Possible dead spot when turning?

[BigBoy]

Hey yall,

Just picked up this Ranger and have an odd issue I've been trying to research. When turning right (never happens when turning left) at speed (does not happen from a full stop) the wheel turns to about 2 o'clock then hits this bump or stopping point where I have to power the wheel through, then it goes normal again. Its like a speed bump in the steering wheel.

Any ideas what this could be or some terms to search for? When I search dead spots all Im seeing is loose steering or issues caused by lifts and the thing ain't lifted. When I search bump in steering wheel Im just getting bump steer stuff, the wheel does jerk a little when going over bumps but I figured thats just the nature of the TTB. The steering is tight other than this issue. I haven't done a full front suspension check yet so we'll see if its anything obvious, but I have checked the clearances for the wheels - made sure there was no rubbing going on somewhere. Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[BigBoy]

Found someone else with the issue (not solved). They described it as the steering wheel binding but going left or right. Binding is the word I was looking for. I did check the rag joint which looks pretty healthy but the u-joint on the upper part of the steering shaft does look pretty raggedy. Will probably start there.