Trainmaster
Old School Member
As regular readers know, these trucks have a problem with the universal joints on their steering shafts. They bind and the steering becomes stiff.
Today I changed the *****.
There's a 13mm pinch bolt on the top of the shaft and a 10mm pinch bolt on the bottom. The top is easy. The bottom will try your skill and patience if you're working on the ground. There's factory Loktite on them so you need some muscle and a good socket to get them out without stripping the heads. They fight you till the end.
Remove the air cleaner top and unclip the EGR hose.
After setting and locking the wheel right, you can reach the bottom one with a 6" extension working from under the under the truck around the radiator hose. Once you get the crimp bolts out you can hammer the bottom of the shaft up free from another spot right below the steering gear.
The new ones go in at 22 ft-lbs with blue Loctite.
About two hours of cursing.
The Motorcraft replacement from Tasca is $130. If you're that guy who trusts Chinese steering parts, you can get a knockoff on Ebay or Amazon for $15. Good luck with that.
When your time comes you'll have fun with this one. Certainly no job for a winter day.
Today I changed the *****.
There's a 13mm pinch bolt on the top of the shaft and a 10mm pinch bolt on the bottom. The top is easy. The bottom will try your skill and patience if you're working on the ground. There's factory Loktite on them so you need some muscle and a good socket to get them out without stripping the heads. They fight you till the end.
Remove the air cleaner top and unclip the EGR hose.
After setting and locking the wheel right, you can reach the bottom one with a 6" extension working from under the under the truck around the radiator hose. Once you get the crimp bolts out you can hammer the bottom of the shaft up free from another spot right below the steering gear.
The new ones go in at 22 ft-lbs with blue Loctite.
About two hours of cursing.
The Motorcraft replacement from Tasca is $130. If you're that guy who trusts Chinese steering parts, you can get a knockoff on Ebay or Amazon for $15. Good luck with that.
When your time comes you'll have fun with this one. Certainly no job for a winter day.
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