Upon backing out of a parking space I felt a hard jolt and the truck shut off. I inspected the engine and could not find any leaks or anything out of the ordinary. I then restarted the engine with no problem. When I tried to turn the staeering wheel, I found it very hard to turn. I looked under the hood again and noticed the power steering pump wheel had a little shimmy to it and no leaks. I took the truck to the dealership. I was told at the dealership that these pumps go out anywhere from 10k miles and up. Unsat.
1997 Ford F-150 steering complaints
Page 5 of 8: complaints 101 to 130 of 202, newest first, as owners wrote them.
As I was making a right hand turn the passenger side tie rod broke. Leaving me with no control of steering. Luckily I was able to get to the side of the road.
While driving 55 MPH and without prior warning left front tie rod end broke, causing loss of vehicle control. No collision or injuries occurred. Please give any further details.
Was driving on interstate 65, mm 95 approximately 75 MPH, when the steering went completely out. Lost total control of vehicle. Local ford dealership stated that the steering shaft had come off sector shaft. I am concerned that this could happen to someone else. I was able to control vehicle until I came to stop on median. Steering wheel spun freely in either direction. Could have easily been a fatal wreck if this happened on a curve or other vehicles close by.
While attempting to make a right hand turn the consumer lost control and the vehicle ended up in a field, the steering wheel could be turned like a roulet wheel. Nlm
Tie rod end on left front broke, while vehicle was parked, dealer notified and unwilling to assist in this matter.*ak consumer states as he was parking in the parking lot, the tie rod end came apart, no prior warning.
When I was driving with my son in the car, I lost all steering in my vehicle. My steering wheel just started to spin freely as I was drifting into oncoming traffic. After frantically stopping the vehicle, I had it towed back to my local mechanic. After he inspected the steering column, he discovered that the coupling between the lower end of the steering column and steering box had stripped free. The bolt still remained in the coupler. He checked with ford and they told him there has been no recall on the lower end of the steering columns (which he was surprised at), but there had been a service bulletin.
A loud noise comes from the pitman everytime the wheel is turn. Also, the door ajar light sticks and stays on longer and longer each time.
Front tie rod end broke off. Vehicle was parked, but if consumer was driving, there could have been a serious accident.*ak
Front steering makes squealing noise when turn steering wheel.
On friday 03/02/01 I lost control of the steering in my ford f-150 when something in the steering box failed.for specifics of what the exact failure was, please contact the mechanic who made the repair. They are rockville auto boutique, 360 sunrise highway, rockville centre, ny 11570. Phone 516 766 7525.
Lower steering shaft universal joint became disengaged from the steering gear box commection. This created an inability to steer the truck.
Failure of steering pump at low speed, causing loss of power steering. Pump has been repaired.*ak
The way the tie rods are made when they become slightly worn they pull apart. After talking with some auto repair shops I found that this is a common occurance.
Ford said no recall at this time. There should be steering knuckle is weak.
Pittman arm referenced eight (8) times in tsb's. Rear window also referenced in tsb's.
By chance I heard my wife back ruck out of garage and noticed a loud squeak from front end as she steered. With windows up and heater on we had not heard the sound during this winter and don't know how long it had been making noise. We made an appointment and took it to the dealer. As we pulled in the shop with it squeaking at each turn of the steering wheel a mechanic walked over and said that must be a 1997. I said yes and he said the pitman arm is supposed to be lubed for life so there is no grease fitting, and they are known to fail on the 1997's. We get our truck oil changed and lubed every 3000 miles or close to it. He said if we hadn't notice the noise it would have seized up and broke. As I understand it the pitman arm connects the steering box shaft to the steering linkage and a failure would have resulted in a sudden loss of steering. We got it fixed immediately by replacing the pitman arm at a cost of close to $300. How long will the new arm last without grease? I reported it to ford, and they said they would track the vehicles and notify me if there is a recall. Then I did some research and found there are at least a couple service bulletins dating back to 97 and 98 that they were aware of this problem in early production. You would think they would notify us of the problem while the warranty would cover the repair and at least to assure our steering would not fail. The bulletin numbers I found are #9810569 in 1998 and bc2360970501 in 1997 both about the pitman arm replacement. The repair was done at metro ford of grand ledge michigan (517‑627‑3293).
Had to replace steering pitman. Vehicle was out of warranty.
While backing up left/ upper tie rod popped out of socket, and vehicle had no steering, consumer felt this was a manufacturing defect. *ak
There was a squeak, and ford called it a groan when turning steering wheel. Dealer said it was a defective pitman arm.
Some of the steering assembly components wore prematurely due to lack of lubrication. Nlm
Front right inner tie rod rusted , and felt vehcle operating poorly while making a right hand turn. Dealer has been contacted.
Inner tie rod fell off while consumer was in park postion, causing a complete loss of control. There was no indication or prior warning .please provide further information.
On both occasions tie rods came apart at the middle without warning!
The steering column makes a watery or whiny noise when turning. I have spoken to others about this via internet bulletin boards and it is not an isolated case. Some have had their entire column replaced and still have a problem. One person I spoke to said there was a tsb in effect and that the tie-rod was the culprit. He further stated that ford was on back-order for that part and that it was a nationwide problem. However, it is not listed on your site as a recall and my warranty period is up. I have gone to the dealer numerous times and have had no help in diagnosing and solving the problem.
Lower steering shaft came off input shaft of steering gear box causing a complete loss of control.
I was pulling out of my driveway, horse trailer attached to the truck when the tie rod broke. Is this a defect in manufacturing? Why would ford manufacturing make parts such as tie rods non greasable, thus breakable. I could have been killed if this had happened one minute later.
No summary
While driving windshield wipers will come on unexpectedly like twice a month without warning. Also, a short inside of steering column. *ak washer lever also on steering column, to get washer to operate must push handle in at angle. The dome lamp is defective and stays on when the engine is started.
Part failed, causing loss of control. Vehicle was forced into oncoming traffic. The dealer and ford were contacted. They both agreed that it shouldn't have failed. They were not concerned about the safety issue, just there warranty liability. When the part failed it damaged the backing plate and punctured the rim, causing tire failure. What may have happened if this was at highway speed?
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