2001 5.4L, 2WD. 205K miles. I get the feeling there's slop in my front end somewhere. It is really noticeable when I am in a turn and hit a bump. The truck wants to skip sideways. I know that usually indicates bad shocks but they seem good with a bounce test. But it's also a bit noticeable when simply driving a straight line on an interstate. It just seems to be work to keep it on a straight line. First let me tell you what I've replaced. New anti-sway bar end links. New wheel bearings and I've retightened them after a few hundred miles. There is no slop there. New inner tie rod ends. Outers are fine. New upper & lower ball joints. New upper and lower A arms. All pivot bushings seem good. New idler arm. Shocks aren't new but they seem to be good. Center link and Pitman arm check good. I have adjusted the steering gear box gradually and right now I am 1/2 turn clockwise. It has helped a lot but do I dare go more? How do I know if I've gone far enough? Or too far? I also have a question on the anti-sway bar. There are two rubber mounts that hold it to the frame. Are these rubbers supposed to be tight around the bar? Mine are what I'd call a slip fit. There is no slop but I can rotate them on the bar with my hand. So, anything you pros can give me to check, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.

 

After all this was done, has it been on an alignment rack?

Sway bar end links will have ZERO to do with pull

 

Not after the bearings. But yes, that was the last thing before bearings. And to clarify, it doesn’t pull. It just seems to drift around. Also, the tires are Goodyear Wranglers.

 

A simple thing but first things first. What effect does rotating your tires have on this? Any?

 

None. I rotate every oil change. Makes no difference. And just maybe it’s normal and I’m being a perfectionist. I mean it’s s truck right? Not a BMW.

 

Go to a large, empty parking lot and drive in both right and left hand circles. Turn the steering wheel all the way and then back off 10 to 15 degrees. Keep track of your speed and compare that amount of front end dive between right and left at the various speeds. Is there a point where there is a noticeable difference in dive between right and left? What is it? Is there a point where your traction circle begins to grow or shrink? Does that point match from right to left? The slip you describe shouldn't be shocks unless it's broken. Springs maybe, shocks no.

No, it shouldn't be normal unless the truck is overloaded with weight or you're playing NASCAR driver without banked turns.

 

I had something similar after a front end rebuild. One of the tie rod adjusting sleeve lock nuts had worked loose, probably because the alignment shop didn't tighten it in the first place.

Replace the Pittman arm and outer tie rod ends. Everything else is new, so might as well eliminate the last few suspects. A tiny bit of play in the Pittman ball joint translates into a lot of steering wheel play.

 

Yeah. Maybe I’ll replace the pitman arm. Cheap, easy attempt anyway.

 

This is where I was headed. I could move the end of my pitman arm (and therefore the steering linkage) up and down about 3/8". Steering was improved, and the wiggle-factor after hitting a bump was reduced greatly after replacement.

 

"Skipping sideways" is not a problem with your steering although after 200k miles there is good reason to update your steering components. What you describe is understeer deflection which is a suspension issue, not steering. Good luck.