my 97 f150 makes a rubbing noise when i first turn the wheels in either direction.( tires rubbing is ruled out) i also here a squelching sound(just for a second) when i first start it up in the mornings. could this be the power steering unit finally going bad. i have 90000 miles on the truck.

 

yes It could be it also could be the pulley going as well

 

my truck makes that rubbing noise when i first take off also. i have 155,000 miles on mine.

 

hey guys i got rid of the squelching noise when i first turn my wheels.
i read some more posts and a couple of them said to get a needle that fits on the end of a grease gun and shoot some grease in the rubber boots on the front end ( i cant remember what they called the rod.) i call it the steering rods ( i greased 5 boots ) it done the trick, the noise is completely gone. ford doesn't have a grease fitting on these boots.
it may be the belt squealing when i first start it up in the morning but the weird thing is that it didn't make the noise this morning.
i don't know if what i done will hurt anything in the long run because i'm not a mechanic , but it sure saved me alot of money for the time being

 

It's the pitman arm. Grease that and the squeal should go away. Also, you may check your belt.

Mike