QuestionI have hard spots in my steering that starts at a half turn or less, the truck is a 4x4 1500 that was a mud truck and was parked for awhile. when the truck was parked it didn't have any hard spots, and is well maintained. im not to sure what the issue is, the fluids look ok and don't seem to be contaminated. Thx in advance for any help.
AnswerDepending on what year truck you have!? A number of different components could be partially seized, causing the hard steering feeling. I will assume that your power steering pump is not making noise or labouring to make pressure when you turn. Here are some things you can try to narrow down what is binding up on you. After each suggestion, try the steering to see if it feels better.
1. remove the shaft where it attaches to your steering box (don't let the wheel spin around in circles, have someone hold it in place so that you can reinstal it in the same orientation) If the steering feels ok with this removed, it isn't in your column or steering shaft, it is somewhere down the line
2.raise the front end and try it. This may help to determine if it is a lower ball joint, with the weight removed from the ball joint it may turn easier
3. disonnect one tie rod end from the spindle and try it, then the other end and try it.
4. disconnect the idler arm from the steering linkage and try the idler arm by hand back and forth to see if it is tight
5. Continue to disconnect bits and peices until you find something that makes the steering feel better.
It sounds teadious but there is no sure fire way to pin point what is causing something like that. The last case I had similar to this was on a Toyota Camry, and it turned out to be a seized intermediate shaft universal joint. But I went through the entire process above, except I disonnected the steering shaft last!
Hope this helps
