Hey all. Just picked up a VERY clean 2001 F250 CCLB 7.3. Its leveled in the front with blocks in the rear. Lifted by previous owner. Has the bracket installed for the drag link. It had been aligned prior to the lift due to a pulling and off center steering wheel. After the lift was done previous owner moved track bar to center steering wheel. Now for my question....when I turn the steering wheel to the left I get one full turn (12 to 12) and its at lock. I turn in to the right and its 1 full turn plus about 3/4 turn. Its nearly impossible to even make a normal left turn from a side street without having it be a 3 point turn. I checked underneath and there is nothing hitting or anything binding. It seems to turn correctly all the way right but stops about halfway thru when turning left. Is there a way to adjust anything to correct this issue? My thought was maybe the steering linkage was disconnected and someone turned the wheel on accident then it was put back together wrong. I really need to correct this asap. When I had checked underneath the truck all of the adjustment points for the alignment seemed to be in the middle (thread wise). I also checked the pitman arm thats mounted to steering box (pretty sure its the pitman arm) when the wheels and steering wheel are straight and its pointing straight towards the front of the truck. Sound correct? Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. I'll buy lunch if someone wants to come help! thanks in advance
You can adjust the drag link to recenter the steering wheel in its travel , someone probably recentered it without turning it lock to lock like you did.
Awesome! Thanks for the info. I actually just ordered a drop pitman arm to put the drag link back to the correct spot. Could you explain the process on how to do this? The steering geometry confuses the crap out of me. Do I keep the wheels straight forward then disconnect the drag link, keep the steering wheel straight and adjust the threads out to reconnect? Thanks again!!
The draglink and tracbar need to be parallel and pretty much the same length. Any lift less than 4" should use the stock pitman arm and stock tracbar bracket. An adjustable tracbar should be used.
On a level surface, have the wheels pointed straight. Do not worry about where the steering wheel points at this time but keep it unlocked . Remove the tracbar (will need to remove the passenger side tierod balljoint from the steering knuckle, a large breaker bar and oxy-acet torch will be needed to get the tracbar bolts out). Put balljoint back into knuckle and loosely put the nut back on. (it will need to come off again to install the new adjustable tracbar). Get in truck and drive a few feet back and then forward again to where you were working. Use heavy braking when stopping both times to settle the suspension and hopefully center the axle. Keep wheels pointing straight and check to see if the axle is centered. Use levels or lasers. If it is out, make note of how far it needs to be shifted and in which direction. If you need to replace the pitman arm, do so now as the tracbar bracket might need to come off. Remove the tierod again and get the new tracbar. Adjust the tracbar so it is close the mounting holes of the truck, and install and put the bolts back in. depending on the bar. If you can make the adjustments of length with the tracbar installed, and also tighten any locking fasteners, then the tracbar mounting bolts can be fully tightened to 450ft-lbs and use red loctite. Adjust the tracbar until the axle is centered and tighten all the adjustment locks. Reinstall the tierod and put a new cotter pin back in.
On to the steering. Check to see if the steering wheel is centered. Now is the time to see if all the tierod end ball joints are solid. Have someone wiggle the steering wheel back and forth while you check to see if there is play in all 4 tierods ends. Replace as needed. If the steering wheel is off, either shorten or lengthen the draglink by turning the adjustment sleeve.
Awesome thanks for the write up Betaracer! I'll be tackling it this weekend when I'm off. I did notice the front right axle seal is leaking a bit when parked. A dime size spot after about an hour. Maybe take a gander at that too. Thanks again, I'll post results.
One last question. Do I need a drop pitman arm or adjustable track bar in order to get it back to near factory settings or is it possible without? Thanks
No drop pitman arm is required if lift is LESS than 4". I highly suggest the use of an adjustable tracbar. The other option involves cutting the stock tracbar and "Sleeve Welding" back together at the required length.
Replacing the axle seal is somewhat involved. Depending on the age and mileage of the vehicle, you might also want to perform other tasks which require the removal of the same components.
To get to the seals, you need to remove the differential. To remove the differential, you need to remove the axle. To remove the axle, you need to remove the hub. If the u-joints on the axles are sloppy or seized, this is the time to change them. Same with the ball joints as the same stuff needs to come off to do them. Even if they are suspect and mostly fine, change them if funds allow.
Excellent, I really do appreciate all the info! I wasn't going to have time to look at it this weekend so I dropped it off at our alignment shop. We've been using these guys for about 20 yrs, excellent work. Had to get some front end work done so they were going to take care of everything on it. I worked late yesterday so I'll be picking it up Monday. I'll post up what was done to it. Thanks again for all the help fellas!
Nick
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