Have a question, my 96 F250 has been making a funky almost clicking noise suddenly from the steering column. At the same time, the power steering seems to be going, has enough fluid, and sometimes fine sometimes no power steering. The steering has been somewhat loose for a while ut I was pulling around on the tie rods to see if they were loose and seem to be okay, only thing it does is when you turn the wheel, where the two rods connect right below the power steering the joint goes up and down, but no side to side play. I was not sure if that was a normal thing.

Ironically my 95 grand cherokee has a similar issue with the rod on the driver side you can twist some front and back. It has been making a loud metal thunking noise when you go over a bump, accelerate or hit the brakes, not all the time but a good 40-50% of the time. Loud enough at first I thought a shock broke or a spring on the suspension, but everything else I can see looks fine.

I suppose if anyone has thoughts on either of those. I will post a pick of the F250. the first pic with the light on the joint is the joint that goes up and down, or the two separate a little and then come back together, but again no side to side play. (looks like it posted them upside down so it is the joint on the right.

 

If the joint can be moved by hand then it probably needs to be replaced. How much is it moving? an 1/16" of an inch or a lot more?

 

Note: Mine looks different. I have 97 4x4. Mine did that! It was horrible. i ordered a complete new set up. I found one part in the set up I did not have that stops the rotating. on the passenger side of the tie rod there should be a rubber pad bushing between the ball joint of the drag link and the tie rod hole. get the rubber pad, pull the drag link off the tie rod put the pad on the joint and put the joint back on. the pad keeps the drag link parallel and from moving so much.

 

^^^^ It would look the same if the truck were on its roof. OP's photos are upside down. But +1 on the complete setup replacement; if one joint is bad, and they are all of aprx. the same vintage, it's best to replace it all wheel-to-wheel. And if you can appreciate play in a joint just by hand, it's beyond shot.

The better way to look for looseness / play is "dynamically". Have someone rock the steering wheel back and forth while you watch underneath. Look for movement/play between the tie rods and knuckles, between the pitman arm and the ball joint that goes into it, etc. You might see movement that you can't create just trying to move it by hand. If you do, it's a sign to replace.

My favorite approach is to buy all four components AND new sleeves, and build the whole thing on the floor first. Take measurements of the existing setup on the truck before removing anything, and match those on the new setup. Then drop the whole existing assembly at once, and replace. Don't separate any of the components. This way, if something goes wrong, you can re-hang the whole old assembly and still drive the truck.

As for those "pads", that's an aftermarket trick to reduce/minimize tie rod roll. Shouldn't really be needed with new good quality components, but might help if steering is still loose after replacement. Usually they're installed where the tie rods meet the knuckles.

 

For the clunking try tightening up the fender bolts ...

 

Thanks for the responses, will take a look at those things. seems on on the truck the power steering feels like going out, but then making a clicking noise when turn in the steering column and the play in that one joint, i would say it moves up and down a good 1/8-1/4". Didnt seem like any others were moving at all when turning the wheels.

 

Time for a new one

 

Man I chased a clunk noise for a month before finding the passenger side fender bolts were loose. Once I tightened them up, no more clunk!

 

Is there a special material used to shim fenders?