Loose Steering??

[scottdbutcher]

Yeah thats kind of what i was figuring 9 hours or so, that thing is JAMMED in there. I just went to the junk yard and scooped a lower shaft from a 2001 sport, it was all they had and it was free, so its worth seeing if it will fit, but i already think its a different style pinch bolt.

Did the pinch bolt on your rack you just changed look like the pic of the one eariler in this thread, kinda square looking? Thats the style shaft i got, but my pinch bolt on my truck is rounded, so i will see if they are interchangeable!!

Why did you change your rack? loose steering?

 

[gavin]

looked just like picture number 1, the triangular-shaped, except not rounded out.

I replaced my rack due to some issues that may have been related to it.
Plus, with 180k+ miles on it, and God knows how many miles with out of round tires, I figured it certainly wouldn't hurt.

 

[scottdbutcher]

Ok good, then i have a good chance of this one working! I believe 97 and 96 are the same.....

My truck has 185K too, so i may be in for a rack replacement, although i hope not!

 

[scottdbutcher]

Well, the shaft wasnt the issue. 2 hours later, i have the same slop, only now with a new steering shaft and a crooked steering wheel. lol Looks like its time for a rack, or just deal with it!

 

[gavin]

you know, now that I think about it, and checked my steering wheel for free-play, I realize it's gone.

scottdbutcher, I had a similar issue to you, and I had posted last year asking how much "play" in the steering wheel was normal but got no answers to that, and never could find any answer anywhere.

Well when I got to work this morning, I ever so slightly turned my steering wheel, and could feel the pressure. I know before I replaced my rack, I had quite a bit of slop, but I don't think it was anywhere near 1/4 of a turn, but there was a bit.

 

[scottdbutcher]

Yeah i have the junkyard pulling a rack for me, i did some work for the guy, so it will be free, but still a pita to install. Dosent look like fun! I will make it a weekend project i guess!

On a side note..... what a PAIN to get at that pinch bolt!!!!! Thats what took the majority of the time to change the shaft!

 

[dani9678]

My Mom has a 1995 Explorer that was showing stiffness in the steering. I noticed that the boot that covers the joint down near the rack was bad and the joint had a rusty powder around it. I got some garage door lube by pb blaster and soaked it down and the steering stiffness cleared up. I have to keep it coated with the spray until I can get another joint. I was looking at various auto-parts stores to find the joint but unable too. They only seem to sell the upper portion that the steering wheel attaches too. I figured that the junk yard joints wouldn't be any better because the boots may be dry rotted the same. Any ideas where I can find a replacement for a decent price? The Explorer is a 4wd with a 4.0L.

Matt

 

[gavin]

ebay
stealership
fastpartsnetwork.com

 

[A .SCOTT]

Good read and great info. It's been over 2 years since I've been on the site.
It looks like I'll have to hit up the pick n pull soon to grab this part to correct the problem.
Is there any specific year I should look for? I have a 95 4wd/4.0 auto.
Thanks.

 

[StangsandMavs]

Thanks for the thread, guys...

I had the problem with the steering wheel hitting tight spots. I read this thread and realized that the tight spots were 180 degrees apart as I turned the wheel... figuring that this was something in the knuckling action of the linkage, I figured the lower steering column shaft seemed like a good bet.

I had a hard time getting the shaft out of the vehicle. The bolts were easy to get to and loosen, but I just couldn't get the shaft to pop off of the rack and pinion.

After about an hour and some friendly persuasion, I got it off. The boots were toast.

I was planning on picking up a new one or a used one, but I thought I'd try to clean up the old one to see if it would help.

When I took the shaft out, I could barely move any part of the joint, heck, it was so hard to move, I thought the bottom piece was fixed. So I took an old pot and put a couple inches of water and some dish detergent in it. I stuck the bottom part of the shaft in and boiled it to try and get the dirt and grease out of it.

Well, lo and behold, the bottom part of the joint not only moves, but it moves with gravity as I spin the shaft around.

I'm going to run some brake cleaner over it to get out anything else that might be in there... then stick some grease in there to lube it up.

The only problem that I have is trying to find replacement boots... it appears even the dealership doesn't sell them outside of the entire unit (which would defeat the purpose of cleaning up the old one), so I'll try to come up with something...

 

[Paraphoe]

Bump for a little help. I have some serious slop in my steering and it's time to address it. What shaft would I be looking for for my 97? I have the extension in from the body lift. What shaft would I need to get from Ped5tang to repair this for a 97? Just want to make sure I'm not getting the wrong one. Help appreciated.

 

[Turdle]

Bump for a little help. I have some serious slop in my steering and it's time to address it. What shaft would I be looking for for my 97? I have the extension in from the body lift. What shaft would I need to get from Ped5tang to repair this for a 97? Just want to make sure I'm not getting the wrong one. Help appreciated.

The one I used which worked well was from a 96--
it is all black for an easy description. There is no brown plastic sleeve.

 

[Paraphoe]

The one I used which worked well was from a 96--
it is all black for an easy description. There is no brown plastic sleeve.

Really struggling to find any of these. My mechanic can't find any at local junkyards. The best I can find new is $330 for the lower shaft and joint assembly on Parts.com. He thinks it's the lower and not the intermediate shaft.

 

[suprcharg97]

dorman makes a part for the intermediate shaf, but ford no longer manufactures the lower shaft "according to the dealer"

 

[Kevlar7R]

Just did this repair on my truck, OMG what a difference. I got the shaft out of a 97 from the junkyard for $5 (had to pull it myself, but fortunately the engine was out.) I broke a socket, a U-joint, and 2 extensions trying to break the pinch bolt loose on my truck. I ended up having to use air impact to break it loose.

I strongly suggest removing the plastic air damn thing below the radiator. It is only 4 10mm bolts, and makes it MUCH easier to see/reach the bolt. You can get your head and your extensions up higher which gives you a better angle. I also found that it was easier to get the extension up in there, then have someone turn the wheel to meet your socket.

On mine, the pinch joint wasn't rounded out, the play was in the U joints.

 

[suprcharg97]

steering play

I just finished the repair with the lower steering shaft being the root cause of the concern for the play in the steering. I replaced the lower steering shaft with another junk yard part. Paid a shop to replace it for a total of $50. The part was a $100 offline but didn't have time to go looking in the junkyard. I did grease the part with mobil 1 wheel bearing grease. I used an inner tie rod boot from TRW to cover up the joint from exposure to the elements.

The steering is good and tight like new condition.

 

[Plo Junior]

Hello Gents,

Just like to add my bit of info.As described in this thread you must loosen the two bolts in order to take te shaft out.What unfortunately has been failed to mention is that you can't just pull it out.The shaft ( metal version ) is made up of 2 telecopic parts.In order to remove the shaft, you need to push the top part of the shaft down.With the shorter shaft, you can now pull the whole thing out.On mine the lower bolt was easy, but someone already mentioned that this is the case on the RWD models.For me the bolts were the easiest bit, the annoying part was figuring out how to get the shaft out.Once that was achieved, things went smooth.I hope to install the shaft back tomorrow.There was no play at all,nor was it worn. I had to remove it due to the torn boots, and the binding in the steering.

Take care,

Udo.

 

[albi1cnobi1]

Reviving an old thread. There is another option for replacing the intermediate steering shaft. Flaming River Ind. makes stainless replacement shafts and u-joints. See this thread. http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showthread.php?t=379997

 

[torqlox]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but how are you 5.0 AWD guys getting to the lower pinch bolt??? For the life of me I have attempted this over from under, over, and through the fender and I just cannot get a decent angle to muscle the bolt's head!!! All I want to do is pull my inter shaft so I can bead blast clean and install a new boot with new grease. I have a 750-mile road trip next week. Haaaallllpppp!!!

 

[Turdle]

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but how are you 5.0 AWD guys getting to the lower pinch bolt??? For the life of me I have attempted this over from under, over, and through the fender and I just cannot get a decent angle to muscle the bolt's head!!! All I want to do is pull my inter shaft so I can bead blast clean and install a new boot with new grease. I have a 750-mile road trip next week. Haaaallllpppp!!!

If I remember correctly, turn the steering wheel until the pinch bolt head faces just to the side of being straight forward facing. Then you will have enough room to get a socket mounted to a u joint swivel up in there. I use a 1/4" drive extension, swivel and socket.