Ford F-150 - 1997-2003 :: Cannot Turn Steering Wheel Back To Center - Tie Rods Are Maxed Out
May 8, 2015
I took my truck to work and needed a pitman arm. So took it home put a new one on and the steering wheel was crooked which didn't bother me. but after in cranking the torsion bars I noticed how Badly I needed an alignment. So took it back in for an alignment and I cant turn the steering wheel back to center because the tie rods are maxed out. I tried to take the pitman arm back off center the wheel and everything but the key ways just line up the same way. Any chance the after market pitman arm is off or any clues?
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The steering on my truck has become a little heavy after making a turn and bringing the steering wheel back to center. The steering feels heavy like I had a front tire half way down. There's a lot of drag then once on center it's gone. Could it be the beginning of the end for my ball joints?
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If I make a turn either right or left when bringing the steering wheel back to center it feels jerky or twitchy.
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my turn signals only work with the steering wheel tilted all the way up. It works for me, but my wife drives the truck mostly because we live a mile from her work. The dealer said it was a "peanut connector." And can someone walk me through the steps to fixing it?
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Working on my bosses 97 Econoline conversion van. The steering wheel was flopping in the breeze, gear indicator was off and some of the time it would be in reverse when you thought it was in park. Checked the torx on the shift cable plate and they are tight. Replaced the 2 bushings on the shift column. They tightened up the steering wheel flopping around. I checked the shift cable and it appears to be in good shape.
It would start sometimes if you worked the shifter in park or moved it to neutral. Now it will not turn over. Shift lock actuator does not appear to be working. Does not lock it park. No continuity between any of the three pins with the actuator pushed in or out. If you turn the key you can take it out of park without pushing on the brake. Really do not know the series of events that have to occur to make it turn over. How to trouble shoot the problem?
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Wife bought an '06 GS300. Not a bad car, but isn't my 2000 Camry either.... Of course I pick my Camry to the Lexus. I noticed driving it from the day she bought it with 75K on it, it has a jerk or detent when the steering wheel is brought back to center. On the road it drives me nuts, cause I was gifted at driving a car without tossing the passengers back and forth while going down the hwy and in the twisties. I turn and return, I don't try to crack sniff my way down the road. So the dealer can't feel it, the wife feels it some, and low and behold today, I bumped into a co-worker with the same model/year. She feels it too.
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I have a 2009 screw with ~60k miles. It is used for DD and tows our small camper or my flat deck w/jeep.
The other day I noticed an issue when turning right. The wheel gets hard to turn and does not want to return to center. There is also a low speed clunk you can feel in the steering wheel/column itself.
The truck is at the dealer now and they said the rack needs to be replaced and there is something in the column they need to replace too. I have the extended warranty, so this is all but covered 100%. I just have a deductible to pay.
I have not hit anything with the truck, so I am not sure what caused these issues.
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While driving to work I did a quick U-turn to avoid a congested left turn lane and when I completed the turn and straightened out, the steering wheel was about 30 degrees off center when driving straight ahead. A few seconds later it slowly centered itself, I'm assuming this was a Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS) fault.
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Today, I just picked up my 2014 prius. Basically, when I do a right/left turn on the car, when accelerating out of the turn, the steering wheel does not fully return to the center position (its approximately in the one/eleven o'clock position). Also, if I leave the wheel straight, and drive straight, the car will drive straight and not pull towards the side so I don't think its an alignment issue. I'm not sure if this is normal, or if its happening just because they car is new or just because I'm not accelerating hard enough out of the turn (I always stayed in the eco range with the HSI. )
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Runs into a problem with steering wheel not wanting to return back to straight after a turn...spray wd40 on u joints on steering shaft ( under hood)....
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My wife's having some car trouble. When I turn the steering wheel back and forth there's a cracking sound and I can feel it into the wheel. And now the steering's gotten really stiff.
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I have an 03 F-250 4 wheel drive with the 6.0. For the last 3 months or so I have been having some issues with the steering system and I am not quite sure what it could be or what too look for. I have already replaced the power steering pump due to the shaft seal leak on my old one. After that I noticed that the truck would never really center the steering up on its own like it used to and that it pulled in either direction depending on which way you steered it. I then decided that I would replace the steering box on the truck. I replaced it with a Napa one. Right after that I had it on the alignment rack and the guy said it was not even out of alignment. As I continued to drive the truck it continued to pull in either direction whenever you took a hard turn in either direction. Then one night coming home from work, I was pushing it a little hard, the truck pulled itself across the center line. The steering wheel and all turned to the left. It did this 5 or so times in a row. I am also noticing some issues with my lock outs but don't know if it is tied to the same issue with the steering.
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My 2005 RX330 has 140,000 kms...and I am now witnessing frequent periods of hard steering. I even sometimes find that after I turn a corner, the steering wheel doesn't return back to straight as I move through the turn - I have to forcefully return the steering back to straight steering. There is plenty of power steering fluid, and there are no abnormal whining noises from the power steering assembly. And since the ease of power steering does still work...I suspect that a ball joint needs looked at.
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Just recently i have noticed my truck acting up. the other day at about 10 to 20 mph i made a 90 degree turn and noticed my steering wheel wouldn't return but i had to bring it back. than this morning the same thing happened. I made a 90 degree left hand turn and it happened again. the truck wanted to keep going left but i kept turning right. it almost feels like my power steering pump is going out. The pump was changed about 4 years 90k miles ago. I'm curious to see what others have to say. What could it be????
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So, the other day, I went outside and there was a puddle under the truck. It had been sitting for a couple of days, IIRC, so I thought it was strange. It rained since then and the driveway was dry one day later, so I didn't give it much more thought at the time. Then the puddle appeared again. Went out with a flashlight this evening and looked around. I remember there was moisture in a couple of spark plug holes when I replaced them. Some of it was oil, but one was definitely watery. So, I am not surprised that there is a leak somewhere.
But what I do find strange is the location of some of the puddles, and where it drips from. I guess since the motor slopes down as it goes back, maybe the leak is really at the front and it's just running down the head next to the intake to drip from the back of the motor? There is water next to the intake manifold there, to support that theory. But there is a puddle on top of the intake around the #1 injector. How does it get there? My pressure tester is one of the old ones that attached to the radiator neck, so I'll have to find another way to pressurize the system to look? It doesn't seem to match up to descriptions I've seen of the crossover tube or the heater/water pump tube.
Coolant dripping down the back of the motor from the passenger wheelwell. Puddle around injector.
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I noticed after the crash the steering wheel is moved forward and gear shift is up against dash. asked around and one person said they made collapsable steering wheels to impact. i have never heard of such a thing.
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I want to replace my steering wheel. Will this puller work for that job?
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I have a 97 F150 that I just got a few weeks ago. I was driving home Wed. night when the 4x4 low range light would come on and off intermittently I had it in 2h the whole time. I went online and couldn't really find anything on it. So I get up to go to work on Thursday and the truck wouldn't even turn over. The battery was dead. I have put in a new one but now after turning the truck off I hear a clicking sound coming from the steering wheel. What this may be?
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Getting some rain here in az causing me to use my windshield wipers....which is rare. I can once and for all say I'm sick of the wipers working only with the steering wheel in the "up" position. Is it a big deal to tear into the column and replace that stinking multi-switch/harness? 378000 miles ....
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I have a 2000 Ford F150 XLT 4X2 that has a "clunking/squeaking" noise in the steering wheel, intermittent happens driving straight down the road, hitting bumps, breaking. It is very annoying! changed out lower ball joints tightened wheel bearings, greased idler/pitman arm thinking that was the problem and it became worse. Had someone look at it and stated that the steering shaft was welded?!?! Why would the steering shaft be welded what am I looking at in replacing it (cost for parts and labor time) and are there any other additional parts that will have to be replaced as well?
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While driving whenever we turn a curve to the right the steering wheel jerks and the whole front end jerks and will either quit when we slow down or come back straight. It seems the faster we go the worse it is also starting yesterday day we have noticed that the front end is beginning to make a popping or thumping sound while turning a curve or sometime will pop or thump randomly. It's starting to get pretty scary.
Just some info, tires are fine, no wear, all correct pressure. Had to recently use 4x4 in the snow but didn't have any problems with it. Did however hit a ditch pretty hard on the driver side and quickly came back out on the road from sliding off in the snow. Has a bad leak from the power steering reservoir to the pump (the line is bad but can't change it on my own and top off reservoir daily). Truck has 227k miles on body and 157 k on newish motor that was just put on in September.
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