Ford Excursion :: Steering Loose After New Tires And Alignment
Jun 24, 2013
My Excursion only has 74000 miles and I just replaced the original shocks with Monroe Reflex and combined with my Goodyear Silent Armor tires was running beautifully. Then after a "deal" from Ford, I replaced the Goodyears with LTX-MS2's and had the alignment checked since my Goodyears did have a little cupping after 45000 miles. They also checked all the front end components and said that everything was in good shape! Upon driving it home, the Excursion steering was extremely loose and I was ready to return the tires and get new Silent Armors, but I figured that there probably was something screwy with the alignment that they just did. So I brought it back, test drove it with the tech at 75 mph and he decided he needed to recheck the alignment. After the realignment, it drove beautifully, but after reading the posts on various forums regarding the proper toe-in on the front, I am questioning whether the alignment is set properly?
After the 1st alignment (in degrees):
LF Camber .3; Caster 3.0; Toe .01
RF Camber -.2; Caster 3.2; Toe -.03
Total Toe -.03; Steer Ahead .02
LR Camber .1; Toe .12
RR Camber -.03; Toe .16
Total Toe .27; Thrust Angle -.02
After the Realignment (in degrees):
LF Camber .3; Caster 3.0; Toe -.03
RF Camber -.2; Caster 3.2; Toe -.04
Total Toe -.07; Steer Ahead 0.00
LR Camber .1; Toe .13
RR Camber -.3; Toe .18
Total Toe .31; Thrust Angle -.03
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I started noticing a problem with my steering on my 2000 Excursion, a couple of days ago. when I make left or right turn, the wheels seem to want to continue in the direction of the turn even as I am straightening up the steering wheel. I have to over compensate on the steering wheel to straighten the wheels it seems. It does it when I make a left or right turn, but seems to be worse when turning left. Also I noticed that if I'm driving on pavement that has ruts from heavy traffic, the front end seems to pull to one side then the other.
I've had the truck for 7 years and this is the first time this has happened to it. Is it an alignment problem or is there something else that I need to consider? I jacked it up today to check the tie rods and drag link, everything seemed ok
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Seems mostly for DIY'rs. Would like to start taking care of this steering issue. Steering wheel turns about an inch in both directions before wheels start to turn . How do we tighten this up?
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New to owning a 2005 Excursion Limited 4WD 6.0 Diesel 140k miles.
When I bought the Excursion I had to drive it about 200 miles back home and it was all over the place. The steering seems real loose and when I hit bumps or a large gust of wind comes along the Excursion is all over the road.
I took it to Ford to get an alignment the next day and they said I need new outer tie rods ends, upper & lower ball joints, front shocks, steering stabilizer, locking hubs.
After that I took it to my mechanic who said I did not really need all that stuff done but if I did it I should be set with the Excursion for a long time. I opted to do all of these suggestions because I will be doing a lot of traveling with my family and wanted the peace of mind that all is well. For shocks I put new front and rear bilstein shocks (nothing fancy, I think they were about $80 each, sales rep said they would provide a firmer ride for towing).
After that I took it to another Tire shop for an alignment, they complimented all the work done and said I just need to get used to the steering after coming from a 2014 Jeep Grand Cherokee. I took there word for it and headed on a 2k road trip.
I love the Excursion but once again it was all over the place. It seems worse around 65-70 mph, and I found going around 75-85 it would be a little bit easier of a drive until a Semi Truck would go by or I would get stuck in a lot of traffic or hit a lot of bumps.
At first I had a very firm grip on the wheel but quickly learned that a loose grip at around 4 & 8 o'clock on the wheel was best. I talked to a number of other Excursion owners who said there was very smooth and straight.
The way it drives right now does not seem safe.
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So I have a loose wire to my steering wheel controls. They don't light up anymore and when I smack the back of the wheel, they will light momentarily. Also, 2 of the radio buttons work intermittently. How do I access them?
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The steering on my Ex isn't working like it should. At times it feels loose when cruising then feels tight when straightening back out after a turn... the wander is really bad...
My PS fluid is also turning into a muddy brown goo every 5k... I changed the PS pump this summer with a supposedly good used one...
What should I be looking at/checking for?
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I think I need to have them done some where else. but around 65-70mph my wheels shakes. even after alignment!!!
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As the weather has been getting warmer lately, I'm about to change over to my summer wheels and tires. First, I'm just wondering when most people who use winter tires on this forum make the change.
On my previous cars, I've just changed over in the fall and spring by myself unless I needed a wheel balance or alignment. With the harsh winter and roads we've had this year, I'm thinking maybe I've hit too many potholes, since I'm noticing a vibration at 140kph (87mph). I got the current OEM rims and winter tires new last October and had them balanced before installing them on the car and I hadn't noticed anything until about 2 weeks ago. The issue did not suddenly show up after hitting a pot hole, but just started happening and becoming a bit more noticeable recently. The weird part is that it seems to be happening only at that specific speed when accelerating, which makes me wonder if its the wheels out of balance or engine/turbo vibrating under load. As you can imagine, if you let off the acceleration at high speeds, the car slows down slowly and the vibration goes away. So it's hard for me to say what the problem is.
When I switch over to the summer wheels and tires, I'm thinking of just changing them myself to see if the same vibration still occurs at the same speed and then deciding on whether to get them balanced or not.
A related issue, which I think some others have posted about on this site has been the wheel alignment. In the last 3 or 4 months, I've noticed that the car has a slight pull to the left under no steering input, so I may have to do an alignment soon.
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i have noticed that my front tires are wearing quicker on the inside. that is to say they don't seem to be wearing evenly. have almost no tread left on the insides of front tires and these tires only have about 13000 mi on them. is this and aligment problem? dealer says no.
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I just picked up my new 2011 last night. Noticed today it looks like the corner of the rear bumper on the passenger side is not flush with the car and seems loose. Its not to noticeable but when compared with the driver side there is definitely a difference.
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Noticed today in the snow, I was pulling out of the driveway in 2H and the rear tires broke loose, weird sound coming from the front end like the truck was trying to engage the 4 wheel drive but it wouldn't go in. Traction control? Threw it in 4H and the sound went away????
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I have a 2006 Kia Rio base sedan. I've owned it from 55K miles to 70.5K miles. It does not have power steering.
When moving at rather slow speeds, maybe 0-15 or so mph, it seems that bumps or potholes or other irregularities will cause the steering wheel to turn significantly. I feel the steering wheel move back and forth by itself and the wheels feel like they "flop" to either direction to the whim of the road's irregularities if that makes sense. The wheel feels almost as if someone is grabbing it and moving it back and forth. The movement is forceful enough that if I'm not holding the wheel, the car can really wander around, possibly into another lane but I have not wanted to test that.
I tried looking up this issue on existing threads but couldn't find it. Also, I didn't really know what to call it. I had an apparently useless alignment at Firestone about a week ago (car still pulls to the right) which did not seem to affect the issue. I attached a scan of the alignment sheet thing.
Incidentally, it seems like they left a thing out of spec but maybe that's a whole other question. So, what could cause this and whether it can lead to damage or safety hazards?
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I had additional springs added to the front axle by a shop that I would not now trust to work on a tricycle.
The front axle was installed at an angle.
Is there a recommended procedure to align the axle? The two ideas I can guess at is to find a centerpoint on the body or frame and use that as an alignment point like one would align a trailer axle to the hitch or to assume the spring mounting points are precise enough to just center the axle between the two on each side.
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2004 Ford Taurus - transmission was going out last Aug - had it rebuilt (new seals and torque converter) got it back steering wheel was slightly off (1/2 inch) of being the center when driving straight. Took a while to get it back to the shop - life happens - took back today - said they did everything they could and really needs an alignment which they do not do - drove it home after hanging out at the shop for 5 hours. The steering wheel is now off 2 inches from center and the car is pulling noticeably to the right. Going back tomorrow - but they are saying that it was not them and that I need to pay for an alignment.
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I have a '94 Ford E150 (6 cyl). A few weeks ago the pwr steering fluid began to leak. I couldn't readily see where it was coming from and thought no big deal I'll wait until it's more pronounced. After a week or so of topping off the fluid, I heard a pop under the hood as the serp. belt broke (sheared off actually). Not sure if it matters but at the time I was all manual power with the steering as all the fluid had leaked out.
That's when I noticed that the power steering pulley was slightly out of alignment with the others. I replaced the belt, limped home and the next day the new belt sheared off like the 1st (in ribbons wrapped around the fan). Never had this happen before but is there any way to adjust positioning of the power steering pump and pulley?Looking on the bright side, I'll definitely have a chance to get to that leak now.
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How much air pressure should you run on 305/70/16 tires?
I had tires rotated and the shop had them at 35psi. That was just too low and didn't drive well. I have about 42psi right now and they drive better.
I've heard everything from 35-50psi.
What do you run?
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99 F250 super duty 7.3
Had new ball joints installed and alignment. Steering does not return to center. Returns a little on a tight turn like in town but difficult when just changing lanes in town or not. Took it to another shop and they said the ball joints were too tight. right side pretty tight and left side really tight. Moog ball joints. First mechanic says they will get better with a few miles on them. Second mechanic says not so.
Also, have new shocks but get a bouncing in the front when at 45 mph and goes away at almost 50 mph.
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Maybe its just my freaking OCD but on my 2015 f250 that I've owned since new the trim around the steering column doesn't line up directly with the dash! Not the steering wheel to the steering column trim but the column trim to the dash/instrument cluster. When I lock the tilt/tele lever in, the right side of the column lifts up maybe a 1/16th to maybe closer to 1/8th of an inch and it irritates me because the two lines to match up evenly. Is this normal for this design tilt/tele steering column? Is it normal? You can see the right side is just a little higher than the left side...
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" Michelin LTX A/T 2 Load range E tires that are size 265/75/16"
I don't haul much and I don't tow.
How much in the front tires and how much in the rear?
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Had the tires balanced, still shakes. Had them balanced and tires rotated on the wheels for optimum placement. Still shakes, no visible bubbles for tread seperation. What to check next?
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What is this supposed to go to? Found it just flopping around under the hood while we were replacing a fuse.
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