FordExcursions.com Forums
Dave Guard
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• West Chester, OH, USA |
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• Registered on 3/19/2003 |
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• 14 posts |
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 Posted:12/12/2003 14:55 |
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The steering on my Excursion has always been a little loose for my
liking. The left front wheel bearing gave up the ghost recently. Its replacement
seems to have tightened things up considerably, but its still somewhat loose.
The steering wheel also sticks from time to time on initial movement from a
parking place. Its done this snice I've owned, so I believe its unrelated to
the wheel bearing deal. Its almost like I have to let off the brake pedal before
it will steer.
Also going down a pot-holed road, its a bit like hearding cats. Even on smooth
highways, the steering wheel is a little busier than it really should be.
New shocks a year ago, (Explorer ProComps) including the steering stabilizer.
Still has the Firestone tires. Helwig rear sway bar.
I plan to check the other wheel bearing this weekend. I'm not sure if I'm looking
for one or two problems (looseness and sticking) Any other likely causes ?
Are the steering gear boxes prone to wear or failure ?
Thanks,
Dave Guard
2000 Excursion Ltd 4x4, 53K miles |
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Posted:12/12/2003 15:24 |
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im assuming you have a diesel. And the wheel sticking is the hydro steer effect. I typically let mine warm up for a minute more before driving and that helps. Or do a little two foot action and give er a bit more skinny pedal to pump more juice in there. I am not a fan of the pro comp shocks, at all. The shocks always seem too squishy for my liking. I run the bilsteins and they really do well on the excursion. Pro comp es200 is arguably the best steering stabalizer out there for the price. I run 35inch tires so i do experience a bit of bump steer on potholes and such, but nothing that I would consider out of the norm. |
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Dave Guard
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• West Chester, OH, USA |
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• Registered on 3/19/2003 |
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• 14 posts |
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Posted:12/16/2003 13:42 |
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Jared,
Actually mine is a V-10, so that rules out the hydro assist but may point me to a
general P/S problem. I've also been reading the huge shop manual on steering
issues. There are several symptoms that might point to a loose steerng gear box
(seems odd), possibly a bad pump and a few other things.
I may check out the Bilsteins, loved 'em on my Mustang. Any part numbers or best
places to buy them from ? Any ball park on prices for 4 ?
I'm also looking at replacing the the tires. When I bought my Ex, used, the dealer
had just replaced the tires with new Firestone Steelex's. Though I was skeptical about
the Firestones, given all the bad press at the time, I was still determined to live with
them - they were new, after all. Now, re-reading a number of posts, its seems the tires
might be a good part of the problem.
I am currently considering the Dunlop Rover AT ($95ea from Tirerack) and Michelin
LTX M/S ($156 ea from Tirerack). Any others I should consider ? I plan to stay with
the stock sized tire since it still fits in my garage, barely. Anything taller and I'd run
into height clearance issues.
I don't fool myself into thinking this is an off-raod vehicle. The biggest area of concern
I have is our twice yearly pilgrimage to Florida (Ft Myers & Orlando) from Cincy. On the long
side, its 2500 miles round trip plus excursions (pun) around down there.
Towing is now secondary. My towing needs have reduced significantly in the past year. I now
tow a pop-up camper (~1600lbs) and my Open Track '04 Mini Cooper S on a light trailer (~3500lbs).
I have a Firestone Air Ride system and brake conroller - all way overkill.
It also huals the boy scouts on medium distance camping trips. 2 Adults, 4 scouts all the
gear, all inside and I can still see out the back. |
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monsta
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• The Big Island, HI, USA |
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• Registered on 1/5/2002 |
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• 1,056 posts |
• 2
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Posted:12/17/2003 04:56 |
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You can actually "tighten" up the steering gear box a bit. SD are known for there loosey goose steering. Not all of them, mind you but the problem exists.
I'll have to dig up some info if you have the need for it.
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Texas4x4
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• Tyler, TX, USA |
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• Registered on 7/25/2003 |
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• 289 posts |
• 1
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Posted:12/17/2003 07:07 |
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If, for some reason, you end up having to replace some stuff, I know these guys http://www.pscpowersteer.com have some sort of "fix" for gimp SD setups - whether it be the pump, remote reservoir or gear.
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Kevin Curry
Staff Writer: www.ROCKCRAWLER.com
[email protected]
http://www.texas4x4.com
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- |
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Dave Guard
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• West Chester, OH, USA |
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• Registered on 3/19/2003 |
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• 14 posts |
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Posted:12/17/2003 08:45 |
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Monsta, Kevin,
Thanks for the info. I had previously 'tightened' the steering gear. Still more investigation
to do. I'll also check with the folks at pscpowersteering to see if they have any quick
and easy diagnostic steps. There price seems resonable for a steering box replacement
(if it comes to that) - $160 plus core exchange.
Thanks,
Dave |
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RS-TX
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• Little River, TX, USA |
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• Registered on 11/22/2002 |
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• 298 posts |
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Posted:12/17/2003 13:22 |
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Dave, regarding tires, check out Cooper. They have a 265/75/16 in both highway and AT tread patterns. If I recall, they were $115 or so per tire. Plus, I really like my local dealer. Very friendly and easy to work with. Good luck.
Rick
2004 VW Jetta TDI |
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The_X_Family
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• Northern, CA, USA |
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• Registered on 1/20/2003 |
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• 63 posts |
• 1
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Posted:12/17/2003 20:49 |
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The sticking problem could be sleave around the steering shaft on the inside of the firewall, it has a round bearing of some kind. Mine made a scrapping noise and would stick slightly when the truck had sat for any lenght of the time.
Sorry for being so non technical, This was a noise that drive me crazy, it went back to my dealer three times. They greased it twiice before finnaly replacing the stupid thing.
I never really got under the dash and looked what they worked on.
Just Your Basic Mobile Familyroom
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monsta
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• The Big Island, HI, USA |
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• Registered on 1/5/2002 |
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• 1,056 posts |
• 2
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Posted:12/18/2003 01:15 |
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An easy thing to check is the steering dampner. You can remove it by removing the two bolts (15 minutes tops) that holds it on and see if the problem persists.
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Dave Guard
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• West Chester, OH, USA |
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• Registered on 3/19/2003 |
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• 14 posts |
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Posted:12/18/2003 08:15 |
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There's a lot of good information here. I also heard back from the folks at pscpowersteeting.com,
that Kevin recommended. Apparently, another fix for the wandering could be to add more caster.
This is done by adding an angled shim between the leaf stack and the axle (I looked up caster in
the shop manual and it is indeed a documented procedure).
After I check everything out to make sure there isn't a specific problem component to repair or
replace, then I'll see what can be done in the alignment department. Has anyone ever had
a major alighment done ? How much would you expect to pay ? It looks like a major operation.
Setting the toe is easy but the camber/caster adjustment require replacing an eccentric bushing at
the ball joints and/or adding the angle shim under the leaf stack.
RS-TX, How do you like the Cooper tires and how many miles so far ? Specifically, what about trackability on the road and handling in general ?
The_X_family, I'll check out the steering column but have not had any noises from that area.
Monsta, I had previously replaced the steering stabilizer and it behaved the same, before and after, so that problably rules it out. Good suggestion though.
Thanks again,
Dave |
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