knuckle conversion to get the ford 13" rotors and manual hubs, a 3rd gen knuckle swap on late 2nd gens only or put a kingpin D60 in there and use those aftermarket brake kits for a 14" rotor. Thats about all the options I know of.
 
Last edited:
biggy238 said:
I would also recommend installing a steering box stabilizer. Made quite a bit of difference to my 96 and the way it drove.
Click to expand...

For reference, that made a HUGE difference on my 97, so I tossed one on my 4th gen. It didn't do anything on the 4th gen. I left it on there for the Hell of it, but just thought I'd share.
 
Alignment numbers are what I'd be interested in.

Maybe I just have good luck, maybe it's dialed in right. I'm not sure.

My caster is at 4.5* and my toe is just a hair inside.

I'm running 42's with no steering dampener and it drives nice and straight with zero wander.
 
I ghetto adjusted the toe (tape measure) and went from 1/2 inch of toe in to 1/16 literally no difference. I tried to adjust the nut on the box again but it only turns about one turn each way and makes no difference. Do I need it on jackstands to do it?

I have to turn the wheel a few degrees and put some pressure on it to get it to actually turn going down the highway. And within the first 45 degrees of wheel rotation left to right it will drive wherever its pointed and wanders all over.

Newish wheel bearings arent loose yet, ball joints are tight, track bar bushings are tight, non of the tie rod ends are sloppy.
 
Do you know what your caster is set at? Easiest way is to put an angle finder on the flat machined section on top the the C next to the upper ball joint. And also make sure the ground that your truck is on is a reference point in case you're not on flat ground that has 0* of angle.

Is your power steering fluid full and does it have all the air removed form the lines?

Are your tires filled with enough air?
 
Tires are full it has power steering fluid. The caster is maxed out, adjusting it backwards in between makes no difference how the truck drives.
 
And check the steering gear input shaft from the column. Also the column on the 2nd gens are known to need the bushing on the end too.
 
CorneliusRox said:
If your sector gear nut (nut/shaft on the top of the steering gear box) is too tight, it'll bind at center and force you to left or right.

Also, if your tow is too far in or out, it'll make you dart. Target zero tow, and bias it just a hair in. Like get center and then turn the adjustment a 1/4 turn in.

Try swapping tires too if you've got a weird wear pattern.

Last thing, if you're running a steering stabilizer, sometimes aftermarket ones apply a lot of force and it'll push you in a direction. When I went to a Bilstein monotube it did that to me, so I tossed another one on in the opposite direction. Fixed the issue.
Click to expand...


I believe the over center on mine is too tight because I can feel it in the wheel at the center point of the steering range. Unfortunately, I think my threads are stripped out because I can’t get it to unthread. Anyone have any ideas on how to get it out of loosen a little more? I’ve tried a pry bar under the nut but can’t get too much leverage with it in the truck.
 
Are we talking about the same thing? The nut on the top side of the gear box. I think it's a 19mm maybe. It's on there pretty damn tight from the factory. Crack that loose, then hold it while you spin the allen inside of it. Then torque it back up.

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