Steering issue--sudden "swerve"...

[diesel4me]

Anyone ever have their truck feel like someone else is steering it ?.....

This has happened a few times to me before--after making a corner,the steering will suddenly feel loose,and the front wheels pull the truck one way or the other,and give you the feeling there is a lot of play in the steering box or shaft,yet everything I've checked as far as loose tie rods,drag link ends,or ball joints, the rag joint,etc,the steering box itself,all feel tight ...no slop in the wheel bearings either...or cracks near the steering box,the bolts seem tight on it too..

It has an old steering stabilizer on it that might be NG or not doing anything..
I haven't taken it off the tie rod to see if the shock has the proper resistance..

Last time I had this happen,I found the drivers side axle u-joint was shot,and missing all the needle bearings--after I replaced that joint the steering seemed OK again...the steering felt normal,at that time I had four 255-70-16's on it..so I assume the u-joint was binding up ?..

I looked at the passenger side axle joint and it is old,but no slop or missing needles either...

I recently swapped 4 different tires on the truck--two Firestone "Transforce" 265/75/16's that are E range in the rear,and two Goodyear Wranglers the same size up front,that are C rated load range..(those have been on the truck before with no issues )..

I'm not sure if this is related to the tires not being 100% perfectly "matched",or perhaps the larger diameter makes it more sensitive to any misalignment or caster angle issues the truck may have..(the right front tire does wear out the outer most tread fairly rapidly,but the truck has always done that,and the toe in seems OK when I measured it)..maybe one tire has a belt going south ?...it rides smooth and no wobbling or shaking like a bad tire would show though..

I was thinking maybe a hub is locking up by itself ,then unlocking rapidly ?..

My transfer case has always sent power to the front shaft in the 2wd position,despite the linkage being adjusted properly,I assume it has an internal issue--but in the 13 years I've owned it,driving it in 2wd with the hubs unlocked hasn't shown any signs of problems..it just spins the front shaft and axle joints,but since the hubs are unlocked,I doubt that would affect anything..

I hear no unusual noises when the truck exhibits this weird sensation..it just feels like its going to go where it wants too,not where YOU want it too...this gets the old sphincter tight when you have to keep it in between the lanes or are driving down a narrow road..especially if cars are coming the other way..

Another possibility is the front spring shackles might have some slop in the bushings,and the springs are 2 leaf ones that are pretty sagged,almost touching the rubber snubbers with no weight on them..(have been that way since day one though )..jacked the front end up and pried on the shackles with a bar,and cant see any excessive slop though..

I do not know if the truck has a gov-lok or other limited slip in the rear,if it did perhaps that is making the weird feeling happen ?..

 

[black dawg]

Sounds like a bad/rusty/tight axle joint.

 

[muddermilitia]

Exact same thing happened to my 86 M1009. It was a seized up axle u-joint on the left side

 

[thatK30guy]

I had a similar experience, but not sure exactly if its the same as yours, where I would turn and the steering wheel felt loose and turned more but the tires were still on path. Turned out the pitman arm splines were almost stripped out causing the shaft to slip around. Replaced that arm and the darting went away.

 

[diesel4me]

I'll have to check the pitman arm crush bolt and see if there is any evidence of it being loose and the arm moving on the box splines--that is one place I didn't check well,but seeing I hear no unusual noises or feel any real feedback in the steering wheel when it does this,I will not be surprised if there is nothing wrong there..

I replaced the drag link ends a few years and not that many miles ago--less than 6000 or so..the tie rod ends "seem" tight when the steering wheel is moved back & forth,but they can be squeezed with channel locks and you can detect a bit of play the spring inside them takes up,but all the vehicles in the yard will do the same thing,so there is probably nothing "wrong" with them..

It does have a slight amount of play in the upper joint at the steering colum,and the lower bearing in the colum has a slight amount of play,but nothing that would lead to what it is doing..

I drove the truck to the food store yesterday about 15 miles and it didn't act weird once..I'm going to check everything over good again,maybe I overlooked something...maybe its just the tires,or a center bolt has sheared,or some other malfunction..

It could well be the right front axle joint,seeing its been in it since I got it,but it puzzles me why it might act up now,after using the truck to plow ,and its been driven more this past year than ever..no squeaking or crunching noises like most bad u-joints exhibit..

I think the fact my transfer case powers the front shaft even in 2wd actually makes the axle u-joints last longer by spinning them--most of the part time 4x4's I had lunched the axle joints every year or so--they would dry up and lose all the needle bearings to road salt rust,a few seized up !..while ones in a full time 4x4 I had went 5+ years, with no failures..

 

[Fordum]

Be real suspicious of the steering stabilizer. A slight dent in the housing will do that. I put a brand new one on backwards on my old CJ5, and it put me in the ditch later that day.
I don't think the direction it is installed would make a difference on any truck except for an older CJ. Its critical on them.
But, if you have a dent, the piston will either resist sliding by, causing your wheels to want to keep going where they were, or once it has slid by, resist returning.

Internal damage would cause that too, but probably do it more often.

 

[black dawg]

A simple test for that axle joint is with the wheels turned slightly, jack up that tire, and with the hub locked spin the tire. Some times you will have to try different steering angles, but if the joint has a tight spot in it, you will find it.

 

[diesel4me]

Thanks,I'll try that--probably have to put the t-case in neutral though,since my front shaft stays powered all the time,unless the spider gears let one axle spin...

 

[campfire]

Thanks,I'll try that--probably have to put the t-case in neutral though,since my front shaft stays powered all the time,unless the spider gears let one axle spin...

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought a t-case in neutral disconnected the engine half from the axles (but the axles were still connected to each other.

You could lock in just one side at a time. That should work (though you'll be rotating both u-joints at the same time). May make it harder to figure out which joint is causing the problem.

 

[wetoolowdingbangow]

I had a friend that had the same symptoms as yours. He went through everything and couldnt find anything....turns out the steering box was worn out. I believe that fluid could be getting by a seal and creating this weird steering. Steering boxes are getting real cheap...

 

[diesel4me]

I have a "was good when pulled" spare steering box I kept when I parted my '77 K2500 out...so if I need one ,I already have one..hoping I wont need to install it..it could be the box,but I rather doubt it..

Yes,the transfer case wouldn't unlock the front shaft...DER....guess my brain cell was in neutral to think that....

The truck hasn't exhibited this weird behavior the past few days once--I think its related to the tires not being all the same tread patterns and different brands ,even though they are marked the same sizes,tires can vary some from one brand to another--and the ply ratings being different front vs rear may add to the issue..at certain speeds right around 25 mph or so,you can feel the sensation the front vs rear tires aren't turning the exact same speed and you feel a slight "sqirm"...it goes away above 30 mph or so..

My friend also suggested the tires ,being used,may now be mounted in different locations than the vehicle they originally were on,so now they are rotating in the opposite direction than before--sometimes the belts take a set and dont like being swapped around,and wear patterns the first vehicle made may show up as weird handling or a vibration on another vehicle..also the alignment is likely off on my truck,perhaps by a good amount,having been a plow truck the past 20 years..my "setting toe in" by crude methods might not be the most accurate ..

He did a quick "test",he jacked the right front tire up and spun it,and sprayed some gloss black paint on the tread...let it dry awhile,then told me to take it up the road and back about a mile...
You could clearly see where the point of road contact is not centered in the middle of the tire,the tread is rounded over somewhat and worn more on the edges than the center,and the paint was worn off an area between the outside shoulder of the tread and the center,where the most road contact is..so the toe in or camber is likely "off" some..

He suggested other than getting 4 matching tires instead of two pairs of different brands,and an alignment,maybe trying lower air pressure first,in the fronts might help--I usually run 45-50 lbs on tires with more than 4 ply..

He also said he'd run the E range tires up front,not the C range Wranglers--his theory is the plow is a big load on tires,and the E range ones are nice and flat,like they were used on the rear ,so that would tend to reduce any wander compared to the ones up front now that are worn more on the edges than the center..and I dont usually haul much weight in the back,whatever I do the C range tires will handle OK..so I might swap the rears to the front..

I have tried 32 lbs the way it sits,and the thing handles and feels like it has 4 half flat gumballs for tires and the rolling resistance is noticeably increased,like doubled!....like you have to keep your foot into it,to keep it going at speed,instead of being able to let off and "cruise"...soon as you let off the throttle it slows down a lot faster without braking than it will with 50 lbs in all 4 tires..

If I were well off,I'd just go buy 4 new tires at the place that gives free alignments,road hazards,etc..but I dont have 600 bucks to put into a truck worth about that much ,that doesn't get driven very far ,and is more a "yard truck & grocery getter" than anything else..