Just drove my Escape (daughters now) back from where she lives, and I believe the rack and pinion unit may be going out. Loud groaning, creaking noise coming from where the steering shaft (from inside the firewall) goes into the unit. This is not a sway bar links problem. I flushed out the power steering fluid the best I could, most the time it only does it turning left, but then some times it does it all the time. 142,000 on a 2001. I've done a lot of semi major repairs to cars (mainly engine) but never tackled this. Not sure I want to invest any more money with this kind of mileage. So anyone ever done this, or could I be looking at the wrong problem?

Thanks!
Scott

 

If the rag joint is actually a universal joint then that could probably be the cause. They look like you cannot do much with them but they can be cleaned and lubed. There are a couple threads on that somewhere. Sounds like it is time to do a search.

 

EBTDM
I believe you may be talking about that joint behind, or I guess you could say just in front of the firewall, that you can see when you remove the rubber cover at the floor board. I sprayed it with WD 40 big time, just to see if that would help in the short term. Didn't help, it sounds like it's below that. Doesn't do it when it's cold, or the first time you drive it. But once you stop, and drive it again it starts. I did this twice yesterday and when I drove it after it had sat for 20 minutes it was really noisy turning in both directions, after I drove it for a bit, it go somewhat quieter. I'm going to put it up on jack stands so I can get a better look underneath. A friend of my who is a insurance claims adjuster and has an 02 Escape, thinks it's probably the rack, he did say that the power steering pump could be going out, causing the same noise. I'm at the point of what's the cost benefit, and putting more money into it with this kind of miles, and putting my daughter's safety on the line, I've kept up on the maintenance over the last 8 years, but not sure I want to sink any more money into it. Well thanks for the input.

 

The rag joint is usually in the middle of the steering shaft in the engine compartment area. If this is a typical rag joint then not much can be done other than replacement when it starts to fall apart. The new style rag joint is a universal style joint that has sealed bearings and no zert fittings. One can clean real good and with a small grease syringe you can squeeze lube under the seal. Again do a search for the steps on this.

Ok next step. How many miles on the power steering fluid? Could it be time to do another fluid exchange on the power steering fluid? What is the condition of the fluid in the pump now?
I have replaced the steering pump on my old F150 but not the Escape. The 150 was less than $50 for the part and easy to get to.
The pump on the Escape looks a bit more complicated but can be an easy weekend DIY.
The rack would be a tough weekend DIY.

I understand the protect the daughter thing but I am the only person I trust with a wrench on any of my three daughter's cars. I also track the total cost of ownership of all the vehicles down to the mile. My '02 escape (similar milage) is the family spare vehicle and is well worth the cost of a full rack and pinion if needed. Then again that is my return on investment and your's may be different.

Oh, BTW the WD in WD40 stands for Water Displacement. It is not designed for a lasting lubricant, it is pretty much just fish oil.

 

I had the same problem on my 05 escape creaking, groaning. I thought it was the rack but it turned out to be the out tie rod ends needed grease. They dont have grease fittings so i made a small slit in the boot and used my grease gun to fill it. Problem went away. Dont recommend for the long term with a slit in the boot. But it was cheaper than the steering rack that i thought it was. Give it a try. If it works get tie rod ends and an alignment.

 

That does point out that a standard alignment will diagnose all the steering components and if the vehicle can not be aligned is usually no charge. The tech will probably also diagnose and estimate the groan if you tell him about it. Although you should probably offer to pay for that part, if it causes the failure to align.

 

Thanks for all the information, been busy getting my daughter moved in with me, she starts college on Thursday. I need to get it on jack stands and take a closer look today. If I decided to keep it, and hey I have really enjoyed my Escape over the last 8 years, I may be drive the Escape myself and let her have my 2007 Fusion. I'm just not high on having 2 car payments right now, and like you guys I've done all the work on my Escape myself.

It's such an interesting noise, it's sort of like a old door in a house that has a groaning, a bit of creaking noise, like something is rubbing on something. The steering is tight, so I'm going to take a close of look at all of the suspension parts when I get underneath it. I have change out all the power steering fluid, but no help.

Again thanks, every bit of information gives me clues as to what to look for.

Scott

 

Let us know how it goes.

Our advice is almost worth the amout you pay for it. But we do get smarter on your experienses, and then maybe someday..........

 

I think you are wise to consider other sources of the noise before condemning the rack. My experiences have been that noise transmits easily through the relatively thick metals in steering/suspension on vehicles, and it can be hard to determine sometimes exactly where, for sure, it is coming from.

A creaking/groaning rubbing sound is a common metal-to-metal sound. Like a "permanently lubricated" joint whose "permanent" has expired. Some possibilities: Outer tie rod end like fordman400 said; Inner tie rod; Lower ball joint.

Or, can be something that was meant to have rubber between the parts, and the rubber wore out like the Lower control arm bushing, the horizontal one that acts like a hinge. If it has a steel sleeve in the center and the rubber wears out, will get metal to metal contact. Should be able to eye-ball that one on each end of the bushing. I would look at it with the suspension loaded, rather than wheels hanging down unloaded. I drive vehicles up on 2 thicknesses of 2x10 or 12, one shorter one longer, in stairstep fashion to get access while keeping the vehicle loaded and in normal ride position.

I do not have personal experience with diagnosing/replacing inner tie rods on rack and pinion steering. I know that the inner joint usually screws onto the end of a rack itself, inside the dust boot. And that the tie rod that sticks out is part of the inner tie rod assembly, there being a "permanently lubricated" ball-type joint between the two parts of the inner tie rod assembly. A tool to fit the inner tie rod joint housing flats to unscrew it from the rack should be available via rental/deposit at most chain-type of parts stores, I have seen them there.

Luckily, the one rack and pinion vehicle (Dodge minivan) that we kept for 16 years and 150k+ miles needed no rack, tie rod, or ball joint replacement, but I did have to feed it sway bar to body bushings a few times, which was very easy to do. They started groaning on turns, particulary a turn uphill, which flexes the sway bar the most.

 

Well I think I have fix the problem. Last weekend I searched through the forum and found this.



"Ford TSB 04-22-10 tells how to fix this.......

Some vehicles may exhibit a steering gear squeak when turning the steering wheel. This noise can occur under multiple conditions, but most commonly occurs during low speed parking maneuvers. The squeak can also be heard while turning the wheel when the engine is not running. The noise may sound like it is coming from the steering column boot area near the driver's feet, and then emanate up the steering shaft to the top of the steering column. Do not confuse this high-pitched squeak with a steering moan or whine noise.

ACTION:
Lubricate the steering column boot, then flush out the factory filled power steering fluid and replace with Motorcraft Mercon V (XT-5-QM). Refer to the following Service Procedure. I was kinda leery that flushing the P/S would fix it but I've done 2 now and it did."



So I did that last weekend, and then I also added some Lucas Power Steering sealer and conditioner, hey for $10 more bucks, what could I lose at this point. nothing happened the first day, but has each day has gone by the noise was getting less and less, until today, nothing...Back to normal. The only variable in this has been the outside temperature. upper 90's last weekend, 107 on Monday (hey that's hot even for us Texans) upper 80's yesterday and because of rain mid 70's today. There is a rubber cover inside the cabin at the firewall that just pops loose. From there you can actually see the rag joint from inside the cabin, also looks like a rubber boot covering the rag joint in the engine compartment. I lubed that boot with WD-40 (I know Water Displacement formula #40, guess the first 39 just didn't cut it for the military) that was all I had handy. So when the temps go back up if the noise returns I'm guessing it's that rubber boot rubbing on the rag joint.

So (keeping fingers crossed) It will be interesting to see if this solved the problem. I ran errands all over the place this morning and parked at many places (stores), and though out the driving not a hint of noise when turning the wheel, standing still or driving.

I will let everyone know how it's going over the next few days.
Thanks for all the help, that fix was from a post back in 2005, so looks like it's not that common of a problem.

Thanks Again!

Scott


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