steering shudder issue on o3 explorer

[03fordbuddy]

Just got done replacing my front left hub assembly on it today. as i was pulling it out of the garage i notice a rough shudder back and forth on the stearing wheel anytime a turned the wheel. pulled the car back in and put the front back on jacks to investigate. after i got it up on jacks with both front wheels up in the air i started her up and turned the wheel i started to feel the shudder and then suddenly the steering wheel began suddering back and forth all by itself. i wasnt touching the wheel and it continued to shudder back and fourth somwhat violently. i had to shut it down to stop it. anyone got any ideas what this could be. i dont see how it could be related to my front hub swap but maybe im wrong i need to get this thing on the road asap thanks
Matt

 

[nascar_intimid]

could be your power steering pump...take your belt off for a quick minute and run the truck and see if it still does it

 

[corkey]

i just did the same thing, it is from moving the wheel with the motor not running,,

simple cure , spin the steering wheel from one side to the other all the way till it stops a few times , with the motor running and the shudder should go away , the power steering will make a bit of noise for a bit , but just until all the bubbles get out of the system,,

moving the steering wheel without the engine running causes air in the system, ,,

 

[03fordbuddy]

i just did the same thing, it is from moving the wheel with the motor not running,,

simple cure , spin the steering wheel from one side to the other all the way till it stops a few times , with the motor running and the shudder should go away , the power steering will make a bit of noise for a bit , but just until all the bubbles get out of the system,,

moving the steering wheel without the engine running causes air in the system, ,,

thanks for the tip im heading over to the shop now to see if your right. man all day yanking off the old hub and driving around town finding a new one and now somthing else! hope this works

 

[03fordbuddy]

thank you corky thats was what it was, thank god i thought it was somthing serious. I must of had a lot of air in there because it took a while to get it all out. It was very difficult for me to get the three hub bolts out so I was turning it quite frequently. thanks a ton though i will sleep much easier tonight

 

[Opera House]

I just did my front brakes and have the same problem. Unbelievable shudder just pulling out of the driveway. I checked the fluid and it looks like black death. Two quarts of fluid and it still isn't clean yet. Thought I was going to have to buy a new rack! Good to get it clean anyway. Hope this works. Been trying to leave on vacation or two weeks and new problems keep showing up.

 

[Bronc9100]

Thanks much

I had the same issue. Brakes then shudder in the steering....saved me from buying a new rack and pinion!!!!

 

[twagcalif]

Steering Shudder solved by CORKEY!!!

i just did the same thing, it is from moving the wheel with the motor not running,,

simple cure , spin the steering wheel from one side to the other all the way till it stops a few times , with the motor running and the shudder should go away , the power steering will make a bit of noise for a bit , but just until all the bubbles get out of the system,,

moving the steering wheel without the engine running causes air in the system, ,,

I thought my front end was going to shake off. I rolled my car out of the garage and parked it on the curb without starting it. We left for a family gathering and noticed something felt loose. Then we hit a small bump on the freeway and the whole front end shuddered like there was no tomorrow. Pulled off the freeway and checked tie rod ends, ball joints (which I had just replaced a month ago using posts from this site) and everything looked fine. We drove 55 the rest of the way and it wasn't as bad (in the parking lot when I checked everything I had my wife turn lock to lock so I could inspect and that unwittingly helped a little bit). I called my mechanic friend on the way to the get together and he wasn't around. As soon as we arrived at the get together I went straight to my father in laws PC and searched out Steering Shudder on this web site. The thread with Corkey's answer was the second hit. I didn't like the first hit as it said to remove belts and maybe the rack was bad, so I was so glad to see Corkey's answer! I am joining now!!

 

[Fox Fader]

Normally this is done with the vehicle's front wheels in the air, but if this works on the ground, all the better.

 

[twagcalif]

After I had my wife move the steering lock to lock while parked I later moved it while moving very slowly to reduce most resistance. I have not jacked it up yet but the air seems to be gone. No more shudder or even hint of shuddering. I used to bleed the air out of my 69 Camaros when I would get the power steering gear box rebuilt and we did that on the ground too. That was on my father's slippery, sealed garage floor. Back in the day they used to actually seal garage floors included in the home price!

 

[rainbow9]

just wrestled on a new wheel hub assembley on the front right of my 2003 4x4. pulled it outta the garage and wheel shuddering like crazy..I was scared to death until I found corkey's response!!

thank God for this forum!! thought I was in deep deep wow

thanks to all the guys that help out in here

 

[springwater]

i just did the same thing, it is from moving the wheel with the motor not running,,

simple cure , spin the steering wheel from one side to the other all the way till it stops a few times , with the motor running and the shudder should go away , the power steering will make a bit of noise for a bit , but just until all the bubbles get out of the system,,

moving the steering wheel without the engine running causes air in the system, ,,

Not for nothin, but this thread should be a sticky.

 

[Ande Kastanis]

Worked great on our 97 Explorer.