Wheel won't turn left after lift

bricewise · May 11, 2013

Hey guys. Was helping a friend put on a lift after mine went so well. After we finished, we noticed his wheel won't turn left and its not hitting anything. Is this just an adjustment to the turn buckle on the drag link or is this something else? He's got an 2011 F250 CC with 4 inch lift

GO BIG OR GO HOME · May 11, 2013

Did this lift replace pitman arm?

sent while doing burnouts somewhere in the country

NotStock · May 11, 2013

I would guess you installed the pitman arm an alignment key off. Call me if you need advice, 520-465-7971.

bricewise · May 11, 2013

Didn't replace pitman arm. Just Pan rod. Calling it a night gonna take a look tomorrow at it.

mint-6oh · May 11, 2013

did you adjust the drag link to center the steering wheel? I have seen a drag link adjusted to far cause this

Betarocker · May 12, 2013

Sometimes a bit more info is needed, and pictures can help diagnose issues too.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say you guys screwed something up.

bricewise · May 12, 2013

Some tinkering with the drag link and track bar fixed that issue. Have turning in both directions. Only issue now is his steering seems to be wondering on him hopefully its just an alignment issue and not something more insidious.

bricewise · May 14, 2013

So the saga continues....now it turns fine but there is a **** ton of play in the steering wheel...seems like a dangerous amount.. Looking at Pittman arm it doesn't seem to be loose but I'm an amatuer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WyH8PkYUVN0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQCdCwd8BEw

Do you guys have any ideas? Do we need to tighten pan end? Hell I dunno. I can provide more pictures if you guys need it. Help would be greatly appreciated

CSIPSD · May 15, 2013

Put a drop pitman arm on the damn thing. Holy hell what an angle.

bricewise · May 15, 2013

Which angle are you talking about? And have any pictures of what angle should be

OBS F350 · May 15, 2013

When checking for play in the steering you want to just bump the steering side to side, stopping when you feel it grab then going the other way. Can't tell if anythings loose when you crank it to full lock slowly like that. What kit did you use? Should have came with a drop pitman arm even if it's a cheap lift.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong because I'm on the verge of falling asleep, but I believe you want your drag link (connects the pitman arm to tie rod) to run as close to parallel with the trac bar/pan hard bar as possible.

I bet your issues should be resolved with a drop pitman arm and an alignment.

91turbogsx · May 15, 2013

He doesn't have a trac bar drop either so if he does a drop pitman arm it'll be out of wack. Most kits will come with a drop pitman arm and trac bar bracket.

Betarocker · May 15, 2013

Check the caster angle when doing an alignment. The coil sprung (2005+) Superduties are prone to driveability issues when altering suspension.

The draglink should be on the most shallow angle possible. This allows for the greatest lateral power. The tracbar (panhard bar) should follow the angle of the draglink as closely as possible. This is to negate bump steer.

To check for worn tierod ends (tie rod and drag link), have someone turn the steering wheel side to side with the engine OFF. You don't need to make the tires steer, you only want to see it there is movement in the components. Check all tie rod ends, ball joints, pitman arm to sector shaft, track bar bracket, trackbar ends. You can also check the hubs for play this way.

OBS F350 · May 16, 2013

Betarocker said:
Check the caster angle when doing an alignment. The coil sprung (2005+) Superduties are prone to driveability issues when altering suspension.

The draglink should be on the most shallow angle possible. This allows for the greatest lateral power. The tracbar (panhard bar) should follow the angle of the draglink as closely as possible. This is to negate bump steer.

To check for worn tierod ends (tie rod and drag link), have someone turn the steering wheel side to side with the engine OFF. You don't need to make the tires steer, you only want to see it there is movement in the components. Check all tie rod ends, ball joints, pitman arm to sector shaft, track bar bracket, trackbar ends. You can also check the hubs for play this way.

Yep forgot to add that you don't need the engine running.

SAK · May 16, 2013

What brand lift did you put on?

Sent from my jacked up tapatalk 2

bricewise · May 16, 2013

Icon....which is why I'm confused.....we pretty much have similar systems and his is all jacked up and mine is pretty flawless at least in my mind. Guess this is what happens when you have amateurs installing ****.

Hate to change the subject but figured maybe someone could answer this as well instead of having to start a new thread. I've noticed recently everytime I hit a bump I hear a loud bang/click on the rear passenger side. Does this have something to do with the traction bars? I can't think of anything else.

SAK · May 16, 2013

The slop that you are feeling can come from either the top trac bar bolt not being tight enough (has to be torqued to over 300 ft/lb) or the bolts in the adjusting sleeve not tight. Check those.

On the noise from you traction bars, something maybe loose.

Sent from my jacked up tapatalk 2

NotStock · May 16, 2013

Could be something loose on the traction bars but we use poly races joints so there shouldn't be any noises whatsoever.

You may want to check your exhaust and exhaust hangers. Sometimes they can work themselves loose and rotate around to the point where something makes contact.