My power steering is STILL making noise! The mechanics on visit 2 to the dealer commented "extremely loud whining" and replaced the pump... on visits 1, 3, and 4 they say "not duplicated at this time", "no problem found", and "noise normal".

I guess I need to go drive other people's trucks because I just don't think that noise is normal. It is a whine/gurgle noise and I can't hear it when the AC is on high and I have the CD player turned on... (I know, I know, just keep the AC on high and jam down to the music). Really, I'm trying to find out what the truth of the matter is. If anyone has the same trouble, please email me. I'd really feel much better if I could find out. I'm contacting the service manager tomorrow but it won't do any good since he's the one that said "noise normal" on the invoice. HELP!!???

 

Ford duplicated the sound but said it was normal! Yea, whatever. I gave up on it. Got the motor replaced instead. Come to think of it, I haven't heard the power steering noise lately. Maybe during the reinstall they fixed it. Ha! Unlikely!

Seriously though, I have heard a lot of discussion on it and the consenus was that it is the design of the power steering pump. I had also heard that there was some synthetic fluid that would help cut-down the noise but no one was able to come up with a manufacturer.

Good luck - the noise can be annoying.

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'97 F150 Lariat, Flareside, white/sliver, SC, ORP, 5.4 (FQR), Mods: 305/70/16 GY ATS, AR Baja wheels, dual exhaust, Smittybilt Nerf Bars, Edelbrock IAS Shocks, K&N Filter and Carbon Fiber Bug Gaurd. Rigged the fog lights too.

 

I had the exact problem you talk about in the 98 Ford F150 I had. I won't go into details as I usually find I go on and on about the problems I had with it and it tends to offend Ford owners.

The powersteering pump on mine was replaced under warranty. Did not help at all. The numerous times I returned to the dealer, I got the same thing you got...."Not duplicated at this time". I ended up getting rid of the truck after a very short time of ownership. I did have to fix the problem with the noise before I could get anyone to buy it. I replaced the pitman arm at my own expense. That fixed the problem on that truck. Several others than had it also fixed it with the pitman arm.

If you have the pitman arm replaced, make sure they replace it with one that has a zerk fitting. The cheap Ford original part doesn't have one, which is why it was so noisy..... no grease. It just wore out prematurely and Ford designed it to be that way.

 

Does the sound sound kind of like an old swing set? Creeking noise noticed mostly in park turning the wheel back and forth?

 

exactly Jason
Mine did it too. It IS the pitman arm.

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97' F150 Lariat S/C long bed 4x4 3:55LS 4.6L auto...SuperChip, 40 series Flowmaster cat back.
Colorado Springs, CO

 

OK guys... It doesn't sound like a creak to me... it sounds like a gurgling whine and it is not very loud. Could that STILL be the Pitman arm?

Also... I'm single and have no "man" to talk to the guys at the Ford place AND I feel like they don't treat me very well. They aren't mean or anything, they just act like they think I'm stupid, which I'm not. Any suggestions on what to say so that I can get my truck fixed without making anyone mad or anything?

I will print this out to take with me but do you guys know of a TSB or anything on that Pitman arm?

Thanks!

 

There IS a TSB, but unsure now what it is. Go to www.nhtsa.dot.gov. Enter the year and make of your truck and it will pull up the tsb's and recalls for your truck.

Good luck.

 

KFincher, I think the sound is normal. The F150 power steering fluid makes a circuit up to the power steering fluid reservoir and then goes back down. This reservoir is mounted in front of the firewall, just ahead of where the driver sits. If you look at this reservoir with the engine running, you will see the fluid flowing through the reservoir at a pretty good rate. I'll bet the fluid flow is what you are hearing.

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'99 F150 SC, 4x2, Oxford white, flareside, 5.4, 3.55 rearend,
bodyside mouldings, Snugtop hard tonneau, K&N dropin and airbox mod. Duraliner drop-in (gave up on the Penda Nascar).
Future mods: 2/4 lowering, bra and some Roush stuff. Also want Gibson Supertruck




[This message has been edited by Marv1 (edited 10-25-1999).]

 

Marv1... do I look from underneath the truck or up top? I am not exactly sure what to look for, I guess. I am assuming that the "firewall" is exactly what it sounds like it is... some type of insulation or something between the cab and the the engine well? I know my questions probably sound stupid to some of you but I'll never know if I don't ask. Thanks again!

 

KFincher:

Everybody will try and tell you the noise is normal so they don't have to deal with it. I know, the dealers worked harder to get out of work than they would have had to to resolve the problem.

Trust me, the pitman arm is notorious to cause the noise you are hearing. It sounds like someone shaking a hand saw. Anywhere from a swooshing sound to a rubbing sound. For some reason the dealers try to brush it off as normal by design. I think because normally it will go out after the warranty is up, which is what they did to me. Kept denying it while it was under warranty. Once out of warranty, they suddenly confirmed the problem to the pitman arm.

Your call. If it were me, my experience tells me to stay on these losers that work at the dealerships. Every single one of them would sell a lemon to their mother or bandaid a problem along until it is out of warranty and very costly. They all should be hung from their......

Good luck.

 

Open the hood and walk to the drivers side then look at the engine. There is a big black thing that goes from the fender to the top of the engine...between this and the firewall (the back of the engine bay) there is a translucent white plastic bottle. This is the power steering reservoir. Start the engine and look at the reservoir and you will see the fluid moving inside. On most vehicles, this reservoir is way down near the bottom of the engine bay and rarely gets noticed. The noise might be caused by the pitman arm but if it happens when there is no steering input then it cannot be the pitman arm. I still say the noise is normal. HTH, Marv

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'99 F150 SC, 4x2, Oxford white, flareside, 5.4, 3.55 rearend,
bodyside mouldings, Snugtop hard tonneau, K&N dropin and airbox mod. Duraliner drop-in (gave up on the Penda Nascar).
Future mods: 2/4 lowering, bra and some Roush stuff. Also want Gibson Supertruck

 

KFincher, if your really concerned about going it alone, I'm sure we have many texas members in your area, well ok, I don't know and texas is a big state, but if you ask, I am sure someone close will go with you. The people on this site are the best!

I personally go to the mitsubishi dealer with my wife's friend because they are having a hard time understand the lemon laws. She has spent 3 months in the shop so far and the car is under 1 year old. I first told her to tell them, that under the lemon law she wanted a new car and they told her: "you don't understand, you really don't want to do that!" HAHAHAHAHAH, I had to step in...

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David
'99 F150 XLT SC, STYLESIDE
4X4 ORP 5.4L, AUTO,
139wb, Rhino, K&N,
BugGuard, RainGuards
Superchip

 

Cloaker, tell me alittle about the lemon laws. I was told the same thing, when I took my mothers car to the shop, several times in one year.

 

Marv... thanks for the tip... I'll take a look today and see what I see. The truck only makes the noise when the steering is engaged, it does not whine and gurgle when the wheels are straight. The noise sounds even when I'm making a small turn, so it is not the noise the pump makes when you turn the wheel as far as it will go.

I'm going to take a friend (male, knowledgeable, etc) with me next time I go. Maybe that will help. I've even considered taking the truck to the mechanic that worked on my old car (since it wasn't under warranty) to see what he thinks. It wouldn't cost that much for an opinion. I really hate to spend the money, though, since the truck is under warranty. There is another Ford dealer in town that I could go to but it is farther away and not convenient at all. At any rate, thanks to all of you for your advice and if you guys think of anything else, please let me know!

 

I took mine in yesterday for this noise. They again said it was normal. "Verified customer concern. Like vechicles exhibit same noise. Noise is the fluid traveling through the power steering lines." They did say mine was a little louder than most, but were unwilling to do anything. They have already replaced the pump once, and this did nothing to fix the problem. Guess I will have to live with it.

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1998 F-150 XLT SC 5.4L