help(steering rattle)

[badcat40]

i have a hard knocking or rattle coming from the steering column,this occurs only when drivers
side hits hard bump.
anybody have a clue what this could be??????


thanks in advance

 

[fixer]

the nut that holds the wheel is loose!

but seriously, there are lots of places there a little play could develop that might produce a symptom like that... you might want to jack that side of the truck up (on jackstands) and get underneath and start shaking individual steering/suspension components.

is it actually IN the steering column, or is that just where you feel it? the steering column is designed to collapse in an accident, and sometimes a little slop is "normal", depending on the age and mileage.

 

[badcat40]

i can here it in the column itself,no vibration,or pulling
just a loud knocking?
i'm stumped,and im not familliar with the steering at all
and chiltons dosnt show or say anything about the top end.so im a little leary about taking things apart.

 

[mahughesnh]

Same Problem

I had the very same problem on my '97 XLT. And I could not find out where the problem was. And it only made the noise when it was between 65 and 85 degrees. It took taking it to the dealer to find out what the problem was. It was the slip joint in the steering column. So I removed it and lubed it with high temp grease which helped some. What helped the most was replacing the rear shocks!

 

[badcat40]

thanks very much for your help i will look into that right away

 

[toad]

Hey badcat I had a clunk in mine could not figure it out . I took the horn cover off and there is a counter weight in there that is mounted on three rubber deals one came unglued and it cluncked over bumps etc. sure didnt sound like it was coming from that area but I read about this on explorer maint. site and removed weight no more problems.93 should be the same its worth a look .Good luck

 

[badcat40]

thanks toad,but how do you get the horn pad off

i undid the two screws but didnt want to pry on it?

 

[toad]

Just pop/pry it off at the bottom corners it will come I pretty sure its just the two screws .

 

[ld50]

Just wanted to get in on this thread.

My 93 knocks in the steering column when hitting a quick series of bumps, and sucks when you hit washboard spots on a dirt road. It almost feels like the shaft it shaking in whatever housing it is running through. I`m going to try seeing if anything is loose under the cover, and the other things mentioned. I almost thought it had something to do with the adjustable system, but can`t quite feel where it is exactly.

Darn irritating, to say the least.

Jim from BC

 

[ahhjaws]

I am also hearing this knocking too. It just started last week. I will also try the above mentioned checks. Hopefully this will help. If anyone fixes it please post what you did. Thanx!!

 

[ld50]

???

Everything seems tight under the hood, except for a very slight sloppiness where the steering shaft comes out the firewall through that bushing, but that couldn`t be it. Pushing up and pulling down does not budge it though. I don`t see any problems under the steering wheel cover. Need more time to break apart the housing to investigate further, but may wait and see. Also, she is uncooperative, and wouldn`t make that noise for me today, I gotta hit that certain succession of bumps at the right speed I guess.
Hmmm.

Jim from BC

 

[ld50]

I`m such a moron!

I looked under the steering wheel cover and that counterweight thing IS coming apart! The rubber connecter in the middle is broken so it bangs up and down. Can`t believe I missed it the first time. I took it right off, and you can see marks on it where ir was hitting.
I`m confused as to what that thing is for. It is a heavy weight that doesn`t seem to be good for anything. I can`t figure out why they would put it there. I`m just going to leave it out then.

 

[ahhjaws]

Yeah, I tried gluing it back together, but it fell off again. I finally had enough and took it off. I have felt no difference, or problems or anything.

 

[akcrogers]

Heh, I had the same problem a couple months back, I was driving home at the end of a 6 hour trip out of town, I hit a pothole super hard, and it was just enough to break the glue loose on the counterweight (probably about to go anyways). Scared the crap out of me, it was like 4am and I was still and hour out of town, and anytime I hit a bump in the road I could feel that clunk in the steering wheel... I was sure my steering wheel was going to fall off or something.

Certainly makes you wonder what the point is, no other car I've ever worked on has one...