05 track bar bushing

EPDP99

EPDP99

New member
Joined
Oct 5, 2006
Messages
43
anyone know where to get a track brar bushing for the upper mount. mine is doing the death wobble quite a bit more frequently and it looks the buching is smashed and cracked on both sides. any polyeurethane? looking for a high quality replacement as mine seems to have lasted 25k miles. i will add pictures later for the experts to see...
first 2 are from the bottom and 3rd is from drivers side.3rd one is not that good because it was dirty and camera wouldnt focus. How bad does it look??

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c225/EPDP99/trackbarbushing006.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c225/EPDP99/trackbarbushing005.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c225/EPDP99/trackbarbushing002.jpg
 
just took off the stock stabilizer because i have heard from people it can make the problem worse... we will see if it helps....
 
Is there any play in the trac bar bushing?
Was the trac bar bolt loose?
How about the lower trac bar mount, any excessive play there?
 
no play in the bushing and bolt was not loose. lower mount is very solid and tight as well.
 
I know there are issues with the steering boxes in the newer trucks.

If there is no play and the bolt wasn't loose, that doesn't sound like it's the issue.

Alignment is all on spec?

Were alignment cams used with your leveling kit?
 
yes alignment cams were used and alignment was done and redone with ford tsb of making castor or camber more negative. dont remember which one. It was a full suspension lift 5" or 6" dependingwhere advertisement time was.
 
Under what conditions does it wobble?

Will it always do it under those conditions?

Was anything changed on the truck before it started?
 
it wobbles at fairly low speeds. 25-40 MPH. cant predict it because on flat roads just coasting it will get the faint start. sometimes its faint sometimes it goes full board death wobble. i can go over the same road 20 times under the same condition and then all of a sudden it will just start. no turning, no potholes. other time it wont do it unless i hit a pothole or road crack. The steering box was replaced. it had very very loose steering and wobble. ford tightened mesh gear still wobbled. ford replaced steering box because that was the only thing that changed. once replaced it was gone. it is steadily coming back. before a trip i rechecked all suspenion and steering parts. pitman arm was loose. tightened and got a new nut. i replaced the nut and retourqed all frontend components again. steering has seemed to feel very tight at speed. like lane change pressure to turn steering wheel seems to have gotten tighter. not smooth like all other superduties ive driven. have quite a few at the fire department from ambulances to f-350 trucks. truck will get alignment rechecked soon when dual stabilizer kit is put on. i did take off the stabilizer and it has yet to do it but it seems to be completely random when it does.
 
Sounds like it's the box to me....since it's been aligned twice.

Seems to be somewhat of a common issue with lifted 05-07 trucks.

Hard to diagnose online......hell, sometimes even hard to diagnose in person LOL
 
i know what you mean. service advisor told me the same thing about the boxes. he said right after mine they had 3 more trucks come in with split boxes and one took 6 to get a good one. well see if it does it without it and then with the stabilizer kit and then go from there..... Thanks a bunch
 
Did it twice today with stock stabilizer off. Once full blown and once just a shimmy where i got on the go pedal hard and it went away before it got bad. Seems that it does it while just cruising like coasting or barely on the brakes coming to a traffic light... very very lightly on the brakes that is. Going to go through everything tonight and check all radius arms as well as all front suspension again. This was the first time the wife has ever experienced it and she flipped out. she told me to call first thing and make sure the parts for the steering stabilizers are in and get it aligned.


**EDIT**: OK heres the update. put a socket on every part of the front suspenson and steering from box to sway bars to raius arms you name it. I was able to get the 3 bolts on the box itself where it attaches to the frame to tighten maybe 1/2-3/4 of a turn to make it really tight(not torqued..just very tight) one bolt i think i got maybe 1-1.5 turns probably a little less. I did start the truck and turn the steering to see if there was any side to side play in the steering shaft itself with nothing. The drag link bar has the "ball" joints on the ends that connects to the pitman arm moves i believe as is should though for the steering. however there was a pop feeling when turning back and forth. coming from the one that attaches directly to the pitman arm. describing movement is har but from a left to right turn it would down very slightly over/twist then up and exact same turning the other way. very hard to describe. I pulled the cotter pin out the castle type nut cover and tightened that down very snug. re-assembled and tested with exact same movement but no pop to it. I did notice the rubber boot is slighly ripped. Can i just get a new boot and what care should be done to socket or does the socket/stud need to be replaced? can it even be replaced or does it need a new drag bar? i didnt torque it to specs but tightened everything i could look at. raised the tires and tried to shake to check ball joints. Ill let your mind wander from there for advice, lol.
 
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They probably ripped the boot replacing the box.

You can get boots at some auto parts.

It's possible that the drag link end (that connects to the pitman arm) is bad. Once they go bad you start to get excessive play and movement through the wheel.

I can't remember...are the steering ends of the newer trucks greaseable??
The two ends of the drag link, both ends of the tie rod, etc..?
 
the only greasable points are where the ujoints for the fron axles are that i know of. drag link, tierods nothing greasable...
 
That's what I thought.

I'd replace that upper drag link end then......especially if that boot has been cut for awhile now. It allows moisture and dirt to get inside and dry it out and cause premature wear.
 
its getting stabilizers tomorrow at 10 as well as checking all alignment. tires will get balanced as well tomorrow. I am looking into the replacement of that connection point as we speak. whats it take to replace it? press out press in?? while placing my hand on top of the tire and having someone turn the wheels back and forth there is a pop/clunk feel when turning back and forth but while on the steering components it cant be felt except for slight one at that drag link bar (id imagine at the connection of the pitman arm). I had a horrible experience today where it was faint then very very bad got faint almost cleared up started to accelerate then bam got violently bad again. Traffic is swerving and slammin on the brakes. talk about scary and embarrasing. #1 dislike of my truck!!! remember it didnt come front lift installation but after the steering boxes were replaced. once second box was installed it went away.
 
I'll have to look at my 06 to see what's involved in changing that end out.

I know on the 99-04 trucks you could simply replace the last 12" or so of the drag link......the section from the adjustment sleeve to the pitman arm.
 
i went to very reputable lift shop here. Alignment still in spec. brakes good, we looked over all steering components all good. Place shipped wrong stabilizers so we were only able to install hardware. owner of lift shop is who we are in with and he said mine is the worst superduty hes ever driven stock or lifted. he said my steering box is screwed and pump or hydro boost has an issue as well. stopped by the dealership and got it setup for an appointment tomorrow morning. service writer said it does sound like bad box. he said they have known issues and he had to replace one 5 times at one visit before it was within specs for ford so you know what "normal" in their eyes are....ill keep everyone updated.
 
UPDATE....Pump is being replaced for low flow. after that is replaced they will check hydroboost and box. They want to put it on the alignment rack there for $60 just to check and $100-130 if he has to do any work on alignment. They put them at the max negative castor possible. Good idea or bad?? Should i let them do it or use the company that does the lifted trucks?? 3-3/4* drivers and 4-1/4* for passengers is where castor is set now.
 
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