Steering wheel very sensitive after off-roading

[LSW]

Took my wildtrak off roading. After I aired from 20 back up to 35 upon leaving the trail I noticed my steering wheel seemed very sensitive. The steering is responsive & accurate - it's just that it takes ~30% less force to deflect the wheel than it did before. A few weeks later I tried rotating the tires and it didn't seem to matter. I (my wife) has another bronco (granted it's a non sasq OBX with different wheels/tires/gear) and it feels the way the wildtrak used to feel - now the wildtrak is just a bit too twitchy for my liking. Is there anything to check or any kind of friction adjustment for the steering sensitivity?

The only things I can think of that might've caused it is that I got stuck in the mud and had to get winched at one point, tried to get out in mud/ruts with both lockers and 4L, but it didn't matter and during the winch pull I had to do a lot of full deflection steering movements to help while giving it some power in reverse. Before that I did some medium speed ~10-15 mph stuff almost all in 4H baja, and it was a little bumpy with grapefruit sized rocks. Also left the front locker on for a few turns where it shouldn't have been on because I switched to Normal GOAT and either didn't follow through on the shift from 4 LO to 2 HI or for some reason while in normal GOAT the front locker remained armed to re-engage below 25. So yeah I'm a dumbass we can go ahead and get all the derision out of the way because rest assured I've already self flagellated enough over those mistakes, just want to know if there is anything I can do to fix it.

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[Brian_B]

It still turns fine and nothing clunks or is wobbly or anything?

 

[LSW]

It still turns fine and nothing clunks or is wobbly or anything?

Yep. I can steer it with just my index finger whereas before I needed a light grip on the wheel. I guess some might not consider that a bad thing it's just a little weird to me. It still tracks straight and doesn't drift.

 

[Brian_B]

The GOAT modes can affect the steering sensitivity. Maybe it just got confused during all the GOATing around?

I'd also ask if you've been underneath and just taken a peek at your tie rods - make sure nothing looks obvious there. Not that I can think of anything there that could make steering "easier"... maybe easy one way but hard the other.

Can try the easy reset and see if it makes any difference - at least it would eliminate "Electronic gremlins". Doesn't sound like anything mechanical is busted up, which is good.

General Reset for Wierdness
Unplug the negative battery terminal for about 5 minutes
Reconnect the negative terminal
This reboots all the modules and computers in the Bronco
Use a trickle charger rated for AGM batteries:
Connect (+) to the (+) battery terminal
Connect (-) to either chassis ground or the side tab on the (-) battery terminal
DO NOT connect directly to the (-) battery post
The BMS system must see the charger and going directly to the (-) battery post will bypass it.
Let the battery trickle charge over night. Low battery voltage, or just the BMS thinking there is low battery voltage, can cause a lot of odd things to occur and this corrects for that possibility.


Another thing to try, since GOAT modes have some input -- see if you can notice the difference between Normal, Sport (should be more sensitive) and Eco (should be less sensitive)

 

[LSW]

Thank you! The battery disconnect seems to have helped. I can feel the steering sensitivy increase during normal and eco modes now, once you start rolling above 5-10 mph it feels more like it used to. I apprecaite it. I didn't trickle charge it overnight but I didn't have any issues after disconnecting the battery negative terminal for 5 minutes.

 

[Bigmoose]

Your alignment is off. Get it checked out. The LCA alignment bolts are just sandwiched, so they can move with a good jolt.

its also possible you bent a tie rod enough to throw off the toe.

 

[LSW]

Your alignment is off. Get it checked out. The LCA alignment bolts are just sandwiched, so they can move with a good jolt.

its also possible you bent a tie rod enough to throw off the toe.

Ok thanks, I'll see if I can take it to an alighment shop to check it out.

 

[Jazer]

I would guess you bumped your alignment off.

 

[LSW]

Is the dealer the only option for alignment on these? I called a few independent shops and they said they won’t work on new broncos yet. Sadly taking it to the dealers in my area would probably be worse than just leaving it like it is.

 

[Ford Motor Company]

Took my wildtrak off roading. After I aired from 20 back up to 35 upon leaving the trail I noticed my steering wheel seemed very sensitive. The steering is responsive & accurate - it's just that it takes ~30% less force to deflect the wheel than it did before. A few weeks later I tried rotating the tires and it didn't seem to matter. I (my wife) has another bronco (granted it's a non sasq OBX with different wheels/tires/gear) and it feels the way the wildtrak used to feel - now the wildtrak is just a bit too twitchy for my liking. Is there anything to check or any kind of friction adjustment for the steering sensitivity?

The only things I can think of that might've caused it is that I got stuck in the mud and had to get winched at one point, tried to get out in mud/ruts with both lockers and 4L, but it didn't matter and during the winch pull I had to do a lot of full deflection steering movements to help while giving it some power in reverse. Before that I did some medium speed ~10-15 mph stuff almost all in 4H baja, and it was a little bumpy with grapefruit sized rocks. Also left the front locker on for a few turns where it shouldn't have been on because I switched to Normal GOAT and either didn't follow through on the shift from 4 LO to 2 HI or for some reason while in normal GOAT the front locker remained armed to re-engage below 25. So yeah I'm a dumbass we can go ahead and get all the derision out of the way because rest assured I've already self flagellated enough over those mistakes, just want to know if there is anything I can do to fix it.

Good morning, L! I would be glad to help you out with these alignment concerns should you need assistance. Just shoot us a PM with your VIN and dealer name/location, and I'll get right on it. To send a private message, just click on our username and select "Start Conversation". Thank you!

 

[Traveler]

If you're going to be doing a lot of off-roading, it might make sense to see if you have a Firestone near you that has an unlimited alignment deal.

 

[Brian_B]

Is the dealer the only option for alignment on these? I called a few independent shops and they said they won’t work on new broncos yet. Sadly taking it to the dealers in my area would probably be worse than just leaving it like it is.

Les Schwab (west coast tire shop chain) did my alignment and did a decent job at it. I have a lift, they said they had to use the SAS numbers to make it work in their machine — mine is a non-SAS model

 

[Bmadda]

I have an Independent shop, and I align mine all the time. My machine doesn't have specs for it yet, so I print out the specs from alldata and manually type them in (or just look at the printout while setting it)

 

[LSW]

op update: took it to a dealer and they said steering felt normal but they found a bent tie rod. Maybe that is what was causing me to notice a difference in feel.

Dealer said they’d try to get one but can’t even order the part. Gave the green light to keep driving it though. I’m not really sure exactly when it might’ve gotten bent during the day of my backcountry shenanigans. I was following a wrangler for a bit that day who was driving a bit too fast for my liking over some larger rocks, if I had to guess that was probably what did it.

I guess I will need to get some tie rod reinforcements.

 

[Brian_B]

I guess I will need to get some tie road reinforcements.

Just get a spare tie rod. Better to bend a $30 part that takes 30 minutes to replace than to reinforce it and blow out a $1300 steering box.

The Tricky Dick kit is nice, and even if you don’t spring for the entire thing, the tie rods he uses are readily available all over for cheap

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