The trick in question has a tremendous amount of play in the steering and when I hit a slight bump or rise, it sometimes suddenly shifts in the road. Usually to the left. When turning The steering wheel, the front end makes a popping noise which I can also feel in the steering wheel similar to a wheel bearing. Wheel bearings appear to be ok as do the ball joints. The engine appears to be sitting at a little bit of an angle with the front of it angled more towards the passenger's side. Not sure if that's normal or not. Any help with possible causes of the steering issue and popping will be appreciated and thanks in advance.

 

So both the upper and lower ball joints are ok? There are also bushings. I'd jack it up (partially or completely whatever works) and pry on suspension pieces and joints with a large pry bar.

 

There was a recall for 4x4 ball joints. Cant recall details but u might want to research it.

When raising the vehicle to test the front end, place the jack directly on the lower control arm so the suspension is loaded. Grab the tires top and bottom and rock hard. Side to side as well. Even then, its hard to tell worn parts that look okay physically. Sometimes u just gotta change em to see the difference on these 20+ yr old trucks. Only my end links were visibly shot. The riveted upper ball joints were loose as heck once in hand. Wheel bearings were quiet till I had them in hand. Steering popping is intermediate steering shaft.

Mine had all your symptoms. Now it drives tight and quiet after a bit of work.

 

Thanks for your reply and the info. I'm gonna raise it again and check it. I 'll also get someone else around here to take hold of the wheels and give me an opinion. If all else fails, I'll just go ahead and start replacing the parts. As old as the truck is, it can't hurt anything. Lol. Sooner or later I'm bound to replace the right thing and have a whole new front end will likely make it drive like a new vehicle and I couldn't complain about thatb. Lol. It might be this weekend before I can get to it but, I will post my findings. Thanks again for taking the time to reply.