I have a 03 f350 4x4 long bed 4door with 93k miles and a 4-6" lift on stock pitman arm I believe. Since I bought the truck in Jan its had really stiff steering. In the beginning it wasnt that big of a deal but now I have to parallel park on the street because my car port was turned into a garage and my truck won't fit. On top of that I bought a boat and on Sat i was trying to back the boat into a spot and it was the most difficult thing ever. At idle id say it has about 150-200 lbs of resistance in both directions. When I'm moving however it steers fine.

Just wondering if any one has ever had the same issue or what it takes to fix this because if I have to use my wifes jeep to tow my boat again I'm gonna shoot my self haha.

I checked the powersteering pump and all seems fine no leaks fluid is good and no abnormal noises. I was thing of getting a pitman arm drop down but was told it won't fix it and may even have negative results.

Thank you

 

Does it have a steering stabalizer?

 

Ya it looks like its the stock one as well

 

Was the truck aligned after the lift? Excessive caster can cause hard steering at low speed. I'd also recommend having a shop check the power steering pump and steering box, my old Honda was a bear to steer at low speeds after I removed the p/s belt, but higher speeds it handled fine. You might have a relief valve stuck open or something.

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Can you post clear front and side veiw photos of the suspension? Might be a geometry issue that someone MIGHT be able to discern. Maybe.

 

Definitely sounds like a power steering pump issue. They will always steer easier at speed since the tires are already rolling. The hardest time to steer is when you're not moving at all.

 

I thought a drop pitman arm was a must on anything lifted over 4 inches

 

You got that right.

Plus the gear box and pump are junk in these trucks.

Here is a link to my new gear box/pump and hydro assist.

Couple shots of my new hydrosteer - PowerStrokeNation : Ford Powerstroke Diesel Forum

 

Steering stabilizers are a joke and only mask problems! I don't have one and I've rolled 14.5x34.5 Toyo A/Ts WITHOUT issue.

What size are your tires? 315s shoudn't give you any issues with steering at a stop. The 365s I use to have were a bear to steer at a stop, but that was the ONLY time. A groaning noise is usually the pump taking a dump, if that's not there, could be the box. A 4 inch lift without a dropped pitman arm is a bad idea. Kinda off subject, but is there a trac bar drop bracket as well?

 

Its normally either the p/s pump or the gear, the pump doesnt creat the flow it need to turn the bigger tires at a stop, power brake it and get up to 1500rpm or 2000 and see if it gets better. If it doesnt then youll be looking more towards the gear, the stock Ford steering boxes are crap. Make sure to check the color of the fluid too, if its not a reddish color flush it, that helps too.

 

IIRC the brake power booster and power steering share something together. I have experienced loss of PS while braking hard or even while on the brakes. Start simple flush the brake fluid out, check the PS fluid levels.