NOISIE STEERING

[L4DOM]

I have a 91 xlt with 176K miles on it. It has developed a noise that sounds like a tire rubbing when I make a hard right turn but it is not a tire. The steering is a little loose. The tie rods and ball joints are fine. I can only guess that it may be the steering gear. Any advise would be appreciated. Has anyone experience this type of noise

 

[Blaine122300]

Fords are notorious for power steering wine. Even worse when the fluid is low. Check the fluid level. If that doesn't fix it, its probably your pump going bad.

ANdy

 

[L4DOM]

Andy

Thanks for your reply. My power steering fluid is fine and the noise is not a whine. It only appears to make the noise when the truck is in motion and when I turn hard right . If I am stopped and crank the steering wheel I don t seem to hear it.

 

[EliteConcept]

its it like a clunking sound kinda sound, that seems to go away as soon as you strighten the wheel?

if so thats the same kinda sound i had on my X....one of the u joints was locked up....probably cause my auto hub to fail...so i replaced with manuals....

if its like a clunking that seems to be preportional to the speed of the truck *faster if you are going faster, slow at slower speeds* i'd bet its the u-joints..but i could be wrong , it just sounds like the thing that happened to me...also if the are original i bet its them

 

[L4DOM]

bump

 

[L4DOM]

Doesn t seem to be u-joints. The noise appears to be intermittent. I noticed that when I disengage my four wheel drive the noise seems to apprear . It is as though my right wheel is not disengaging totally. Again sometimes it makes no noise. Could this be a faulty hub? Any ideas

thanks

 

[65 Fury Convert]

I had the exact same problem and yes your hubs are sticking when you try to disengage. My recommendation to you is to replace your front inner and outer wheel bearings to tighten up the steering and when doing that you will have the auto hubs removed. At that time clean and inspect the hubs. I was told that the hubs should not be packed with wheel bearing grease - which mine was, probably by a previous owner as I could tell someone had been in there before, I'm sure they meant well enough - but instead soak them in ATF. After I did these steps my 90,000 mile '93 Explorer's steering tightened up considerably and the hubs engage/disengage properly. The inner/outer bearing where $13 each (4 total required) and 2 bearing seals were required which were $8 each. It took me about 2-3 hours per side.

Just my 2 cents worth...

 

[L4DOM]

65 Fury Convert

Looks like you solved my problem. I took the hubs apart and they were packed with grease, I cleaned them up as best I could. I was too leary about using a solvent to clean them so I soaked them in ATF for about an hour. I drained off the ATF, reasemble the hubs and they seem to be working fine.

Thanks for your help