Wheels pop when turned

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ladenblowfish

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Hey guys, I did a quick search but I didn't find anything that fits my problem. I just started yesterday. When I turn the steering wheel to the left you hear a continuous clicking and poping sound from the driver side wheel but not the pass side. Also driving down the road making a left or right turn, the steering wheel won't straightin back up. You have to turn back straight yourself but it has a good bit of resistance. The fluid level is full. No leaks anywhere. It also doesn't pull side to side when going down the road either. I have new upper control arms and sway bar end links. The lower needs to be changed. I'm thinking its maybe the rack and pinion. ANy ideas? If it is the rack, how much of a pain is it to change?:(
 
Lower ball joints. I would not drive until replaced. You may hear one more pop and end up needing to do fender work. Happened to me, um, 3 times....
 
unity said:
Lower ball joints. I would not drive until replaced. You may hear one more pop and end up needing to do fender work. Happened to me, um, 3 times....
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Happened to me too...ONCE. On the interstate. That was fun! Get it fixed...IMMEDIATELY!

09-20-07_1207.jpg


09-20-07_1209.jpg
 
You cannot buy the lower ball joints by themselves. You have to get the whole lower control arm. try rockauto.com
 
Actually you can get just the lower ball joints, but by the time you have them pressed in its already cheaper to just get whole new arms. Oh, and not to mention most shops dont have the particular press needed.
 
I've just been putting off the lowers for a while. So you guys would just say its the lower ball joints and completly rule out the rack? I just got back from the store and its groaning and popping alot more now than it did.
 
The racks are one thing Ford did right, they rarely fail and if they do, I doubt this sound. I would do the joint ASAP and not drive it if you can avoid. Do both though. I had one fail when I was in another state for work. Cost a fortune to have it done and I did not know about the t-bird arms being cheaper with included ball joint. So it REALLY cost me. A week later, the other side failed in my driveway without warning. This was in my beater 95 Mark luckily.
 
If you have any significant amount of miles the entire front end probably needs to be rebuilt anyways...

I know I would rather spend a little money now than be stranded with your car possibly getting damaged from having a lower snap.
 
The PS fluid was changed 2 months ago. Popped the cap on the resivor and the fluid looks like chocolate milk. So just to be sure I got 2 lower controls arm, 2 outer tie rod ends, and of course the rack and pinion. I'd rather have everything changed at once instead of piece by piece.:wrench She just hit 100,000
 
Inner tie rods? Or does the rack come with them? A reman rack is on eBay for $129, no core exchange.

I did everything on my front except the inner tie rods. I did them about two months ago finally. The rack is still factory though.
 
Why get parts from Soupercoupe? Are they MOOG or TRW? RockAuto is usually the place to get the best prices, or even Advance Auto.
 
Oreilly auto parts has mater pro stuff that is rebranded Moog parts...
 
ladenblowfish said:
The PS fluid was changed 2 months ago. Popped the cap on the resivor and the fluid looks like chocolate milk. So just to be sure I got 2 lower controls arm, 2 outer tie rod ends, and of course the rack and pinion. I'd rather have everything changed at once instead of piece by piece.:wrench She just hit 100,000
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Don't worry about the 100,000 mile mark... but it is the time that some of these parts start to wear and could be replaced.

Don't forget to get Thunderbird control arms ..... save you about $50 per arm. Only one you can't do this with is the uppers if you still have air ride.
 
Just be advised, that according to Maxx at 5star, the t-bird control arms have a smaller mass. This due to the t-birds lower weight content.
 
Psychostang said:
Just be advised, that according to Maxx at 5star, the t-bird control arms have a smaller mass. This due to the t-birds lower weight content.
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True, but when compared side to side they feel and look exactly the same. Most members by now are running t-bird arms without a problem. Keep in mind there is not a huge amount of weight on those, most of the vehicle weight is on the strut/air bag.
 
I'm changing the rack, ball joints, and tie rods this afternoon after work. When I cut the wheel now left and right, it just screeches and groans very loud. Sounds like crap.:mad:
 
ladenblowfish said:
I'm changing the rack, ball joints, and tie rods this afternoon after work. When I cut the wheel now left and right, it just screeches and groans very loud. Sounds like crap.:mad:
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Id start with ball joints and tie rods, the rack "aint an afternoon job".
Chances are if you do the ball joints and the tie rod ends, you'll prevent your car from doing what it pictured above.
That same thing happend to Tiffany's car right at 175K..

Save the "rack job" for the weekend, so you dont wind up diving headfirst into knee deep water. {trust me}

When you change the rack.. pay particular care and attention to where the high pressure line goes into the rack.. you dont want to bend that little elbow fitting NOR do you want to apply much force or torque to that fitting as it will BREAK..and it's a junkyard or a dealer item ONLY.

hope this helps in some manner.
 
ladenblowfish said:
this afternoon after work. When I cut the wheel now left and right, it just screeches and groans very loud:
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If you drove it to work you need to be very very careful going home.
take side streets, dont "cut the wheel" back and forth.. and PRAY the wheels dont fall off before you get home.
I wouldn't drive over 20-30...TOPS
 
3 wheel action is only cool in a low rider.... my question is whats with Lincolns and using t-bird parts?
 
Its a lot cheaper! My lower control arm for the Mark was $150. Lower control arm for the 96 SC was about $100 less.
 
I didn't have much time this afternoon but I started to change the rack. I got the outer tie rods loose and the two bolts holding the rack in place but I couldn't get the lines loose from the rack. Getting dark and PISSSSed, I just put everything back together. Got everything cleaned up, started the car and cut the wheels back and fourth. NO groaning, No popping, No anything!:eek: I was like WTF! Completely quiet. So I took it for a ride and it drove perfect. I'll be returning the rack but I'm still gonna change the lower ball joints anyway. Crazy!:Bang
 
ladenblowfish said:
but I couldn't get the lines loose from the rack
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hate to say I told you so.. but I did try and save you from the frustration.. by telling you the rack was NOT an afternoon job..and i think (lol) it was the lines I was warning you about.

Sorry this isn't going as planned, but sounds like you are heading in the right direction.
 
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