Steering shaft loose.
 

01 2.3l Duratec XL RWD

while working under the hood the other day I thought I’d see if I could diagnose a constant pulling to the right, during acceleration, braking, coasting. I’ve had countless alignments, replaced the brakes, calipers and rotors along with the entire front end suspension. It kept pulling to the right after every change.

under the hood I grabbed the column leading to the steering wheel in the cab. With just my hand I could rotate it slightly to the right but could not going to the left. That seems off to me.

Does anyone know about the steering components and what would maybe lead to this kind of play and if it’s fixable?

thanks in advance.

There is a "rag joint" on the steering shaft in the engine bay, its between the two shafts, limits vibrations and sudden jerks

And there is an adjustment on the steering box, although if thats out I would expect movements in both directions, i.e. loose steering

Pulling can be one front wheel is harder to turn that the other
If possible jack up both wheels and spin them, see if one slows down much faster than the other, could be failing hub bearing or sticking caliper

The flex lines on front brakes can break internally and act as a valve, it holds a bit of pressure in the caliper causing a drag
So pump the brakes a few time then test the spin on each front wheel

Thanks. @RonD

I’ll look more at this rag joint. I have literally thrown and tried everything else to make this truck drive straight. When I replaced the bad caliper I did everything again from the bearings out. I spun both wheels and then had it rotated, balanced and alighted. It’s gotta be something with the linkage, I could twist that whole column 1/8 to 1/4 turn to the right very easily and not to the left. When the truck is just sitting with the wheels straight, the steering wheel wants to turn left.

OOPS
I think the 2001 had rack and pinion steering and that may be the issue

Rack and pinion works like this: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Z1Y14AejfQU/maxresdefault.jpg
The rack has line of teeth on a shaft and the steering shaft has a gear/pinion, the pinion moves the rack left or right and that moves the rack shaft, wheel's tie rods are connected to each end of the rack

Earlier steering works like this: https://www.motortrend.com/f/9288518...ound%7C875:492
Steering shaft has a gear inside the steering box, it moves the "pitman" arm left and right, which moves the track rod and then tie rods, also needs an idler arm on opposite frame rail

Rack and pinion
If the steering wheel seems harder to turn on one direction with rack and pinion, it could be power assist in that direction is being limited, or the rack has an internal issue
With wheels off the ground and engine OFF, was it harder to turn in one direction?
That would denote a rack issue

With engine on, power assist active, and its easier to turn one way than the other then may be an obstruction or valve issue in the fluid lines

@RonD

To answer your question the resistance is the same in both directions after the first 1/8 - 1/4 turn to the right. As soon as we get rolling the steering wheel immediately wants to sit in that grove. It’s only in that 1/8 -1/4 turn that anything feels loose. When I was rotating the shaft under the hood, it felt like something was trying but failing to stop the rotation. Kinda like a catch rising over a ratchet lock, so your teeth thing seems on the money. It did not do anything or move a hair to the left when I tried to manipulate it.