Hey guys, Has anyone out there had a loose feeling in the steering during city driving? I recently experienced this during hot
driving conditions in San Luis Obispo, Ca. Lots of slop in steering
around town in stop & go traffic. Problem seems to go away when weather cooled down & only seems to occur & higher temps
especilly when driving w/a.c. on. It's probably in getting alot hotter
under hood @ that time. Contacted my local dealer to check TSB's
He has not yet called back. Looking for any others that have had
similar problem. Looking for some advise. Thanks!! By the way,
it's a 2003 Screw 2x2 w/no mods except exhaust & filter.

 

I don't know what you mean by "slop in Sterring". I had something similiar, that has gone away. You are right in that it only occurred in hot weather. I call it a dead spot in the steering. Mine would occur after going around a corner. It felt like the power steering would stop working and the steering response would be like manual steering. If happened to me last summer too. Since mine went away, I didn't bother going back to my dealer.

 

Thanks for replying. The slop I'm feeling is going straight w/side
to side loose feeling, almost a rattle in steering. I can take wheel
& jerk from side to side & feel a loose rattle feel. Even a knocking
through the floor board. I had someone riding with me & he felt the slop too. I hope someone else has had this problem & can
give me some advise. I think my dealer is going to tell me it's normal to feel some loose feeling in steering.
Please advise!!
Thanks!

 

Not sure if it applies or not but there was a Recall on Selected F150's for the pitman arm connection nut coming loose and working itself out. You may want to have the dealership look at it if the truck is still under warranty. Other guys here on the board may have more information too, you could try searching the recalls as well......Good Luck

 

Thanks for the reply. Got the truck in @ dealer right now for the problem. It got real bad this week as the weather was very warm again. They ran a t.s.b. & came up w/nothing. but they said there was a problem anyway. Even the front tires are cupping real bad and I've only got around 8,000 miles. Hope the find the problem soon. At least I'm in a free rental. I will need a front end alignment for sure which the said the would take care of all under warranty.
Thanks again for the info

 

hello
not sure but the noise your hearing sounds like my 2002 sc
i'm on my second steering colum the slip joint on shaft has came loose twice now both times dealer has told me that its not common , also when it went the2nd time i took it to diff dealership
just to be sure they were telling me the same thing

 

Mine has been in for 5 days now waiting for additional parts. 1st a steering intermediate shaft, no cure, now a pitman arm. Still waiting. I hope after all the disassembly the truck will still drive like new. Later

 

sorry to hear your truck is still laid up but mine go's back in thrusday clunk has returned once agian this time after only 2200 miles after the last visit , i'm really starting to wonder if they replaced anything. this time i'm marking the steering shaft

 

Well, I got mine back after 5 1/2 days in the shop. They replaced the
upper steering shaft, turns out that wasn't the problem. Then the pitman arm, realign, rotated & balanced the tires. Seems to be alot tighter but still a slight loosness on rough roads. The biggest problem I had with the whole ordeal was that the boot the shaft goes through was leaking air(noise & fumes)had to go in & reseal it last night. Seams to be quieter now. I knew that was going to happen. The techs are on piece work-hurry up & get to the next unit!! Hope you get your problem solved soon. I know my parts were replaced because they looked realy new(crawled under & checked) Good luck!

 

Jorjen,

Glad to hear you got your truck fixed. One question however. How did you reseal the boot? I had my lower steering shaft replaced last week and I have noticed a LOT of increased noise in the cabin since then.

Perhaps I have the same issue?

Please advise and thank in advance!

Jag

 

No help with this man?

 

Sorry it took so long to get back to you. Telephone line problems. I pulled back the insulation, grabbed the boot around steering shaft & pulled it until it seated properly. I even wrapped some additional carpet insulation around the boot to further seal the leak, & pulled stock insulation back where it was. That seamed to help alot. I think it's quieter than before. I just hope that it does not have to go back for same problem or all that work will be destroyed by the careless tech. Thanks for the reply!!!
Later man.

 

Hey jorjen,

I assume that you did this work inside the cab since you mentioned carpeting? Is this correct? I would like to fix it myself if I can. I feel if I go back to the dealer, they will just mess it up or screw something else up as usual.

Man I hate dealers!!!!!!!!!!!

Jag

 

Jorgen,

Just thought that I would let you know that I had the same problem. The boot was not fitted correctly and the insulation around it was not placed properly around the boot.

Fixed it up last night and drove it today. No more noise! Thanks for the help on that one.

Jag

 

Well, It's back. The hot weather has brought back my loose slop in the steering. I am really pissed this time. What's next? Now I have to take it back & get everything tore appart again. More noise through the steering boot & improper assembly from the careless techs. How could all the new parts have filed so soon??
Wish me luck!