Loose steering - Ford Forums

Archimedes · 10-24-2001, 21:18

My 67 has the worst steering in the world. I slimmed down the problem to be the ball stud on the control valve. I noticed this because if you move the steering wheel back and forth you see everything move and the ball stud move a considerable distance before it turns the tire. I just rebuilt the ball stud and I have the same results. Is this normal? What do I do about this steering I cant stand it, my car wanders so much, and trying to brake with the wheels like that is even worse because it forces them to go left and right fast. Please help.

SuperDave · 10-24-2001, 22:18

Apparently the ball stud rebuild was not done properly or there are other parts that were overlooked within the unit. Idler arms, tie-rod ends, ball joints and control arms can also cause sloppy steering. All these parts work together so any one that is defective can cause problems.

Archimedes · 10-25-2001, 22:19

I dont understand how the rebuild was done incorrectly as it was built by the book - if this is the problem. i know the problem is the ball stud because you can see the arm on that bolts to the ball stud move as the wheel is turned, you can see the ball stud move with it only the whole control valve doesnt move untill the stud moves to extremes.

SuperDave · 10-26-2001, 09:04

If the ball stud shows excessive movement before anything else moves, clearly there is a problem there. Perhaps the housing itself was worn and the new stud is just "floating" around in a worn cavity.

11-24-2001, 16:33

Mine does this too, it was like this when I got it new/rebuilt at the local parts store. I sure would like it to go away!!

hawkrod · 11-24-2001, 20:40

first question i have is are you checking for the movement at the control valve with the engine running? if the engine is off the ball stud should have a lot of movement as it is a hydraulic valve. the movement opens and closes ports to the ram and if you are watching it with the engine off you are wasting your time as you can not tell anything from that. if you are watching the valve with the engine running it should start moveing the ram at a few pounds of steering pressure as it compresses one of the springs. if the spring is too soft it will move a lot or if the ram is damaged it will move a lot before the steering picks up. i have seen under adjusted valves that have a lot of movement and over adjusted valves with steering that doesn't feel right and wanders all over the road. this is an adjustment which is critical and you must follow the proceedure in the shop manual. this is often a case of too much of a good thing. people see that the nut should be torqued to particular setting and say hell thats not enough. overtightening the adjustment will make your car steer like its on ice. hawkrod

11-25-2001, 11:07

That is a good point. I was looking at it with the engine off! Will have to look at it again!

Archimedes · 12-22-2001, 20:56

Well, I would like to know if anyone has solved thier steering problem yet. I did check with the engine running, in fact, the only way I noticed this was because of the way it steers while driving. But I cannot resolve my problem. The housing is not warn, I rechecked the control valve....Im really confused here!

hawkrod · 12-27-2001, 23:09

hi, sorry i did not get a chance to respond back to you sooner. i am curious about how you checked the valve for movement. you say you noticed it because of the way the car drives (i assume sloppy) but have you put the car on a wheel lift or ramps and had someone turn the wheel while the engine is running. i have serious doubts if it is the control valve unless you messed up when you rebuilt it. the valve should have about 1 inch of free play with the engine off but at 2000rpm or so it should be pretty damn solid (it will move maybe 1/2 inch or so but against pressure) it almost always bad idler arm or worn components that cause a car to wander. it is very unusual for the valve to cause a problem. if your toe is not right or you have an oddly worn tire it will wander. if you have a bad idler bushing it will allow a lot of steering wheel movement that can be hard to trace (thats why you need to see under the car with the engine rpm up and somebody working the wheel back and forth, but be sure the weight of the car is on the tires and for gods sake don't actually crawl under the car. just watch from the sides and be sure to do it from both sides. hawkrod (yes, i used to be a ford mechanic)