Steering Wheel Shudder When Turning

[Justinwht]

Part of my Starter Replacement 2000 Explorer 4 L OHV saga ... After I got starter replaced I drove around the block and felt shudder in steering wheel.

Panic started kicking in. OMG WTF could be wrong *now*?

I had pulled back both wheel well mud flaps to look inside. But forgot to push them back on. DUH...

 

[koda2000]

You've got air in the power steering system. This happens when you turn the front wheels with the engine off, because air gets sucked in through the rack seals. Super common issue. Drive in slow figure eights turning the steering wheel from lock-to-lock four or five times to purge the air out.

You can accomplish the same thing by jacking the front wheels off the ground and turning the steering wheel back and forth, but it's easier just to drive the vehicle IMO.

 

[Justinwht]

That was my first thought. Loose mud flaps was the problem.