Steering issue

[Jwithing]

Hey all, could use some help diagnosing a steering issue. I'm getting resistance at low speeds, somewhat intermittent when turning. I figured I needed a power steering flush and felt like an idiot when dobbs gave me the keys back since I forgot it was electric steering. I'm not getting an whining or grinding noises. However, I have heard a couple times it sounds like something is rolling around in my truck bed towards the driver side for a second. It's not really possible for me to look around the vehicle at the moment since I fractured three vertebrae last weekend. Not sure if the electric power steering is going bad or some other root cause?

Truck is lifted with 37's, which have 5K miles and we're rotated a week ago by dobbs. 85K miles. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Burla]

It sounds like you don't even know if it front or back? I'd have someone turn each wheel jacked up in N to see if it is spinning free. First thing I think of is brake caliper, have you done a brake bleed/flush? Warped rotor can also do this. let us know of it is front wheels or rear wheels and rule our brake.rotors to move forward. Maybe bad wheel bearing could account for that sound, hard to say. If you pull the wheel left to right, a bad wheel bearing might reveal itself.

 

[huntergreen]

Any codes ?

 

[indept]

Try spraying some wd40 or CRC on the u-joint that is inline with the steering shaft that goes from the steering wheel to the steering box. This is a common problem with our trucks.

 

[Burla]

Didn't have any of this before the tires rotated?

 

[Jwithing]

It sounds like you don't even know if it front or back? I'd have someone turn each wheel jacked up in N to see if it is spinning free. First thing I think of is brake caliper, have you done a brake bleed/flush? Warped rotor can also do this. let us know of it is front wheels or rear wheels and rule our brake.rotors to move forward. Maybe bad wheel bearing could account for that sound, hard to say. If you pull the wheel left to right, a bad wheel bearing might reveal itself.

Sound is coming from the back. I have new ebc brakes and rotors about 10-15K miles ago. Oddly enough, about 8 months ago my caliper pins came out on the passenger side and my caliper was popping up and down. Somehow they backed out a year after my brake job. Wheel bearing did cross my mind, but would that cause difficulty in turning the steering wheel?

Try spraying some wd40 or CRC on the u-joint that is inline with the steering shaft that goes from the steering wheel to the steering box. This is a common problem with our trucks.

Steering shaft wouldn't surprise me especially since it has a 6 inch lift

Any codes ?

I've had a P219a code for awhile and have been getting two associated cylinder misfire codes lately with the intense cold. A couple of weeks ago I was driving in a snow storm with snow all over the road. I felt one of the rear tires catch some bare pavement and the service 4wd light came on. Never came back once the vehicle was restarted.

Didn't have any of this before the tires rotated?

Nope, tires were rotated last Friday, gf drove me to ER Sunday morning and it had been parked ever since before today. GF said she thought the steering was a little funky when she was driving and she's a car gal that has owned several lifted trucks herself.

The steering was completely fine when I left dobbs but after a few minutes, the resistance came back. I also haven't tried, but I don't believe the wheel can be fully turned at the moment while the vehicle is not in motion. I didn't try because I didn't want to mess anything up and I can't physically exert that much force at the moment with my back issue.

 

[Jwithing]

Took the truck in to get looked at. Got a call back in an hour stating the steering column u-joint has no grease (they blame the ceramic jba LT headers for melting the grease out). They gave a price of $630 to replace the ujoint and I gave them the green light. After an hour or so, I started to second guess the price being high and sure enough, that does seem high after looking online. Am I getting gouged here or does the LT headers make the job more difficult due to clearance?

 

[PCK9]

Cost me over $700 for the same thing. It did fix the problem so I guess I had no choice.

 

[smoothee]

Yeah that does seem a bit steep. I changed mine with headers too and it wasn't a big deal.

 

[Jwithing]

Cost me over $700 for the same thing. It did fix the problem so I guess I had no choice.

That makes me feel a little better then.

Yeah that does seem a bit steep. I changed mine with headers too and it wasn't a big deal.

Yeah, I hate to spend that kind of money for something I should be able to easily do myself, but I don't have a choice at the moment unfortunately.

How many miles did you both have when it went out?

 

[smoothee]

Yeah I hear ya, that happens. My truck only has 60k miles but it's 10 years old (9 at the time I changed it). It's a pretty common issue, especially with me being on the east coast so mine was rusted pretty bad and U-joint toast

 

[indept]

Did they say why it cost so much? Do they have to pull the steering box to get to it?

 

[Jwithing]

Did they say why it cost so much? Do they have to pull the steering box to get to it?

2.2 hours labor to replace plus .5 hour analysis to determine issue. $224 for new steering shaft and $30 misc parts and overhead.