paintscando
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Re: Towing Shouldn't Be This Difficult - Help Needed
Yesterday my husband replaced the steering gear box with a Red Head Gear Box. WOW!!!! What a difference that made!!! For what it's worth, he also replaced the pitman arm. The truck is still not quick to return to center BUT, once you find center, it stays there, no more "driving" to keep it going straight. What a relief! The steering wheel is now slightly cocked, so back for a THIRD alignment. Hopefully the last place we took it will adjust free of charge. We will ask them to set it to toe-in, as was recommended a few messages up. Maybe that will help with RETURN to center. The repair gave me enough confidence to drive it thru the country to my parents yesterday, a trip that I would not have taken in it before the fix. Finally, it's like driving a normal heavy duty truck. Today we will be addressing the hitch set up and making test pulls. Maybe even back to the scales. Bottom line - Obviously there were some things worn out in the front end that needed to be addressed and we did need (want) the E rated tires, BUT it was the steering gear box that ultimately made the difference. I'll post the results of the hitch work later today or tomorrow. Have a great holiday weekend! Kristy510Views0likes0CommentsRe: Towing Shouldn't Be This Difficult - Help Needed
Good morning everyone! I drove the truck yesterday for the first time since the new tires, new ball joints and new tie rod. I agree with my husband in that it is better but not 100%. It does seem to want to return to center more than before, but just can't quite get there. It seems there is less play in the steering wheel, so you don't have far to turn the wheel to "drive" it straight. A little tricky to get used to (to find the sweet spot), but better. We made progress last night!! With my husband under the truck and me inside the cab, he watched the steering gear turn under the truck as I turned the wheel in the truck (truck was off, key in the AC position). If you picture the Ford emblem as pointing to 3 and 9, this is what we found - I could turn the wheel back and forth quite a distance before my husband could see it move under the truck. He did not see anything move under the truck until I got to 2 and 4 (10 and 8 on the left). Seeing that convinced him that there might actually be something wrong in the steering gear box. Remember, two shops checked the box and said it was fine. So, he tightened the box one full turn and took it for a drive. He found there was NO play in the wheel, it was harder to turn and it did not return to center. Back under the truck. He loosened the gear box two full turns. So, from the original position, it is now one full turn looser. Took it for a drive. Now, it returns to center, but there is more play in the wheel. Even with the added play, he says MUCH improved!! So, we are on the path to replacing with a Red Head Gear Box. I don't know when, but it will be soon. Thanks everyone for your help and input on our issue. I think it was this forum that enlightened me to the phrase "won't return to center". That's exactly what the problem is, which I was describing as "wander". Now that we are on the right track to getting the truck going straight, we can adjust the WDH/sway hitch and I think we will be all set. Finally, happy campers!! I'll keep you posted on the gear box replacement and anything else that comes up. Kristy510Views0likes0CommentsRe: Towing Shouldn't Be This Difficult - Help Needed
Turtle n Peeps wrote: paintscando wrote: The new shop found the ball joints were too tight, not too loose, which I guess is more common (I think?). Anyway, the ball joints are being replaced this morning. Cross your fingers. Hmmmmmm in 40 years of automotive work I have never heard of too tight of ball joints? :h Wear makes them loose and then you have play in suspension and steering components. I'm probably not saying it right. I asked again to clarify and the answer was the same. Does it make more sense to say they was a lack of grease so they didn't move freely? In any case, they replaced the ball joints and handling seems to have improved. Unfortunately, only a slight improvement, still not 100%. We'll continue to investigate but going to have to go with what we have for the moment. We'll work on getting the Equalizer set up properly, stay under 55 mph, and stay local until we can get it figured out. A steering damper has been recommended, so we'll probably add that eventually. Thanks for everyone's input. Kristy344Views0likes0CommentsRe: Towing Shouldn't Be This Difficult - Help Needed
Wishin wrote: Hopefully the new place can find what's wrong with your truck, I agree with the others that there is something in the truck causing the wandering, probably the front end. What size and model tire did you buy? Original factory size? I'm guessing the tires you took off were oversized compared to factory. We put the factory recommended size back on the truck. They are Michelins. Yes, the tires that came off were bigger and more aggressive than the original. Unfortunately, it didn't make a lot of difference.344Views0likes0CommentsRe: Towing Shouldn't Be This Difficult - Help Needed
Had new (E rated Michelins) tires put on the truck last night. The ride is quieter but not much if any improvement in handling. It looks like the truck is slightly lifted in the rear. In looking under the wheel well, there is about a 2-2.5" spacer under the spring. (It may not technically be called the spring. It's the bowed steel that runs parallel to the ground behind the wheel.) Anyway, maybe that is a factor, but I have read that having a slight lift should not affect handling. In any case, we have an appointment this afternoon to have the truck looked over by a place that specializes in this sort of thing. Minimally, we will have that spacer taken out and a steering damper installed. This shop said that early 2000 til around 2006, Ford's were notorious for having loose steering. My husband also noticed when driving yesterday that when aggressively turning the wheel on the interstate, i.e., high speeds, it seems that the backend is loose, too. Like the suspension isn't holding up the side to side movement...? Shocks? I don't know. That's my laymen's interpretation/description, anyway. I'll keep you all posted.205Views0likes0CommentsRe: Towing Shouldn't Be This Difficult - Help Needed
Thank you all for the advice. We will replace the tires this week and see if that helps. When we took the truck to the shop last week, they said they checked the front end and only found that it needed 1 tie rod. They said the ball joints were fine and apparently everything else checked out because they only replaced the tie rod. I asked him to check the steering gear box, as I've read that is a common problem. He said that was fine, too. I feel like we need to take a closer look at that component, but only based on how the truck drives and what I've read. Maybe replace with a RedHead gear box (or something like that). There's definitely a problem but if everything checked out, as he said, how do you know where to go from there?? Ron3rd - Yes, the WDH was set up by the dealer for the Expy. We took the new truck and trailer to a non-Equalizer dealer to have them readjust. I don't think they adjusted properly. My husband is good at this stuff, so we'll probably just try downloading the manual and setting it up ourselves. So, so far we've spent $125 at the dealer and $230 with the mechanic and are no better than we were to start. It's a shame we can't get our money back. I understand they have actually done work, but it was for not. Husband took the truck today and will be going to the tire shop. If they have them in stock, may be riding on new tires by the end of the day. I will keep everyone posted. Again, thanks so much for your input. Kristy194Views0likes0CommentsRe: Towing Shouldn't Be This Difficult - Help Needed
How much air pressure are you running in your tires? D rated are bad but under inflated D's are a lot worse for wandering. ********************************************************************** We checked the tire pressure (when we got home, of course!) The pressure in all 4 tires was between 50 and 55. Obviously, part of the problem. In the manual it states rear tire pressure should be 80 psi and the front should be 50. Does that mean (since these tires shouldn't even be inflated past 65) that the rears should be 65 and the front should be 35? I've read that the differential matters, does it?194Views0likes0CommentsRe: Towing Shouldn't Be This Difficult - Help Needed
Regarding bars... they cannot be snapped ON by hand. I'm pretty sure my husband uses the handy dandy tool to put them in place after there is at least some weight on the ball of the truck. When unhitching - he raises the hitch to relieve some pressure from the truck/ball. Once "some" pressure is off, he gives the tow bars a quick jerk and off they come. Unhooking the trailer from the Expy was basically the same except a pry bar was needed to get the bars off. BTW - towing with the Expy was not scary. The vehicle pulled the trailer just fine and there was very little to no sway. The Expy was strong and didn't struggle at all. My fear with the Expy was the payload and the shorter wheel base. I'm so discouraged by all of this, but trying to remember that we didn't have any troubles once we got to the site. It could have been worse! :-)233Views0likes0Comments
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