I did a search and it doesn't appear that anyone has written about his particular situation, so here goes...

I have an '04 4x4, SuperCrew. I may hit the occasional parking curb (at low speeds of course) or speed bump, or pothole, or whatever road irregularity but I find it highly unlikely that it is the cause of the loose left tie-rod/rack problem I am currently experiencing. A buddy turned the steering wheel maybe five degrees back-&-forth and a noticeable noise ("ting", "clang" "ping", etc.) from the left front. I held onto the left tie-rod with some considerable force and the noise went away. Not exactly sure if it is coming from the rack or the inner tie-rod but the the lower ball joint appears tight and without play or movement.

Before I start pulling the boot apart and really getting dirty I was wondering if anyone else has had this problem and what did you find? Is there a particular area I should pay extra attention to? I hope that it isn't a bad rack and pinion. Any TSB's you've heard of?

Any comments or help would be much appreciated...