I just purchased a 96' E-150 and when I test drove it I didn't take it out on the highway so I didn't notice the sway. While driving it home I noticed that it had a tendency to drift and sway and I had to constantly make steering corrections. I was afraid to take and sharp corners at any speed because it felt like the van was about to fall over!

So, I've taken it to the shop and had the upper and lower ball joints replaced with Moog parts, new front wheel bearings, new tires, and a four wheel alignment. None of which fixed my problem! (the parts needed to be replaced anyway)

So, I took it to a friend of mine and he noticed that the sway bar bushing were very worn and should probably be replaced. He also said my shocks were all but shot. I have a set of 4 KYB Monomax shocks on the way so I'm hoping that will fix my problems.

I pounded on and tried to press the sway bar bushings out for hours last night and could not get them out, is there a special tool for this or some easy method to remove the old bushings?

How difficult is it to get to the upper shock mounting nuts? Any hints for taking rusty ones off?

Just trying to get the van to handle properly and any help or suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks

Jeff

 

Shocks don't usually contribute to a wandering problem, but suspension components can and do. Before any alignment is done , it is a good idea to have any and all worn suspension parts replaced otherwise an alignment cannot be done accurately.
Make sure the rear suspension items aren't overlooked.

Upper front shock nuts can be a stinker to remove sometimes. If you have enough room try a nut splitter.