I have a 97 F150 and when I turn my wheel there is a loud kind of squeaking noise. This only happens when I am at low speeds or standing still. All fluids are fine. Does anyone know what this could be?

 

Hey jwhitaker3!
First,welcome to f150online! With that said,your problem is the pitman(steering)arm. They were supposed to have "lifetime" lubrication,
in other words,a sealed unit. All you have to have is a grease gun and a
needle(attachment) Puncture the seal and inject the grease,and your done.
Why do car makers think anything can be "lifetime" on a vehicle,,what a joke,hehe,,,,,98

 

That pitman arm is making a name for itself around here lately...........btw greasing didn't work for me it actually just went away after a while.

 

If you tried greasing it, and it went away after awhile, wouldn't that mean that it did work? j/k,,,,98

 

Hey guys, I'm a new F150 owner and am also new to this site. This site is excellent, I learn alot (like about piston slap and door cracks...which unfortunately my truck has both of them). My front end also squeaks when I turn. The ford garage told me it was a noisy control arm. I was thinking about having them replace it, is it worth it? Can I penetrate some type of boot and grease it? Any help would be appreciated...the truck is going into the garage Saturday or Monday morning. Thanks.

 

98Screamer,
Na actually I greased it, it continued to do it for about 2-3 more weeks, then it stopped. Guess it was some sort of delayed reaction gease I used, lol.

 

Delayed reaction grease? Too funny Hey mhussey, if it squeaks even while sitting still it could be the pitman arm. If it's only while driving, it "could" be a control arm. The pitman arm is the only cause for this noise I've heard of on this site. There could be another cause, I guess,,,,,98

 

98screamer,

What about pitman's retarded brother? That has a zerk fitting (on the 4x4), and is "supposed" to be lubed at service intervals...Do they always remember to do it? Who the heck knows, but I'd hit that first before I go puncturing any sealed fittings on the pitman arm..

 

Good point, I've never even looked at mine that closely. Mine always gets lubed by someone else. There are only two grease fittings on the 4x2's if I remember corrrectly, and I've never crawled under a 4x4 F-150. It might be a good idea to get someone to turn the wheel while you try to find where the squeak is coming from. ,,,,98

 

Hey 98Screamer, the noise occurs while I'm sitting still or when I am moving slow (such as turning into a parking space). So do you think I should hold off on the Ford garage fix and try to grease it?

 

Worth a try, and could save alot of money. You know how dealers like to charge for everything. They will want to put a new pitman arm on.,,,,98

 

Yeah, you're right. I'll have to try some grease. I should would have been pissed if the ford garage's fix was a new pitman arm and grease would have fixed it all along! Anyways, thanks for the help and btw sharp looking truck!

 

Thanks for the compliment, if it was for me? It seems like I have it torn apart anytime it's not rolling,hehe,,,,98

 

The needle and grease worked for me. A guy at the tire shop said he had his arm replaced for $100. The needle cost me $2.50.