steering acting up

[Kaiza]

cant figure this one out
going down the highway today and as soon as i got up to 60ish (km/h)
i felt a wobble in the steering wheel, like shimmy coming, but i never had a tire shimmy with this truck...
so i got up to 90 and it got pretty bad, almost felt like a flat coming on...
anyhow i get out and cant see anything wrong....
on the way back it seemed normal again....

we had some heavy snow yesterday and now i'm thinking maybe there was some ice build up on the road that caused this.... could this be?
never had this happen like that

thx
k

[jr78f150]

check the track bar bushings and make sure they are tight,check the bolts on the track bar mounting bracket next to the steering box (the ones that attach it to the frame) and make sure they are tight. also check the mounting bolt at the other end to make sure the hole in the houseing isnt worn. the best way to check this stuff is to have someone start the truck and work the steering wheel back and forth just enough to make the tires move a little while you watch all this stuff for play.i had the bolts work loose on the bracket on the frame a couple times and it did that. it didnt do it all the time though,it would start when i hit a pothole or dip in the road and wouldnt stop until i stopped or came close to a stop then took off again. it could be other things also,a chunk of ice froze on one of the wheels and then came lose.

[Kaiza]

thanks guys.. will give the truck a good once over tomorrow, ice build up on the wheel sounds very likely...
i hope thats all it was

cheers
k

[streetcar]

it could be ice build up but 2nd vote for other things listed above.

[buffs 78 ford]

Everytime that happens its always been my trac bar bushings. Always the one under the leaking power steering pump

[J&SBroncolvrs]

Could be your tire tread separating.

[blythe_mechanic]

could be tires, snow,or steering and suspension
in theses trucks its usualy the track bar, my truck has this concern every few years, these trucks have a known concern with track rod load, wich kills the bushings

also ckeck the attachment point at the axel, its a week point and the bolt tends too loosen up and wobble out the hole in the axel housing, theres a updated bolt from most off road companys out there

[jr78f150]

Everytime that happens its always been my trac bar bushings. Always the one under the leaking power steering pump

yep,oil will destroy rubber. blythe is right,you can buy a kit that comes with a special drill bit and a larger diameter bolt to fix the worn out hole at the xale end.i did what i intended to be a temporary fix on my f150 once that i ended up leaveing for several yrs until i sold the truck.i was working out of town and staying in my camper so i borrowed one of our welders welder and hood and welded around the bolt head then drove a few very small homemade brass shims in around the front side of the bolt with a small flat punch then tightened the nut good and tight. worked great so i ran it that way for several years.i was planning on buying a kit to fix it once i got home but never did. im not recommending this method though because if your not careful you can get the bolt too hot and change the srength of it causeing it to eventually break