Attention: TDR Forum Junkies 
Evening Folks, I'm in need of some diagnostic guidance my 2014's steering box. Mileage is around 180k, but I went through the front end/steering a while back & made some upgrades which have made the thing drive like an absolute dream for the last year or so -- Synergy tie rod & drag link, Carli track bar, EMF ball joints, that King steering damper Don Thuren sells, steering box brace, etc., as well as the EMF shim for the steering shaft joint. It really goes down the road tight & straight, and holds alignment really well.
Then, a few days ago, I got in after work, and something just felt off about the steering...almost mushy, but nothing too alarming. As soon as I got onto the highway, however, I knew something was definitely wrong, as I had to hold the wheel about 1/8 turn off center to stay in my lane, and there was some wander also. Nothing crazy, but I'd have to make constant, minor adjustments to stay between the lines which is VERY unusual, so I got off at the next exit to check it out. As turned right and drove a mile to the gas station, I noticed that the steering wheel was now perfectly straight...no more pulling or wandering, but still felt mushy. Since then, it seems like every time I turn the wheel a full rotation in either direction, it will land in a slightly different spot once the tires are straight.
When I got home, my wife hopped in and started sawing the wheel back and forth while I crawled around under the truck, searching for what I assumed would be an obvious issue, but to my surprise, everything looked tight. I carefully felt every joint under the whole front end, but couldn't find any trace of looseness ANYWHERE. At that point, I assumed it had to be a wheel bearing, which seemed unlikely as they had both been replaced with SKF units only 25k miles ago. Anyway, I jacked each wheel up to check them, but they seem tight & roll just as quiet/smooth as new.
Yesterday, I pulled the steering damper off (just in case it was masking any problems) and drove around for awhile, and the symptoms are still exactly the same. When I got off the highway, I checked each bearing w/ my temp gun, but found nothing out of the ordinary. I swapped over to LubeGard power steering fluid around 15k miles ago, and it still looks fresh.
This evening I'm going to check the steering box for play, since it seems like that's becoming a prime suspect in my case, but it seems like they don't fail nearly as often on the 4th gen trucks (compared to previous). Really the only idea I've got is to have someone turn the wheel back & forth while I feel for any difference between the input shaft & the pitman arm? I wouldn't think a pump failure would have these symptoms, but I could be wrong. Also Any other ideas would be much appreciated.
PS: sorry for the long post.
Then, a few days ago, I got in after work, and something just felt off about the steering...almost mushy, but nothing too alarming. As soon as I got onto the highway, however, I knew something was definitely wrong, as I had to hold the wheel about 1/8 turn off center to stay in my lane, and there was some wander also. Nothing crazy, but I'd have to make constant, minor adjustments to stay between the lines which is VERY unusual, so I got off at the next exit to check it out. As turned right and drove a mile to the gas station, I noticed that the steering wheel was now perfectly straight...no more pulling or wandering, but still felt mushy. Since then, it seems like every time I turn the wheel a full rotation in either direction, it will land in a slightly different spot once the tires are straight.
When I got home, my wife hopped in and started sawing the wheel back and forth while I crawled around under the truck, searching for what I assumed would be an obvious issue, but to my surprise, everything looked tight. I carefully felt every joint under the whole front end, but couldn't find any trace of looseness ANYWHERE. At that point, I assumed it had to be a wheel bearing, which seemed unlikely as they had both been replaced with SKF units only 25k miles ago. Anyway, I jacked each wheel up to check them, but they seem tight & roll just as quiet/smooth as new.
Yesterday, I pulled the steering damper off (just in case it was masking any problems) and drove around for awhile, and the symptoms are still exactly the same. When I got off the highway, I checked each bearing w/ my temp gun, but found nothing out of the ordinary. I swapped over to LubeGard power steering fluid around 15k miles ago, and it still looks fresh.
This evening I'm going to check the steering box for play, since it seems like that's becoming a prime suspect in my case, but it seems like they don't fail nearly as often on the 4th gen trucks (compared to previous). Really the only idea I've got is to have someone turn the wheel back & forth while I feel for any difference between the input shaft & the pitman arm? I wouldn't think a pump failure would have these symptoms, but I could be wrong. Also Any other ideas would be much appreciated.
PS: sorry for the long post.
Last edited:
