Actually, the Lazarsmith bushings are adjustable by being offset 1/16th of inch for every inch of lift.........or in my case 1/8th of an inch for a 2 inch leveling kit. I believe the Lazarsmith bushings are adjustable up to 8 inches of lift. You don't have to buy a whole new track bar, just the off-set bushings will correct the difference.

 

What keeps the bushing from rotating?

 

... a significant amount of installed compression from the bushing's machined tolerances.

 

I wonder if some of the steering box failures are also due to operators turning their wheels while the truck is NOT moving. Seems to me with the weight of the motor on the front wheels and the truck not moving that would create a lot more stress on the steering box. IMO..

 

Thank you, sir.




Sometimes that's unavoidable, though. The gearbox should be able to handle it.

 

IMO, turning oversized tires while stopped is one of the most abusive scenarios for the steering gear.

While testing the SSSSS prototype a couple of years ago, we discovered without our stabilizer that even 20# of lateral pressure on the sector shaft made a noticeable increase in steering effort (front wheels off ground, engine off)... back on the ground, you could watch the shaft flex when the Pitman arm moved.

 

Turning ANY steering without the wheel in motion/stationary positioning is hard on a steering gear box, you should always at least attempt some wheel rotation fwd/back when cranking on the steering. It will take a little of the pressure off the box, better something than nothing.

I have 2 identical Ford ranch trucks, one I drive and one another person drives. I always try to be rolling a little when turning the steering, the other person does not, just cranks at a dead stop. I have replaced the steering pump once at about 225K on the truck I drive, and 3 times on the other truck in about 175K.

CD

 

At around 4-5000 km from new I started having problems with the steering, you could flip the wheel lock to lock with one finger. The dealer adjusted it back and forth so many times until the warranty ran out then I adjusted it. I would remove the box from the truck do the bearing preload first then finish the adjustment with the box back in the truck. At first the adjustment lasted for awhile but in the end you couldn't drive around the block. I often maneuver the truck without the engine running (slight down hill) at least I used to, I think that had a lot to do with the problem. I changed out the steering box and installed a DSS and don't move it much without the engine running, so far no problems but I sure miss the ease of parking.