Knocking sound when hard steering

crazyone64 · Jul 10, 2022

Hi,

I recently changed my front control arms, springs and inner & outer tie rods.
I took my 03 mach1 for a test drive and noticed when pulling the wheel hard to left / right. I can hear a single loud knock on the front driver side.
Everything was torqued to spec, and springs were aligned inbetween the 2 holes on the lca. insulator was fine. Rack bushings and stabilizer links are 2 years old.

What would you recommend i check first?
Front and Rear alignment is in a few weeks,
It sounds like its coming from the red section in the picture, not the strut mount

crazyone64 · Jul 11, 2022

I got under the car and had someone moving the steering wheel. I believe i've isolated to either the rag joint, or the part in the 2nd pic. How do i remove these components? Would love some advice

weendoggy · Jul 11, 2022

crazyone64 said:
I got under the car and had someone moving the steering wheel. I believe i've isolated to either the rag joint, or the part in the 2nd pic. How do i remove these components? Would love some advice

I'd ditch the rag joint and get a u-joint style shaft. Removal isn't bad. Take the bolt out at the rack end, go inside the car and remove the pinch bolt on the shaft and to make it easier, remove the two bolts holding the firewall bearing plate. The shaft will collapse a bit and then you just remove it. Be careful with the firewall bearing and plastic sleeve. The sleeve is not available so treat it like gold. Replacement is the same just backwards of removal.

manicmechanic007 · Jul 11, 2022

I used to replace those lower shafts at the dealer alot
Taurus was worse, F150 horrible
They used to be only about 155 bucks. Now they are probably two hundred bucks if available at all from Ford
You have to remove the rack bolts and shift the rack forward (that is the easy way to replace the lower shaft / rag joint assembly)
Your 03 Mach lower shaft comes as half the car and has the collapsible / extruded part

manicmechanic007 · Jul 11, 2022

Just dawned on me you do not need to move the rack forward on a (96-04) Mustang

crazyone64 · Jul 11, 2022

weendoggy said:
I'd ditch the rag joint and get a u-joint style shaft. Removal isn't bad. Take the bolt out at the rack end, go inside the car and remove the pinch bolt on the shaft and to make it easier, remove the two bolts holding the firewall bearing plate. The shaft will collapse a bit and then you just remove it. Be careful with the firewall bearing and plastic sleeve. The sleeve is not available so treat it like gold. Replacement is the same just backwards of removal.

Thank you, once the shaft is removed, how do you swap the rag joint? From the pic i don't see how it separates.. does this mean i need a new steering shaft? I'm not seeing any options other than max motorsport and it's expensive

crazyone64 · Jul 11, 2022

manicmechanic007 said:
I used to replace those lower shafts at the dealer alot
Taurus was worse, F150 horrible
They used to be only about 155 bucks. Now they are probably two hundred bucks if available at all from Ford
You have to remove the rack bolts and shift the rack forward (that is the easy way to replace the lower shaft / rag joint assembly)
Your 03 Mach lower shaft comes as half the car and has the collapsible / extruded part

Thank you,
After the shaft is removed, do you remember how/if the stock joint can be separated or is it all one part? I don't see how it separates in the pic of my rag joint above

manicmechanic007 · Jul 12, 2022

Right, unless you are going to cut and drill out the shaft rivets, the rag joint is not replaceable alone
Your knock or looseness should be the shaft itself (where it slides) and not the rag joint
That is why you replace the shaft assembly

crazyone64 · Jul 12, 2022

manicmechanic007 said:
Right, unless you are going to cut and drill out the shaft rivets, the rag joint is not replaceable alone
Your knock or looseness should be the shaft itself (where it slides) and not the rag joint
That is why you replace the shaft assembly

Thank you for explaining, what are your thoughts on https://lmr.com/item/LRS-3524A/mustang-lower-steering-shaft-94-04 and double the price if the dorman doessn't fit: https://www.maximummotorsports.com/...Power-Steering-Rack-1994-04-Mustang-P460.aspx
I'm surprised Moog doesn't have one.

weendoggy · Jul 13, 2022

crazyone64 said:
Thank you for explaining, what are your thoughts on https://lmr.com/item/LRS-3524A/mustang-lower-steering-shaft-94-04 and double the price if the dorman doessn't fit: https://www.maximummotorsports.com/...Power-Steering-Rack-1994-04-Mustang-P460.aspx
I'm surprised Moog doesn't have one.

I'm not a fan of the rag joint style. I put a MM on mine and love it. Much better feel.

manicmechanic007 · Jul 13, 2022

Not a fan of the price of either of those
I see the dorman ones on ebay for 162.82
Ouch

weendoggy · Jul 14, 2022

manicmechanic007 said:
Not a fan of the price of either of those
I see the dorman ones on ebay for 162.82
Ouch

I paid $280 for my MM one four years ago so a $60 increase isn't that bad.

Knocking sound when hard steering

crazyone64

Attachments

crazyone64

Attachments

weendoggy

manicmechanic007

manicmechanic007

crazyone64

crazyone64

manicmechanic007

crazyone64

weendoggy

manicmechanic007

weendoggy

Similar threads

Knocking sound when hard steering

Attachments

Attachments

Similar threads

Privacy & Transparency

Privacy & Transparency