GEN 1 Riddle me this

[bigrig]

The rack was bought new from ford. Just got brand new tires as well and this steering is dog shit. Ford says it’s “nice n tight” you can hold the wheel straight on the freeway and feel the tires moving left/right with the road. There’s zero resistance to the road, it takes the steering wherever it wants to go. I’m going back to them cuz the steering got stiff the past few days and can feel a slight “grind” when turning the wheel left, like doing a u turn. This shit has to be defective cuz I won’t believe this is how a raptor is supposed to drive. Everything is new.


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My $0.02 is get a buddy to wiggle the steering wheel left and right while you inspect the engine bay near the steering shaft as well as under the the the steering rack and tie rods to see if you can see where the play exists (don't forget to remove the tie rod boots to inspect those joints too). Do this first while the engine is off then when the engine is on. Hopefully you find where the play is and you can fix it.

If you can't see any play then I would suggest that you bleed the steering system:



If that doesn't work then I would ensure that all the bolts on your steering rack are torqued down to the proper torque (though this should have been seen as an issue in step 1 if it were a problem). I believe the torque for the rack bolts is 325 ft-lbs and the steering column shaft to steering gear bolt is 22 ft-lbs.

If that doesn't work, then tightening the cap that adjusts the teflon cup on the steering rack might work. Here is a video on that:



Hope this helps! Please post a reply on how you fix it when you get it running correctly!

~bigrig

 

[Mjparsons]

My $0.02 is get a buddy to wiggle the steering wheel left and right while you inspect the engine bay near the steering shaft as well as under the the the steering rack and tie rods to see if you can see where the play exists (don't forget to remove the tie rod boots to inspect those joints too). Do this first while the engine is off then when the engine is on. Hopefully you find where the play is and you can fix it.

If you can't see any play then I would suggest that you bleed the steering system:



If that doesn't work then I would ensure that all the bolts on your steering rack are torqued down to the proper torque (though this should have been seen as an issue in step 1 if it were a problem). I believe the torque for the rack bolts is 325 ft-lbs and the steering column shaft to steering gear bolt is 22 ft-lbs.

If that doesn't work, then tightening the cap that adjusts the teflon cup on the steering rack might work. Here is a video on that:



Hope this helps! Please post a reply on how you fix it when you get it running correctly!

~bigrig

I'll take my truck to the shop and run this step by step. I think it may be air in the system cuz it tightens up after turning left to right several times while driving slowly.


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[Mjparsons]

My $0.02 is get a buddy to wiggle the steering wheel left and right while you inspect the engine bay near the steering shaft as well as under the the the steering rack and tie rods to see if you can see where the play exists (don't forget to remove the tie rod boots to inspect those joints too). Do this first while the engine is off then when the engine is on. Hopefully you find where the play is and you can fix it.

If you can't see any play then I would suggest that you bleed the steering system:



If that doesn't work then I would ensure that all the bolts on your steering rack are torqued down to the proper torque (though this should have been seen as an issue in step 1 if it were a problem). I believe the torque for the rack bolts is 325 ft-lbs and the steering column shaft to steering gear bolt is 22 ft-lbs.

If that doesn't work, then tightening the cap that adjusts the teflon cup on the steering rack might work. Here is a video on that:



Hope this helps! Please post a reply on how you fix it when you get it running correctly!

~bigrig

How much steering wheel shake do you have while driving? Do you get bumpsteer fairly often on the roads?


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[bigrig]

How much steering wheel shake do you have while driving? Do you get bumpsteer fairly often on the roads?


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You shouldn't have any steering wheel shake while driving. The suggestions I originally listed may not really address that issue. Steering wheel shake, in my experience, comes from wheels not being properly balanced, wheels being bent or tweaked, or a bad alignment.

Also if you are getting a shaking in your steering wheel while you are driving, it may indicate that you do not have play in the steering system which was the issue we were originally trying to diagnose here.

Regarding bump steer, I once hit a boulder about the size of my tire going about 45mph on a trail. I noticed a little bump steer there Seriously though you should't be hopping around too much when hitting a rough road.

 

[Mjparsons]

You shouldn't have any steering wheel shake while driving. The suggestions I originally listed may not really address that issue. Steering wheel shake, in my experience, comes from wheels not being properly balanced, wheels being bent or tweaked, or a bad alignment.



Also if you are getting a shaking in your steering wheel while you are driving, it may indicate that you do not have play in the steering system which was the issue we were originally trying to diagnose here.



Regarding bump steer, I once hit a boulder about the size of my tire going about 45mph on a trail. I noticed a little bump steer there Seriously though you should't be hopping around too much when hitting a rough road.

Dude thanks for your input. I'm so pissed about this issue. I get bumpsteer over practically every bump in the road. I've put new wheels, new tires, rebuilt shocks, new PS pump, and new rack on this thing and the issue has only gotten worse. Ford tells me everything is "nice n tight". I'm at a loss. My steering this morning went from semi stiff steering to loose in the middle of my drive to work.


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[bigrig]

Dude thanks for your input. I'm so pissed about this issue. I get bumpsteer over practically every bump in the road. I've put new wheels, new tires, rebuilt shocks, new PS pump, and new rack on this thing and the issue has only gotten worse. Ford tells me everything is "nice n tight". I'm at a loss. My steering this morning went from semi stiff steering to loose in the middle of my drive to work.


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It sounds like you have replaced most everything that could be causing your issues. The next step would be to look at the steering knuckle and the UCA and LCA, but that doesn't really feel right to me.

What you are explaining now is that the truck started out feeling OK and then went sloppy while you were driving, right? That sort of feels to me like there may be air in the steering system, did the mechanic do a bleed on the system?

It is tough when you are reliant on mechanics since you get the info on your truck second hand. I am not sure if you have dug into it yourself yet, but I would suggest that if you haven't.

But If you are uncomfortable wrenching on your truck, then it might be worth checking out Yelp for another mechanic in your area; One that isn't related to Ford (since the dealer usually tries to do the least for the most). But if for nothing more, to get a second opinion.

Sorry man, sounds like a real puzzle. Update this thread as you find out things, we can keep trying to debug it.

 

[Mjparsons]

It sounds like you have replaced most everything that could be causing your issues. The next step would be to look at the steering knuckle and the UCA and LCA, but that doesn't really feel right to me.

What you are explaining now is that the truck started out feeling OK and then went sloppy while you were driving, right? That sort of feels to me like there may be air in the steering system, did the mechanic do a bleed on the system?

It is tough when you are reliant on mechanics since you get the info on your truck second hand. I am not sure if you have dug into it yourself yet, but I would suggest that if you haven't.

But If you are uncomfortable wrenching on your truck, then it might be worth checking out Yelp for another mechanic in your area; One that isn't related to Ford (since the dealer usually tries to do the least for the most). But if for nothing more, to get a second opinion.

Sorry man, sounds like a real puzzle. Update this thread as you find out things, we can keep trying to debug it.

It's beyond confusing man. Now if I turn off my truck and shake my wheel I'm hearing a audible clicking sound from the steering column. This all started a year ago when I bought it and had ford align it. They took it to a shop and when I got it back it hasn't ever driven the same. It drove amazing for the first week I owned it. The last year and a half have been a nightmare and thousands of dollars trying to fix it.


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