STEERING PROBLEM
Asked by indianman Sep 14, 2015 at 09:44 PM about the 1994 Ford F-150 XLT 4WD Extended Cab LB
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
When I drive my truck you have to constantly put in steering inputs to the steering wheel. The truck has to be constantly steered (kinda like point and shoot). When you go around a corner the steering does not come back to neutral and you have to physically turn the steering wheel to straight. I have had the upper/lower ball joints replaced, front end alignment and checked the u-joint in the steering column under the dash, it is fine. The power steering seems to work fine and there is no pump noise. It does this in 2wd or 4wd. Could it be the front axle shaft u-joints? Could it be??? Thank you for any and all help.
12 Answers
An old Ford will do this- the steering was never made to be tight, and just gets looser as time goes on- especially a 4x4- if it bothers you, you might need to get a car-
Suspect a problem with the rack and pinion. The steering wheel should return to neutral when turning a corner. Nothing mechanical to explain here, just physics. When the wheels are turned the vehicle naturally wants to to straighten itself out when in motion. The rack may be binding.
Check pitman arm, replace
i have a 2016 ford that wants to go where it wants to go when it wants to go. it has sent me into on coming lanes. when returning from vacation passing a semi the truck steered itself almost into the side to the semi. Had to force the truck back into the proper lane. I have taken the truck to the dealership they say it is in ford tolerances. i'm at a lose what to do
The steering column has an intermediate shaft that has a slip joint that will corrode at the joint which causes the steering to bind. The top of the intermediate shaft is hollow, if you spray WD-40 into the hole in the center of the shaft, be generous, this will lubricate the slip joint and the binding will go away. A $4 can of WD-40 beats $600-$700 to replace the shaft that just needs to be lubricated. Be careful not to get a lot of overspray on the Exhaust Manifold.
I've owned 3 Ford F 150's (2000,2006,2014)and they all had steering problems. I've had to replace the steering box and the intermediate shaft. I haven't had the 2014 in the shop yet.
i have no idea how my sister drove the F150 home. I couldn't even back it out of the driveway. I guess she man handled it.
I've had a similar problem and came across this after some research online: https://considertheconsumer.com/consumer-class-actions/ford-f-150-class-action-lawsuit
If your truck has electric power steering then that is the problem, since it was introduced about ten years ago it has been nothing but trouble. The problem is inherent to the design, many times it cannot be fixed, I am going through this now with a 2017 f150, the rack was replaced and still a problem, I may have to go to a f350 they still use hydraulic power steering on them, Last ford truck I will ever buy.
I don’t understand why they recall one year and not another when it’s the same part and same problem. Electric gear box. They recalled the 2014 but not the 2012 or 2013 ? Does someone have to get seriously injured God forbid.
