I have a 98 explorer with 52,000 miles on it. I took it to goodyear to have it checked for what I would call a popping sound in the front end. This popping only occurs at slow speeds and after the engine is hot. It never does it when the engine is cool or in the first 10 minutes or so of driving. Goodyear is saying that the popping is a bad Rack and Pinion and will be $595. Does this sound right, I figure if the rack and pinion is bad it should do it all the time, but the say no, once the fluid gets warm in it then it will start making the sound. Any ideas??

does this popping sound exist when your X has been warmed up and you're driving slowly on a smooth straight road (in other words - your NOT turning the steering wheel) ?

one thing that makes a sound at slow speeds when its going bad is the u-joint... but then again, there could be 20 other things that make a noise when they are going bad.

yes, it is only after warm, maybe after 10-15 minutes of driving and typically only when driving straight in stop and go traffic.

is the rate of popping relative to how fast your X is travelling (up to a certain speed at which point it goes away) ?

no, for example, if i am sitting in bumper to bumper traffic and i ease up a bit it pops once and when i stop again it pops once....its does not pop several times as i am moving. It does seem as if its coming from the front end, but it just seemed weird for them to say its a rack and pinion thing when it only does it while warm. I am not an automotive expert by any means, but it just didn't sound right.

i would do a shakedown of the front end. Jack up the front and see if there is play in anything.

We did do that last night and everything seemed tight, the steering is tight also. Goodyear said the ball joints looked good and no other obvious problems. I have heard a lot of problems with bushings on these vehicles, any idea on how I could figure out if maybe that is the cause?

i used to have this "popping" sound that sounds kind of similar to yours (i have a 98 too).. basically when the car is stopped, and i step on the gas slowly, the front end of the vehicle would raise up and would cause a pop.. the same sound would happen when i slow down as the front of the vehicle bows down. i dont really remember how i fixed it though ..

That is exactly what mine is doing, i would assume you would remember if it was a rack and pinion replacement... I just have a nagging feeling its not that... but yet I am faced with another $60 diagnosis fee if I go somewhere else. If you happen to think of what corrected yours please let me know, this is driving me nuts and what you described is my problem exactly!

yeah it definitely wasnt the rack and pinion as mine is still the original one from the factory.. but yeah ill give it some thought tonight...

thanks man, my explorer, my wallet, my sanity and myself appreciate it!

How about the front anti-sway bar endlinks? They are plastic, and some Northern Fords have had issues with them breaking. Otherwise, lift up the front end again. Pull and yank on everything, and hopefully you find it. Good luck,
Don

You Might want to take a look at your transfer case because i just replaced mine and it was making that popin noise also. Have somebody that knows what there doing pull ur transfer case apart cause i spent about $3000 before i figured out thats what was wrong with it

Had the same problem on my '99. It was under warranty when it happened so the dealer replaced the tie rod ends and that took care of the problem. A couple of years later and it started again. The problem is you can't grease oem tie rod ends because they are sealed and supposedly never need greasing.

It's not the rack and pinion. Take it to another place. Better to spend another $60 bucks then to spend $600.00 on something that is'nt going to fix your problem.
There is one other thing that it might be. The torsion bar adjusters have a teflon pad on it that wears out after awhile, and will cause a popping noise when you start out and stop. You can usually tell when it goes bad, as it will spread out around the torsion bar adjuster. Pull the cover on the rear portion of the torsion bars and look. You have to buy a new torsion bar adjuster. I did this once and then after that one got worn out, I just said hell with it and just left it that way. Of course my Explorer is not a daily driver, and I abuse it on the trails probably more than you do, so maybe if that is your problem, yours will last longer that it did for me.