I have a high mileage, rusty 1979 F150 w I6 for utility use. This truck has been used hard and I will probably be its last owner if you know what I mean.

Anyway, the truck isn't worth anything, but it runs well. The only problem is the steering is so loose it scary to drive on the highway. By loose I mean constant corrections back and forth simply to drive straight and there is very little feel. I almost lost control once after a curve, it took over a minute of white knuckle sawing on the wheel to get back!

I have been reading through these forums and come to the conclusion that there are probable several issues with the truck. However, a visual inspection of component hasn't revealed any particularly worn parts, boots and bushings look old, but not town or cracked. Having my daughter play with the steering wheel while I watched revealed no obvious looseness in any of the parts, but I did notice a slight clunking/knocking that seemed to come from the steering box. Overall, its a high mileage truck that has spent it's life working, but seems to have been relatively well cared for.

The goal is to spend as little as possible and do the work myself with the minimal mechanical skill I have. So, my question is how to proceed. Is there something else I should check? If the culprit is general wear and tear, what are the most critical parts? I'm not looking for perfect steering, just a drivable truck.

Thanks for any help.

 

There should be an adjustment on the steering box that can be used to decrease the movement of the steering wheel. There should be no more than 2" of lost motion in the steering wheel.
I would strongly suspect the idler arm, tie rod ends, and pitman arm of having excessive play. Perhaps get a pro to look at the steering and front end components.

 

Roadie,
I keep reading warnings about adjusting the steering box here and on other sites, I was thinking I would work on other components first and do that if all else fails.

 

It's an older truck, so you might want to make sure the steering box is attached to it's mount and the mount isn't broken.

 

Good point! It'd be stupid to overlook something so simple! I'm going to check it when I get a chance, thanks.

 

So, having checked everything twice, including making sure the steering box is attached, the only play I can find is in the steering box itself. I watched both my wife's hands on the steering wheel and the steering shaft and both were completely syncronised. Below the steering box there is no play in tie rod ends, drag link,etc.

I am going to adjust the steering box and see if that helps, I figure the worst case scenario is I ruin an already broken steering box!

On a related note, all of the playing with the steering has apparently highlighted a fluid leak. The truck is much easier to steer without power steering fluid.

 

when you make your adjustments, make SMALL adjustments maybe 1/8 turn at a time

 

Way back when I bought a 59 Chevy Impala with 112k miles on it for $100. The manual steering had a half turn of the steering wheel of play. I tightened it up on the steering box adjustment and got it to 2" of play which was right on the amount of play it is supposed to have.

 

If you over adjust that box at straight ahead ...... you may one day make a turn and suddenly have no steering.