Gary Lewis Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 On today's to-do list!! Operation remove-sloppiness! I just removed the old steering gear, and man that's a heavy chunk of iron to lower out of there with a bum shoulder. This thing has been sitting on my bench all wrapped up in the original box since November, or whenever that last sale was...Thanksgiving I believe, or maybe Christmas. By the way, I'm really pleased with the RedHead steering gear. I got it installed yesterday and followed the instructions to the letter regarding the priming part. I was a little disappointed at first...I think I thought that the steering was going to feel like a brand new truck...lol (A 2019 truck). Now it feels like a new 1984 truck! Anyway, the steering is much tighter than before. Once out on the highway and on the back roads, it felt great. The steering in this truck is as good as it is going to get...there is nothing left to replace in the front end. I still have a swaybar to install, but I'm going to wait and leave it for a winter project. I tore the drivers front fender off the truck today. What a pita job that is when the majority of the screws are rusted/seized in place. Some of them were easy...the rest not so much. Pulled the fender liner to clean it all up as well. I have a new set of fenders and stone guard or whatever it is called I'm going to get it all installed before taking it in to the body shop for paint. If all goes well I'll be dropping it off a week from Monday so they can get started on it. Yes! Tight steering! Makes a wonderful difference. No, these trucks aren't modern, meaning they never drove as well as a modern truck. But, they can drive very well. Dad's truck did on an old steering box, so I can only imagine what it'll be like with the RedHead box and all new ball joints, tie rods, etc. And, no crack in the frame. Oh yes, polyurethane bushings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Cecil Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 Yes! Tight steering! Makes a wonderful difference. No, these trucks aren't modern, meaning they never drove as well as a modern truck. But, they can drive very well. Dad's truck did on an old steering box, so I can only imagine what it'll be like with the RedHead box and all new ball joints, tie rods, etc. And, no crack in the frame. Oh yes, polyurethane bushings. All this talk about tight Redheads....Gary I thought this was a family forum..... Anyway, since we are talking about modern steering....I drove the kids to the pool saturday in the tahoe. It rides so nice, and the steering is so spot on....I had an idea. I got my tape measure out when I got home. A 2009 Tahoe has the same wheelbase as an 82 flareside......hmmmm........117" exactly on both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 ..Gary I thought this was a family forum..... ....I dropped the kids at the pool saturday.... You realize the connotation, right??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rembrant Posted July 29, 2019 Author Share Posted July 29, 2019 No, these trucks aren't modern, meaning they never drove as well as a modern truck. But, they can drive very well. Dad's truck did on an old steering box, so I can only imagine what it'll be like with the RedHead box and all new ball joints, tie rods, etc. And, no crack in the frame. Oh yes, polyurethane bushings. Gary, I have now done it all...rebuilt steering column, all new ball joints and tie rods, tie-rod ends, etc. New axle beam bushings, new radius arms and radius arm bushings, and now a new tight steering box. The truck still wanders a little bit, and there is still a little play in the steering wheel. However, I don't think its the truck's fault. The wide rubber I'm running on the front wants to track with the ruts in the asphalt, and then a lot of the rural roads are excessively (and inconsistently) high centered, it makes the truck want to wander a little bit. If I was to switch from the 275/60/15 tires to something a little more road friendly like a 225/75/15 or a 235/75/15 (or the 215/75/15 that came on the truck) it would track much better on the road. Still, I did find some nice smooth and flat asphalt on the highway the other night, and the truck really did track/steer nicely with only one hand. I know a steering stabilizer is considered to be really unnecessary on a 2wd truck, but I'm wondering if it would help my truck be less sensitive to the ruts in the asphalt. For the price of a kit I may give it a try sometime...but it is low priority at the moment. The new rear swaybar has made some difference in the handling as well. The truck doesn't roll in the turns as bad as it did before. I think once the front one is installed it will help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Cecil Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 ..Gary I thought this was a family forum..... ....I dropped the kids at the pool saturday.... You realize the connotation, right??? Jim, you are a master....you picked right up on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 ..Gary I thought this was a family forum..... ....I dropped the kids at the pool saturday.... You realize the connotation, right??? Jim, you are a master....you picked right up on it. Cory - Sounds like your truck is just about "there" with regard to steering and suspension. However, have you tried increasing the front tire pressure a bit to see if it changes the tracking? Back in the 80's we had a Chevy Citation, aptly named because it had citations running all the way across the radiator support for all the recall programs it had endured. Anyway, it was the X10 model with wide tires from the factory. And it liked to track with the ruts and grooves. But I found that by increasing the tire pressure a few lbs it took most of that out. My guess has been that it caused the center of the tire to take more of the load and the edges quit grabbing the ruts. Jim/Ray - No, I don't realize the connotation. Do I want to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 Cory - Sounds like your truck is just about "there" with regard to steering and suspension. However, have you tried increasing the front tire pressure a bit to see if it changes the tracking? Back in the 80's we had a Chevy Citation, aptly named because it had citations running all the way across the radiator support for all the recall programs it had endured. Anyway, it was the X10 model with wide tires from the factory. And it liked to track with the ruts and grooves. But I found that by increasing the tire pressure a few lbs it took most of that out. My guess has been that it caused the center of the tire to take more of the load and the edges quit grabbing the ruts. Jim/Ray - No, I don't realize the connotation. Do I want to? No, no you don't. (but we DO have an emoji for it now) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Cecil Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 No, no you don't. (but we DO have an emoji for it now) Dropping the kids off at the pool... Taking the kids to the superbowl:nabble_poo-23_orig: Pinching a loaf:nabble_poo-23_orig: I will stop there........for now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 The truck still wanders a little bit, and there is still a little play in the steering wheel. However, I don't think its the truck's fault. The wide rubber I'm running on the front wants to track with the ruts in the asphalt, and then a lot of the rural roads are excessively (and inconsistently) high centered, it makes the truck want to wander a little bit. If I was to switch from the 275/60/15 tires to something a little more road friendly like a 225/75/15 or a 235/75/15 (or the 215/75/15 that came on the truck) it would track much better on the road. Still, I did find some nice smooth and flat asphalt on the highway the other night, and the truck really did track/steer nicely with only one hand. Cory, my truck rides on 215/75X15 [original]. It rides and steers well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1986F150Six Posted July 29, 2019 Share Posted July 29, 2019 Cory - Sounds like your truck is just about "there" with regard to steering and suspension. However, have you tried increasing the front tire pressure a bit to see if it changes the tracking? I run 3 PSI more in the front tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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