I own a 97 F150 ext cab V6 2wd s/box pickup. My left upper tie rod popped out of the ball stud while backing up to park. The mileage on my truck was 52,543km / 31,525 miles. The rest of the front end checks out fine. I would like to hear from anybody that this may have happened to. It came apart without warning. The old parts do not appear excessively worn ( ball socket .006 out of round, ball .010 out of round ). No acidents or abuse. Dealer said it was normal wear.

 

Yes there have been some converstaion, but due to the fact they are not greaseable, they will wear faster. You can get the greaseable ones for it and last lot longer.

 

I do not believe that under normal driving that a part like this should fail. I finally found a service rep that admits that he’s seen a few like mine. I would like to here from someone that has had the repair covered by Ford. These are not parts that should have to be changed every 50,000Km. The manufactured date on my truck is 10/96 . I believe that my tie rod was defective and I have sent it to transport Canada for inspection, file #R0293. The fact that I was beyond warranty time( 3 years) to me is not relevant. It is a safety issue.

The truck was represented to me as Durable and safe. I feel that Ford should stand behind its product if it’s proven to be defective.

Ken Charleton charletn@escape.ca

 

[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON 22-Jan-01 AT 05:45 PM (EST)[/font][p]I to am A victim of tie rod failure , I own A 97 ford F-150 2/wd with 28,000 on it. exceptI was travaling down the road at 35 mph when my right side outer tie rod seperated at the ball, I was lucky that I was on flat ground. the truck felt like it was shaking apart . when I went to ford about it they blew it off like it was notting. Iam starting to smell A rat, My next truck will be A chevy. Charlie Pope camper99 at earthlink.net

 

I hope you reported the incident directly to the NHTSA web site, or phone 1-800-424-9393. It only takes a minute and it is the best way to effect a recall and recover your repair cost.

Thanks for the reply
Ken Charleton charletn@escape.ca

 

Ford has offered to cover 50% of the cost of the Tow And replacement of tie tie rod (50% of $254.00), as a gesture of goodwill I hope that this information is of help to anyone with a low mileage Ford that is off warranty.

Special thanks to Phil Edmonston (author of LemonAid)for contacting Ford on my behalf.

All the leters I sent and phone calls I made had no effect.

Ken Charleton
charletn@escape.ca

 

Transport Canada has been of great help. I thought that these parts were just lumps of steel, not so. Roto-tech has a web site with a cross section diagram www.roto-tech.com\more that may explain why I did not notice it loosening. There is a Teflon bushing and a spring that holds tight. Drilling out the tie rod and putting in your own grease fitting as was suggested by someone on line is not recommended.


My part according to Transport Canada was corroded. Something contaminated the socket and caused it to wear prematurely and warning signs were not apparent because the spring kept it tight. I’m not the only one this has happened to. Transport Canada has looked at some 98’s as well and has other samples of tie rod other than mine that have failed.


I have received no technical information or anything else for that matter from Ford. Can anyone reading tell me if the tie rods on the new models are the same as on my 1989 ?

Transport Canada felt that the fact that a driver could lose control of the vehicle without the usual tell tale signs could be a serious safety concern. If in fact there are more like mine in service. They advised me to change the other side and would like to inspect the old part.




Ken Charleton
charletn@escape.ca