rtpjunior

iTrader: (4)

Need a little advice here...The other day I clipped a curb and blew my pass. side tire. This sucked as I just bought a set of 20" wheels/tires from a new FX4 from a member on this board. Anyway, I put my OEM 18" wheels (all 4) back on until I get a new 20" wheel. Now it seems that my truck has a slight pull to the left. When I say slight, it is barely noticeable. I am not sure if this was there before or not, as I never really checked. I took it for an alignment today and all measurements were dead on. The shop even gave me a printout of all the measurements and all looked good. They did not have to adjust anything. There are times when the truck tracks straight as an arrow, other times I can notice the slight pull. I can't tell if the pull comes from a sloped road surface or not. After looking up several photos/articles on the EPAS, I really don't see any place where adjustments (mechanical) can be made. If all the steering gear is within spec, would and type of "electronic" adjustment just throw off everything else ? The EPAS basically replaces the hydraulic components of a traditional system with a brushless DC motor. The steering gear is still a rack-and-pinion, not "steer by wire", so there is a solid link between the steering wheel and tie rods/tires. Has anyone else noticed anything similar? Thanks..

rtpjunior

iTrader: (4)

Bump

Ford850

I don't think there is anything that can be adjusted or replace on the rack. There is a TSB for some issues with the racks and they replace the entire thing under warranty. I'd get it to your dealer asap before it leaves you stranded, or worse.

motox151

Get it to the dealer ASAP for what? There is nothing wrong with his epas. A vehicle will not always track 100% straight. Roads are not perfect and the slightest offset can lead to the minimal pull his truck is doing.

You should refrain from giving people advise since you, yourself are clueless. The tsb has nothing to do with this issue either.

Lastly the epas has nothing to do with your alignment at all. If the specs came back good and your steer ahead is at 0 you are fine.

Ford850

He hit a curb and blew out his tire. His alignment wasn't knocked out, but now his truck pulls slightly to the left. It's up to him if he has it checked out, but left hand pull or "lack or steering returnability" is exactly what the TSB is for. Since you had yours in for an EPAS replacement, you know there is a problem with the EPAS racks and replacements are/were on national backorder. I don't think I am "clueless" to give out sound safety advice. It's not going to hurt to have a dealer take a look at it especially under warranty.

villain58

Hey, if your ground wire comes away from the steering gear motor it will
leave you stranded make sure the ground wire is grounded until you can get to the dealership otherwise you will have no steering available on your truck!
I work at ford, this is a big issue weather or not the right ground bolt was used to secure the epas ground wire to the electric motor?

rtpjunior

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for the reply. I tend to feel the same. If all measurements are within spec, I am reluctant to push the issue any further. I have no slop, vibration or looseness in the steering. I just never noticed the condition before so now it is just me being over-critical. The tech who did my alignment saw no issues anywhere in my front end. I just got home from a 100 mile trip and I tried a few routine checks along the way. While on a long straightaway, I let go of the steering wheel and the truck ran straight as an arrow. I applied braking and it did not pull either.

rtpjunior

iTrader: (4)

Thanks for your reply and concern. Again, the truck may have done this before I blew the tire and I never noticed it. I just got home from a 100 mile trip and I the truck tracked straight for most of the time. Once or twice I noticed the pull, but I cannot definitely blame the alignment or the EPAS. The road may have been sloped.

papa tiger

You've bent an arm or tie rod.

motox151

What part of he had an alignment check done and nothing was out of spec?? Bent tie rod huh? You idiots are clueless and are the reason people get dicked up information. You are NOT Mechanics, don't try and play one with your idiot responses. So if someone is sick you assume they have Aids and should go to the hospital asap??

To the op, make sure you wade through the crap before you believe anything on these forums. Half of these retards think they are in the know when they don't have a clue. Some people have decent info and feedback and there are several of us CERTIFIED Ford/ASE/MILITARY techs on here. We will give you the straight scoop.

You have done the correct actions to try and diag a slight normal pull vs an alignment being out. A minimal pull can be had when the steering wheel is hands free and or brakes applied. Just depends on the road. Your observations and information ALONG WITH THE ALIGNMENT SPECS show that there is nothing wrong with the front end of the truck.

As you can see even though the alignment is on, the tech you took it to and this guy right here say it is fine you still have morons that think your epas is bad and you have bent suspension components.

Epas is new to to these trucks and the only indicating symptoms are increased effort in turns, losing p/s, the steering wheel locking up and clunking on one side. It is hard to say if every truck will be affected but at this point there have been numerous replacements and failures (mine included) which should IMO be escalated to higher than a TSB. Just things to keep an eye on