2003 steering issue. Dead spots?

[jim midd]

After sitting much of the winter my 2003 has gotten hard to steer. Almost seems like their are "dead spots" when turning the wheel in either direction. Fluid level is good. This is my beach truck so I dont drive it far or often , but I'd like to address this as it's a pain especially at low speeds. Any advice on where to begin is greatly appreciated

 

[Plati]

Sounds like the classic "lower steering shaft" problem. Guess it depends on what you mean by "dead spots". Stiff and binding while turning? I paid $412 to get mine replaced, probably could have done it myself. Temp fix is penetrating oil but really needs to be replaced if thats it. Its the knuckle you can see looking down inside hood.

 

[DF5.4]

Check the u joints on the steering shaft. Spray them down with WD-40 and see if that loosens it up.

 

[jim midd]

Ok. I read about that affecting f150s and such so was just gonna go ahead and try to replace but when I looked on Amazon and rock auto I didn't see one listed so I thought maybe the espy used a different set up. I crawl under in a bit and check it out. How involved Is swapping this out if it turns out to be the problem?

 

[jim midd]

Looks like that's what it is. Is this a big a PITA as it looks to change. I couldn't even see it from under the truck! Any guess as to how long I can just spraying it down as needed. Like I said, it's an old truck that I only use on the beach. I think I drove it 4k miles all last year and that's above average.

Oh, and thanks for the quick responses. This is a great group

 

[DF5.4]

My 07 would do that and I could spray it and it was good for a few months in the summer. In the winter i would need to spray it every few weeks. The problem is if the u joints are coming apart and the bearings start falling out.

 

[jim midd]

Did you fix it yourself? If so how involved was it? I like this truck but it seems like everything in the engine compartment is so tight. It drives me crazy

 

[Bain64]

Did you fix it yourself? If so how involved was it? I like this truck but it seems like everything in the engine compartment is so tight. It drives me crazy

It's not too bad, here's a video of the replacement

 

[DF5.4]

Mine was just gummed up and needed sprayed. I looked into replacing it if I had to and it looked like it's a bolt on the top and bottom. If I remember right you need to go through the driver side wheel well with extensions to get to the bottom one. The problem was the shaft was dealer only and not cheap.

 

[jim midd]

. The problem was the shaft was dealer only and not cheap.

That explains why i didn't see one on Rock auto or anywhere else. Thanks. Is it possible mine just seized from sitting all winter. Fingers crossed , lol