lifted super duty "wandering"

silver

Member
Joined
Oct 4, 2007
Location
winston-salem, nc
alright, i am getting ready to RE-own a 2000 f250 superduty i once owned. Its a shortbed, ext cab. 8in lift with 38's. I had replaced the tires when I had it and replaced all the shocks and the steering stabilizer shock. it still drove like crap. LOT of play in the steering wheel was the MAIN issue and it wandered around on the road. I may could have dealt with the wandering BUT the steering was so sloppy, you had to turn the steering wheel half-turn to correct it.

Anyway, we also rebuilt the front end with ball-joints etc and alignment.

while the other guy has owned it, first off, he didnt mind the way it drove. I hated it. He got used to it. Anyway. One of the front hubs locked up and he replaced both. He said the driver side appeared to be engaged in 4wd all the time and that caused the wandering, it finally locked up. He says it drives a LOT better now.

Secondly, the steering gearbox is shot. He is replacing it tomorrow with a brand new one and says it will take care of the slop in the steering. Is this true?

anyway, what can i try to cure the wandering if it is still bad? The front stabilizer is a single shock setup. Should I change to dual. Any advantage into changing to a multi-shock setup on the tires instead of right now, it has single shocks all around.

IDEAS?
 
Its gotta be the steering box, Mine is a 2004 with 8in lift and 37in Goodyear mts it drives great the ride aint all that great but then again it is a one ton truck. Ive had mine for 3 years now, before i got the Goodyears i had 39in tsls on it and beleive it or not it drove just as good although i di have the tsls pad balanced. I dont even have a steering stabalizer on my truck, its just a bandaid anyway if its rite you wont need it. Hope the steering box fixes it.
 
yeah i hope so too. i dont mind a rough ride, i just hate the wandering from lane to lane lol.

We will see this weekend. I had a lifted 04 cummins and it drove like a stock truck.
 
steering

steering gear box should cure all your wandering problems. we replaced a gear box on a 00 model f350 that had a 6" lift with 35's. drove great after that

HTH

jason
 
Common problem in these trucks. Steering gearbox should fix it. You should also adjust the new one "carefully" if you want to dial in the tightness. There are procedures for it online. Don't tighten it too much because it can easily cause irreversable damage. I tightened my used gearbox and it was night/day difference.

Single stabilizer is all you need. Any more than one is just a patch for whatever the true problem is.

Also check the steering linkage for play while you're at it. I've even seen a loose pitman arm cause significant play! Balljoints and TRE's are the most common cause though. Looks like you've taken care of that.
 
GLAD to hear this lol ... I HOPE HOPE HOPE the steering gearbox fixes it so i can comfortably put some miles on this bad boy this weekend.

I rechecked and it DOES have dual stabilizer in the front. Hoping the gearbox cures all.
 
Also check the track bar bushings but it will usually pop while in curves. W/ that lift you may need an adjustable aftermarket one.
 
alright, gearbox on. It is better, but not perfect lol.

We seen today that whoever done the lift, has left the stock pitman arm. Now this is an 8" lift. Shouldnt it have a longer pitman arm???

Will changing the pitman arm to a longer one for 6-10" lift be worth anything?
 
If it will turn the same side to side i would, leave the stock arm on there a dropped arm will cause alot of stress on the box and frame. Mine has 8in lift and i run a stock arm for a long time, i put a drop arm on it because i moved my track bar to above the axle. The drop arm made my draglink and track bar match angles so bump steer wouldnt be to bad. Hope some of this helps.
 
My 04 w/ 40k and a 4" lift on 35's wonders more than I'd like too. Seems to be the norm. I will try the steering box adjustment though, can't hurt.
 
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