I seemed to have an unusal instability from crosswind at 70mph so I checked the steering. No play in the links or steering box but when I grabbed the steering column intermediate shaft at the firewall there is almost a 1/4 " play from side to side! I checked another Expy and it too has some side to side give but it is only about half what I have. Doesn't this create some steering slop, seems like motion of the shaft sideways must cause a rotation also ?

 

Dave, I too notice severe cross wind instability and alot of other people will say the same thing. I've been fighting with Ford for 2 months to get them to reprogram my EVO so it provides more steering effort at slower speeds. Also, I've been trying to get them to stiffen the suspension. I personally think the main reason for the instabilty feel is due to body roll. The front end plows quite a bit during a turning maneuver and the whole vehicle leans badly while taking an exit ramp. My truck (actually my wife's) acts like a bowl full of Jello on uneven roads. Alot of people have added polyurethane bushings to the front sway bar and some have even replaced the rear sway bar with a stiffer aftermarket version. I think these will be my next steps.

 

I had notable body sway during turns until I installed Bilstein shocks. Body sway was greatly reduced after that.