I would like to ask a question about my 08 Limited with 79Koriginal miles. I have a pretty bad power steering leak, at least now Ido. I am doing brakes and other simple repairs, but nervous aboutthis. I first noticed the leak a couple months ago when I started up thetruck after my son had been driving it and I heard it whining. I checkedthe PS and it was a bit low so I filled it up. The whining stopped, butafter a few days the pump was low again and I could see fluid on my graveldriveway, but couldn't really get a good look at where it was comingfrom. So I had an oil change appointment coming up at the Ford dealer onJune 20 and I asked them to check the leak while it was in. They calledme at work and told me that it needed a new PS pump, new pressure lines, newreturn lines and a new steering rack and it would be $4000. I of coursenearly fainted from that news. I asked if all of those things absolutelyhad to be replaced because I am not able to deal with that figure. Hesaid he would call me back. He called me back about 20 minutes later andsaid that he spoke to the tech and I could probably get away without replacingthe rack so the bill would only be $2100. He said it would be ready bythe end of the next day. The next day I called in the afternoon they saidthe parts just came in and they would be working on it and it would be readythe next day. The next day this is now June 22, They call me and tell methat they got the parts, but Ford sent the wrong pressure line and so theychecked for the proper pressure line and it is nationally backordered and theycannot complete the repair without it. They said that I had to pick upthe truck, pay for the parts and then when the correct part comes in I bring itback and they install and I pay for the install then. So I picked up thetruck, paid $1500 and took the truck home where it sat in my driveway for aweek while I was away on vacation. When I returned, I took the truck outwhere I was doing some carpentry work and had all my tools in the back and thiswas about 20 miles from my house. When I got there I noticed that thepower steering was whining again and I checked the fluid and it was almostempty. There was fluid all over inside the engine and radiator. Ifilled it up before I left to go home. On the way home about half way Inoticed the whining again and again stopped to fill the reservoir. I gothome and parked the truck and it hasn't moved since. Looking under it youcan see fluid everywhere and it is noticeably leaking at the hoseconnections. Clearly it is leaking worse now that the dealer took itapart. I did not hear back from the dealer again since I paid the $1500and took my truck so last Tuesday, July 11th, I called to see what the story isand if they can't get the part can we have it made, use aftermarket or evenused if we have to? Same rep I had been dealing with tells me he willcheck on it and get back to me. Today is the 19th and I still have notreceived a call back and I think this is outrageous and my truck is sitting inmy driveway leaking as we speak. I am getting quite upset about this andam looking for suggestions on how to proceed. thank you very much forlistening.

 

Just called the dealer to see where we are. He said they checked every aftermarket parts supplier and there are none available. He said that he checked their parts department and we have moved from number 200 on the backorder list to number 34. I expressed my frustration that I have been waiting a month for a part from the manufacturer. He said they are finding many parts being hard to come by especially on vehicles older than 8 years. I find it hard to believe that Ford would do that to customers who spent $50K for a truck and is not even 10 years old. He said if the part does not come in by next week he will call Ford Corporate to see if there is anything they can do. I need the truck in 3 weeks to go on a planned family vacation and I need it to be working. I have never experienced anything like this. Also I noticed that there is a dearth of any you tubes on Expedition power steering replacements, F150s only. Color me frustrated!!

 

I hate it when I follow a thread regarding an issue and then the OP does not reply with the resolution if there is one. Guilty as charged although for some reason in my mind I thought I had updated the thread. So after I posted my frustration here, I contacted my company's head Fleet Mechanic for advise on where I could possibly get my truck fixed. I try never to mix business with personal, but in this case I was desperate and was down to about a week before I was leaving on my planned vacation. My Fleet Mechanic gave me the name of his contact at a Ford dealer that the company uses, which is more than an hour from me, but who might be able to offer me suggestions. I talked to the contact at that Ford Dealer who confirmed that the part was definitely not available from Ford. He then checked aftermarket for me and said that also was a no go. I asked him what the possibility of having lines made. He gave me the number of a company that they use to make certain lines, but he did not seem optimistic that I would be able to get a line made. I called the company that he suggested, which was almost 2 hours from my house and told them my story. The man I spoke with said he could not make my line but thought there was an auto part store in Springfield, MA area that also made hydraulic lines and he thought it was worth giving them a call. So I called them and spoke with the line guy and told him my plight. He said he needed to see the line before he could tell me whether it could be made. So I called my Ford back and told the guy I had been dealing with all along that I had someone who might be able to make me a line, but he needed to see the line to know for sure. So I asked him if I brought the truck back to them, could they remove the line for me and I would leave the truck there until I got a line for it so I could take it to the Springfield guy. He said they would take it off for me. So I stopped on my way home from work at an Advance auto parts store close to my home and the dealer. I went in and bought 2 quarts of power steering fluid because I knew it would need at least a quart to get to the dealer which was 10 miles from my house. So I picked up the fluid and walked up to the counter and set the bottles on the counter. The man behind the counter says to me, "How are you doing?" I know he was just being polite, but I was quite frustrated at this point. So I said (not snippy but matter of fact), "I'm buying 2 quarts of power steering fluid, how do you think I'm doing?" Then I went on to tell him my story and he tells me there's an auto parts store on Elm St. across town that makes lines. So I call them and ask them the same thing I asked the guy in Springfield and he said if I brought the line over he would take a look to see if he could make it. So the next morning I filled up the power steering fluid and headed to the dealer. About half way there I had to stop and fill it again, it was really pouring right out. So when I got to the dealer I talked to my service rep and told him that I had found a place in town that might make the line and asked him to call me as soon as it was off so I could take it over there. He said he would. So I left and went to work. It got to be about noon and I hadn't heard from him so I was getting nervous. Then he finally called me and told me he had good news. He said that they got the line off and he took it over to the parts store I told him about and they looked at it and said they couldn't make one. However the guy at the parts store said he would check with his distributer Gates to see what they had to say. Low and behold Gates had 10 Ford Expedition lines in stock that were not in any parts store database for some reason. He told me they ordered the line and it would be in the next day. I told him I would pay any amount of shipping to overnight it. At this point I'm like 5 days from my vacation. I asked him if he wouldn't mind calling me as soon as they had the part just to let me know because I found this hard to believe. He said he would call me when it came in. So the next day I'm at work waiting for a call and the hours are passing and my phone's not ringing. Finally about 1 PM my phone rings and its my guy. He tells me that he had to stay home with a sick child, but he wanted to let me know that the part came in and his guys were installing it and I should be able to pick the truck up that night. I was ecstatic because of the ordeal I had been through, but I called my wife and let her know. So we did get the truck back that night and it was fixed (but not without another issue, but that's an unrelated story). We left for our vacation the following Tuesday which took us to stops in Harrisburg, PA, Fredericksburg, VA, Jacksonville, NC (Camp Lejuene), Myrells Inlet, SC and finally to Rehoboth Beach, DE before finally heading home, just under 2,000 miles total and the power steering held up no problems.