This is on a 2000 2wd coil front end. Relaced the power steering pump a few weeks back, this one is just as noisy as the one it replaced by the way. Replaced all four ball joints and the upper control arms, joints were all shot. Front end seems nice and tight now and no knocking noises.

The problem is when turning the front wheels they shutter, you can feel it through the steering wheel. I attributed this before to the ball joints and thought it might go away after they were replaced, no such luck. I notice you can see the wheels shutter ( not a smooth movement is what I mean by shutter ) when turning the wheel back and forth sitting in the driveway.

Power steering pump bad ? Rack and pinion bad ? Anything else I could check ?

 

check the wheel bearings

 

Wheel bearings didn't look bad and I've repacked and torqued them according to the Haynes manual.

 

check the tie rod ends

 

I'll check those when I get home tonight.

 

The serpentine belt tensioner may be getting weak allowing the belt to slip.

 

Could be air in the lines. I used to have feedback in the steering wheel and shudder until I replaced the shocks. How many miles?

 

270,000 + I've put on this one

I've thought about air in the lines, I'm not seeing any foaming in the pump ?

Haven't thought about the tensioner, guess the only way to test that is to replace it ?

 

Not seeing any obvious play in the tie rods, movement side to side looks to have no slop I can see. Probably just go ahead and replace them anyways.

 

How long has it been doing it? I bet it is just air in the lines.... if it hasn't been long just drive 'er and it'll go away. My dad's old 2000 did the same thing on me!

 

Its just air in the lines.

 

I know after an alignment on Rangers and Explorers air gets in the lines from moving the steering without the engine on. I usually move the wheel from lock to lock a few times before driving. It should clear up after about a half hour of driving.

As for the tensioner, I usually take the belt off of it and check for play. Also try spinning it real fast by "slapping" it with your hand and see if you hear any noise.

 

Okay, I'm gonna put it on the road for awhile tomorrow and see if it disappears before I do anything. Tempted to pop the tie rods and see how they feel in hand though.

 

278k on a 2.5L automatic.....makes me feel good about my truck. 170k on mine.

 

You should have 100k or more left to go. Keep mine clean and don't let em get hot. This one sat in the driveway for over two years with a broken timing belt, now it's hitting the road again to get my daughter to school and back.

 

Broken timing belt.......good thing these are non-interference engines.

 

Yep, this is it's second timing belt, lol. First was at 154k, I wrote the mileage on that white sticker on the cover.

 

So far I've replaced the belt tensioner assembly and idler pulley, they were origimal and surely needed replacing. I also vacuum bled the power steering which really quietened the pump down alot. It's much better, but still some slop. I'll probably pull the tie rod ends next to have a look.

Don't know how many miles the old truck has left, especially after sitting for so long, but doing what I can.