Hi, about 2 months ago my right tie rod failed and had my 98 f150 towed to a ford dealership, they replaced the right tie rod and I had them also replace the left and give it an alignment. Well, ever since then my truck feels unsafe, it feels like it is swaying and not very responsive, and the biggest problem is now I feel every bump in the road. It used to be a very comfortable ride, now it feels like I'm offroading.

I brought it back to the dealership and they said everything checked out and there was no problem with the shocks or anything else, but it still feels like there is a problem.

Anybody have any ideas?

BTW, I'm not sure if it's pertinant, but I recently (before the tie rod incident) added a fiberglass lid and westin bull (push) bars. I don't think the added weight of these items on the springs is causing the problems because I didn't notice the problems before the tie rod incident.

Thanks!
Ron

 

Oh, one more thing. There is a squeak in the steering column that always happens when my truck first starts up and I turn the steering wheel. The noise sounds like it's close to the steering wheel. When asked at the dealership they said it likely just needs greasing but it wouldn't be cheap to do because they have to take off the steering wheel/airbag/plastic collar.

Any suggestions on getting rid of this sqeak?


Thanks again!
Ron

 

You may need some new shocks either that they done something to your coil springs when they worked on your truck.

 

Thanks, they said the shocks were fine, and they appear to be. when I push down on the bumper, it bounces once, maybe twice. I know the way of checking shocks on a car is to push down on the bumper and if the car bounces more than 4 times, time for new shocks, I assume it is the same for the truck.

As for the coil spring, that was my thought too, how do you check that?

If I wanted a better ride, should I get different than factory shocks (even though they appear to be fine)? I see SkyJacker makes soft ride shocks. Any suggestions on this?

Thanks,
Ron

 

If you're driving a 98 with original shocks, they need replaced, badly! Just a suggestion. Have they ever been changed?,,,,98



WAIT A MINUTE!!, This has happened to me many times after leaving a service shop or dealer. Check your tire pressure!! Mine have been overfilled horribly several times. The last time I went to my dealer in Houston for a warranty repair, they put 55 pounds of air in my tires??!! The Wal Mart guys put 50 pounds in once, while I was there for a Mobil 1 oil change. Overinflated tires would make it seem really rough. Just another thought?,,,,98