Can you offer insight into my Truck?

[Chick_a_dee]

On December 21st I was involved in a car accident on my road. I was hit head on (or thereabouts) by our rural mail delivery car coming round the bend on our road. My truck suffered substantional damage to the front drivers side including a broken drive shaft. Damage came to about $9000 in total and since I was at no fault it was covered by our insurance company.

If you look really carefully you'll see that my wheels were turned to the right (while facing the truck) and the steering wheel was turned to the left. I don't remember everything that happened but it seems I was swerving as the other driver was hitting me.

We got the truck back from Carstar yesterday and already there seems to still be problems! When driving straight the steering wheel MUST be pointed to the left a little otherwise it'll veer off to the right. The steering seems very loose and when going over potholes it seems to shake/rattle in hand. I've also noticed today that when driving through slush the truck will pull to the right and the steering wheel will pull to the left (left/right from the viewpoint of being in the drivers seat).

We have low tire pressure sensors in our truck tires and our low pressure sensor has been on since we got the truck back and none of the tires seem to be low. The 2 wheels on the drivers side are both brand new, the back one blew out a couple months ago and was replaced right away and the front was replaced when the truck got fixed after the accident.

I noticed on the list of parts used in fixing the truck they noted they replaced the Steering gear box, could this improperly installed cause the weird steering issues?

Any thoughts appreciated.

For reference the truck is a 2008 F-150, 4x4, 5.4L V8

 

[beerman]

Almost sounds like ball joints to me.

 

[Tala]

Well it could just be that it needs re-aligned. If you have to constantly steer left to avoid the ditch, your toe-in/out probably needs to be adjusted. It's easy to do with two people and a tape measure, but I can't exactly recall the specifics because my dad's the one who knows what he's doing. I just help hold the tape.
I DO know that I took my truck in for a $120 "alignment" because it was eating up tires on the outside edges (sign of bad toe-out I think) and still had to adjust the toe-in MYSELF, so I guess you specifically have to ask about it?? I dunno. I get my dad to do it now that I know, much cheaper.


I'm not really sure what makes the steering "loose" - mine is and I LIKE it that way. I just can't quite get accustomed to new vehicles with super-stiff steering

I know there is some looseness in the steering linkage part that goes into the power steering box, so maybe that's where yours is too. Don't know how to fix it. I recently had to replace my power steering box because the seal went out, and it didn't affect my steering all that much.


When driving on slush if the wheel is going one way and the truck the other - you're probably just sliding or hydroplaning. I've felt that experience driving through rain puddles. Slowing down usually solves it

 

[Chick_a_dee]

I'm not hydroplaning, before the crash the truck would just plow through the slush like nothing. On the ice we tend to slip but we don't have snow tires lol and I don't like to drive on our road with 4x4 on cause it's much harder to get out of the ditch if you used 4x4 to get into it!! hahaha.

My neighbour mentioned it could be something to do with straps that hold the steering column? It got quite the workout when I got hit.

I wouldn't/shouldn't have to pay for the repairs since it was an insurance claim and Carstar has a warranty program.

Carstar said the wheels aligned fine when they did it, he wasn't sure if it would align due to the damage but they didn't have any problems and now I'm kind of afraid to drive it. It feels different, weird to drive like at any moment it could just come apart.

It feels like its flailing all over the place now, when before it was fine.

 

[Tala]

Quote:
Like I said, I got an "alignment" and they didn't set the toe-in/out thing properly. Just because they said it "aligned" doesn't mean jack IMO. To check the toe in/out you have to measure the distance between the front wheels at the back of the wheel and at the front of the wheel. I can't recall what the correct difference is supposed to be though, so I only have half the information. Sorry 'bout that.
What put mine out of kilter was bending 2 rims on a curb, and my dad thinks I might have bent some piece of the frame, so yeah, the impact will do it!

Could you take it somewhere else, even just for a test drive/inspection/diagnosis kinda thing??
I'm inclined to think that something is still "off" and Carstar isn't fixing it properly, but hard to tell online.

Although, it could just be "nothing" -- you could have just prematurely aged your truck 15-years' worth of bumping and rattling! I mean, just from your description it sounds like your 2008 is driving like my 1992 does!

 

[Hilltopper46]

Take it back to the repair shop and tell them it isn't driving right. If they give you any crap, call your insurance company and tell them the truck isn't fixed correctly and seems unsafe to you when you drive it. We can't fix vehicles on an internet forum - all you will get is opinions from people who can't see, touch or drive the vehicle.

 

[ams3651]

the only insight i can offer is to keep taking it back till its right. after an accident front end several years ago I took my car back 5 times till they got it right. After the 3rd time I had my ride leave me there so if it still wasnt right they had to give me a loaner. One time my tail lights didnt work, breaks or nothing and they wanted me to bring it in! I said no way and made them come and get it. Nice thing is, 3 months later something told me to have it checked out. Took it to another body shop and they found $2000 of repairs made improperly or not at all. The insurance co made the first shop pay for those repairs. Trust your instincts and demand it be fixed properly.

 

[Sonoran Silkies]

Quote:

It needs to be diagnosed by an honest to goodness mechanic.

 

[Chick_a_dee]

It's going back on Monday, unfortunately we got it back New Years Eve -_- I suspect the insurance company was lighting a fire under their butts cause they were paying for our rental too. We have to have a truck because of our driveway and our farm so the insurance company was paying for an 09 F-150. Unfortunately it's our only car and we'll be stuck 35 minutes from home in the city and an hours walk from the Enterprise.

I was just looking for things I could bring up to them. I'm thinking it has something to do with the steering column, if you look at the photo of the truck front on the tires are going on way and the steering wheel is going the other. The other car hit me as I was swerving away from her.

My dad was telling me that when he rear-ended someone in his Ford Explorer all the seals started breaking in the engine and the thing had to be trashed as an engine rebuild would cost over $4000. I'm hoping we can get this fixed really quick and properly, the insurance should cover it but Carstar said we have a guarantee for as long as we own the truck. We can't take it anywhere else due to it being involved in a car accident and that the insurance paid out on the claim. The problem is that our insurance company has approved repair shops and Carstar is just about it unless we have it towed/drive it to TORONTO, that's 2 hours west of here with no way home.

This is sooo lame, I have to go to the dump tomorrow and to the lumber mill regardless of the condition of the truck or else my horses run-in shed will never get finished!

 

[Chick_a_dee]

Oh and in the head on shot of the truck, that minivan in the right back of the photo is what hit me! All this damage caused by a minivan. Geez. She was on my side of the road and the best part? She still has her job.