Hey all, I'm trying to restore this truck, and I've got an issue with the steering. The steering seems overly loose, that is, as I drive down the street it feels like it wants to wander around and I constantly have to overcorrect to keep the truck going straight. However, in my driveway the steering feels tight. When I turn the wheel in my driveway the tires immediately move along with it. I'm not the world's greatest mechainic but I'm trying to learn.

I lifted one front tire and then the other with a jack, tried wiggling them back and forth and up and down, they don't seem to move too much. How about the worm gear in the steering box? How hard is it to replace parts in the steering linkage?

One note, it's been suggested that the tires on the front, which are performance radial tires 245/60R15's, may be so wide as to get pulled by every bump... but this feels like way too much movement to me.

Anyway, any help would be appreciated.

Thanks,
John

 

wide tires can cause tracking issues, the 245's on my 5.0 make it jump side to side on rutted roads. Also it could be steering slop, but if there's not play in the steering wheel while it's parked, I don't think that's your problem.

 

Check or replace this coupler...it's a very common problem and a cheap fix. you then can go on to checking other steering parts.
http://ramchargercentral.com/index.p...owtoshow;id=16

 

The last time I did this I replaced everything. If you let it go very long there will be wear in the outer housing. I also put a grease fitting in the housing on the lower end of it. Hopefully with the provision for greasing it I may get longer life from it.