Front end squeak Steering rack, or tie rod bushings?

46gtsblown · Jun 17, 2007

To cure mine 8 years ago I got a can of spray white lithium, cut the spray tube like a hypo needle, poked a hole in all of the rubber boots covering the tie rod ends and ball joints then just filled the boots with grease.
Works fine lasts a very long time.

Dwayne

newstangman · Jun 17, 2007

46gtsblown said:
To cure mine 8 years ago I got a can of spray white lithium, cut the spray tube like a hypo needle, poked a hole in all of the rubber boots covering the tie rod ends and ball joints then just filled the boots with grease.
Works fine lasts a very long time.

Dwayne

Those are dust boots and when you have your car greased, they should feel packed with grease - firm, but not enough to blow the dust boot off. The squeek is from the rack and pinion bushings, believe me and the TSB verifies it.

46gtsblown · Jun 17, 2007

Yea ok what ever, funny how I cured MY problem using the method I outlined.
The stock tie rod ends and ball joints are not greaseable there are no zerc fittings on the fron end of these Mustangs.

Dwayne

pedigreehhh23 · Mar 24, 2008

check the balljoints\spring

My 98 did the same thing, replaced the balljoints, no more squeak. 6 months later, squeak again, freakin awful sound, so i am going to inject the tie rod ends with grease via needle fitting, then if it is still squeaking, onto the rack bushings and the 48,000 other bushings on the front end. If you put your hand on the bottom of the control arm, you can feel vibration when you have someone bounce the car up and down and it is squeang, so it is a slim chance it is where the spring sits in the control arm. 4 months of this now so I am determined to find this noise.

Rusty67 · Mar 24, 2008

Strange, the only bushings in the front I can think of are the rack bushings and control arm bushings. BTW, I've got almost 120,000 miles on mine and they havn't been easy miles either. My rack bushings were all but brand new 10,000 miles ago when I did all that work on my control arms.

JohnyD05 · Mar 24, 2008

FYI... I started this forever ago, but it was my Tie rod ends. I took the old ones out and when when i did i cut the boot on them and looked inside and it was semi rusted and lacked grease. There are no grease fittings on the stock tie rods.

Rusty67 · Mar 24, 2008

If you want to grease your stock tie rods I think you can do it by removing them and then forcing grease down the hollow shaft but the problem with that is then you have to have a place for the excess grease to go and the factory boots don't have holes for the extra to seep out of.

hotdog71 · Mar 25, 2008

Glad you solved your squeek

What would cause a clicking sounds when turning the steering wheel left to right a couple of turns? when stationary it will make a kind of click sound a couple of times when I turn the wheel.

thanks

1BAD93 · Apr 24, 2008

Just wanted to add my thanks. I used the slit the boot method and sprayed white lithium in there and it worked. Instant silence for 2 minutes worth of work and 3 bucks in grease.

Roos85 · Apr 24, 2008

I have this same peoblem in my 04 gt and I am having it fixed soon let you all know what it was when I get it fixed

frey_gt · Apr 25, 2008

Add me to the squeaking front end list. My car started doing it a couple days ago. I am going to try the lithium grease first and see what happens. It is definately embarrassing when there is a bunch of people around.

ALRUI · Jul 21, 2009

Hey all - Did anyone lay under the car & have a helper move the wheels to the extreme left to re-create the squeak? When I did I noticed definite movement of the rack itself which seems odd to me but maybe its supposed to move a bit? This is on a 2000 stang with 26K miles.

Thanks for any input in advance!

RCM24 · Mar 18, 2010

I hate cars

My 2000 has been creaking when I turn to the left for a few weeks I guess I've been ignoring it. I was on my way from Boston to Long Island and my alternator went. While getting that fixed the guy told me my tie rods are not greased properly so I asked if I can just grease them and he said there is no way they have to be replaced, and maybe the ball joints too. And that I need to do it right away or I could lose my steering. Now I'm scared to drive back to Boston! I wish I knew how to work on cars.

Rusty67 · Mar 18, 2010

How long is that drive ? I'd just drive it back and take it to a mechanic you trust.

deftsound · Mar 18, 2010

Hey good time to get some nice adjustable tie-rod ends from steeda!

MadArmyWife · Apr 23, 2010

I just had a tire and maintenance inspection. Left outer tied rod, outer tie rod end, stabilizer links x 2, sway bar link kit, wheel alignment, strut replacement x4 spark plugs, fuel induction cleaning, ignition coil replaced, air filter, fuel filter and 1 cer prem pad replaced. and they had to redo the calipers because they locked up after they messed with the brakes. Now there is still knocking in the front end. when I turn to the left or right and they said it was nothing that is was typical with this car! It was the rack and pinion knocking to stop the car from locking up while turning? or something to the affect. What else could it be? they also told me it was my cv joints. which I dont think are in there because its a front wheel drive correct?
1800.00 dollars later! So can anyone tell me where to go to get this fixed? for less than this!!
Supposed to ship this car to Germany! Husband is waiting for it.

Optional Information:
Year : 2004
Make : Ford
Model: Mustang GT
5 speed

Rusty67 · Apr 23, 2010

They replaced Left outer tied rod and outer tie rod end ? Those are the same part.... They only did 4 spark plugs instead of all 8 ? Not sure but 1 cer prem pad replaced sounds like a brake pad. NEVER replace just 1 pad.... Always do them in pairs, front and rear. If the calipers "froze" after they messed with them and they worked fine previously, they provably damaged them when retracting the pistons. When you buy new calipers you can buy them "loaded" which means they come with new pads for only a small dollar amount more (comparatively).

My Mach 1 has zero front end knock and it has almost 100,000 miles on it. I've put about 35,000 of those miles on the car and they haven't been easy miles.

I have a suspicion that this shop just screwed you. Take it to an honest mechanic you know and get a lawyer if needed.

TheBooyaBandit · Dec 19, 2010

The Squeak

First, most tire guys will tell you that it is the tie rod(s). Most of them aren't real mechanics, and can screw you with that mistake if it is the ball joints. Cuz if it is the ball joint then the wheel will fall off sometime without a replacement. I had this problem, tire guy told me it was a Tie rod, so I took it to my friend to have him do it and found out it was a ball joint. Much easier to do, so I replaced the ball joints, $30 + tax for the pair at Autozone, then 2 mo. later it came back. I am going back to my friends shop tomorrow. We will try lubing the Tie rods, but it can just be that the ball joints need lubed. Replacement ball joints need lubed every 3000 miles. I will make the follow up post tomorrow.

spinnitt · Aug 29, 2016

I used a flavor injector then a little silicone to cover the holes. But this allow me to pack the ends fully with good grease.

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spinnitt · Aug 29, 2016

I'm not sure if it is the ball joints either, but in going to drive it while before hand. Inspecting the ball joints they didn't look bad, so going with this first.

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Front end squeak Steering rack, or tie rod bushings?

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