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I own an 1985 Ford F150 300 inline 6 cylinder engine 2 wheel drive truck that is having suspension issues. It has 4 inch suspension lift and 3 inch body lift with rough country shocks on the front end. I have had the truck for 2 years and never had problems with suspension but recently when driving between 30-45 mph the front end will begin shaking hard and rattling the truck like it cant find alignment or center balance. Recent repair and maintanence includes oil change, oil filter, plugs, wires, PCV valve, fuel filter, fuel pump, power steering pump. Also did both front end sides brakes, rotors, calipers, tie rod ends, seals etc. Adjusted alignment to see if it would eliminate or reduce shaking but no luck. I am moderately mechanically inclined but if I cant fix the problem I may have to take it to mechanics shop. Advice or help is appreciated and I will answer questions. Thanks.  

Well Here's the one thing i will do is check at the U joint at the frount of the hog's head ,,and at the drive gear next to the seal of the body!!!! (use force) To see if there's play there ,,the drive pinon gear may be worn out ,,i did on my f-150 done the same thing shank raddle and roll thing ... thanks  

i have found that too much play in the steering box will do this...

with the steering wheels straight ahead...

the engine off... reach through the window... wiggle the steering wheel back and forth slightly .. see the amount of play before the wheels start to move..    more than an inch and a half with the engine off is too much...

try the same thing with the engine running..

if you have play ... then you need to have somebody wiggle the steering wheel back and forth just enough to start moving the tires.. while you look under the truck and see where the play is...

it could be in a loose from the frame steering box..

it could be loose in the box adjustment..  where the steering shaft moves and the pitman does not...  this is adjustable.. but post for complete instructions... you can mess this up big time..


look at the pitman shaft where it sticks out of the box..  is it wiggling back and forth...  if so.. the box will need to be replaced...


look at the various tie rod ends..     see if the tie rod is moving and there is a delay in the part it is attached too...  this indicates the tie rods need to be changed...

you might also have play in the King pins...   you have to jack up one wheel...   then have a friend lift the wheel while you look at the king pin area... see if there is any play...  king pins and bushings are replaceable..  there is one thing..  wait.. i will have to look... i don't know if your truck uses ball joints in the front end..  same test..     yes.. your truck uses ball joints... so they could be going bad...



laying down under the front of the truck and having somebody work the steering wheel usually takes me less than 2 minutes to examine each piece of the steering linkage...

the whole exam might take 5 minutes..

with a lift kit...   you might also make sure the steering box is not twisting the end of the frame horn as it tries to steer the tires...