Pop-pop-poppin' sounds when turning right

[search4aztlan]

I took the car in a few weeks ago 'cause I was noticing a popping sound when turning the steering wheel clockwise (right turn) when pulling into a parking spot. The mechanic checked the front suspension and didn't find anything wrong. Now that I'm aware of the sound I can't stop hearing it.

Anyone have any idea what may be causing the sound. It's only when I turn right that I hear it. I start to hear it when I turn the wheel about 1/2 a turn to lock.

 

[04YELLOWGT]

It something to do with the rack and pinion stearing. Tell them to look it up on their computer. Ford has it listed as some of the problems. Its a part they'll have to order. It should be replaced for free or at least mine was.

 

[billfisher]

it's like some kind of pvc joint problem. like on VW's.

 

[search4aztlan]

Dealer won't pay for it.

I forgot to mention it's a '98 so the dealership won't pay squat.

Here's another issue. I had an extended warranty and was 100 miles before expiring when I took the car in for this issue with the popping sound. Could it be that the ford mechanic had a case of selective hearing since my warranty was about to expire? As I mentioned on my first post, they said they did not see any problem with the suspension. Maybe the neglected to look at the steering.

 

[KronicRacer]

could be a ball joint thats failing (deteriorating)

 

[twogts4us]

it's like some kind of pvc joint problem. like on VW's.

You are joking right?
A CV (constant velosity) joint will not be found on a solid axle, RWD Mustang...and if he goes in there talking about a CV joint, they're sure to know he's got sh1t for brains.

 

[blackfang]

PVC thats piping they use for plumbing.

It could be rack bushings, ball joint, tie rod end , who knows.

 

[03ghoststang]

for me it was the sterring rack bushings

 

[DropTop01]

Solution: JUST MAKE LEFTs..... sorry im just being stupid, couldnt resist.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

it's like some kind of pvc joint problem. like on VW's.

Bill, bill, bill.

 

[billfisher]

Bill, bill, bill.

what? is that wrong?

maybe i meant pcv joint or something.

sorry, i shouldn't do that.
i'm not making fun of the porblem. you have inner and outer ball joints. the inners can go bad on their own with time. however i have found mine to go bad after extended use, then i make a toe adjustment, and blamo it goes bad. not too fun to replace, but do it soon cause tires aren't cheap. could be rack too, i guess.that aint fun to fix either. or outer. i guess i didn't shorten the list.

lift it up(front chasis), and grab each tire and shake it. observe inner and outer ball joints. there should be NO movement independent of the tie rod. if no movement then look to rack last.

 

[blackfang]

WTF!
Cocaine is a hell of a drug man!

Mustangs do not have inner or outer ball joints!!! Inner and outer tie rod ends, yes.
Cars and trucks, have what they call upper and lower ball joints. However the Modified Machpherson strut system on a Mustang eliminates the need for an upper a arm and upper ball joint. The Mustang has 1 lower ball joint and a lower control arm.


Please find me an inner and outer ball joint.

 

[billfisher]

don't get technical with me. forgive the bad words. doh.

a joint shaped like a ball called a 'tie rod end' to some.

ball joints are at the bottom of control arms.

notice i did say "at the end of the tie rod" or something like that.

 

[blackfang]

don't get technical with me. forgive the bad words. doh.

a joint shaped like a ball called a 'tie rod end' to some.

ball joints are at the bottom of control arms.

notice i did say "at the end of the tie rod" or something like that.

Technical is what this is. You were completely wrong. First a PVC, then Outer and inner ball joints? WTF is next? Muffler bearings?. If you are gonna offer the tech, atleast have half a clue as to what the hell you are saying.

***** like that would confuse the hell out of someone. When he comes to see me and says I was told my outer and inner ball joints might be bad. I would ask where he heard that from. One I hear its stangnet, I would bash stangnet for the amount of dumbasses it has. Afterall the guy heard from someone on here about mustangs having inner and outer ball joints and PVC's.

 

[Dragstr05]

Technical is what this is. You were completely wrong. First a PVC, then Outer and inner ball joints? WTF is next? Muffler bearings?. If you are gonna offer the tech, atleast have half a clue as to what the hell you are saying.

***** like that would confuse the hell out of someone. When he comes to see me and says I was told my outer and inner ball joints might be bad. I would ask where he heard that from. One I hear its stangnet, I would bash stangnet for the amount of dumbasses it has. Afterall the guy heard from someone on here about mustangs having inner and outer ball joints and PVC's.

Exactly why I dont post a solution in tech unless I'm very confident in what I'm saying.

Sorry, I honestly dont have a clue. But if I were checking myself, I would just wiggle the wheel around with the car jacked up and see if you can notice anything out of place. If its doing it on right turns, that means something on the right side is bad (obviously), because you are putting more wieght/stress on that corner of the car. So, compare the left to the right side and see if you notice anything out of place. It may be something cheap and easy to replace.

Try taking it back to the dealer if you like, insist that the problem is still there. You may get them to cover you under warranty, you may not, depends on what the problem turns out to be. Warranties can be tricky, thats for sure. Your problem may turn out to be a "wear item" and not be covered under warranty, but you never know. Worst comes to worst, even if you dont like the idea of it, suggest the tech take the car out through the parking lot and let him hear the noise himself, then he will have a better idea of what to look for.

 

[TrueBlue03]

my car does the same thing, but with both left and right turns. My bros 04 mach did it also and the ford dealer said it was something with the rack and pinion (as mentioned earlier. they fixed it for him...but when i took mine in, they said it was nothing and that it was only a problem in the 04's so they didnt bother trying to fix it.... those lazy bastards just didnt feel like doin any more work

 

[Fox44ever]

It's the rack. Suppossedly there are shims for it that fix the problem.

 

[USMC03GT]

I had a similar problem on my 04 and I changed to poly rack bushings. Solved the problem for now mostly. I still hear it very intermittently. One thing I noticed upon changing the bushings was that the sleeve that goes through both bushings was not flush on either end. Like when the metal was rolled into the sleeve it wasn't rolled straight. I think I'm going to pull those out and try to straighten them in a vice and see if that helps the problem. Might be worth looking into.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Replace steering rack bushings...

 

[stng]

If you do get it figured out would you please post it... I have the exact same problem on my 2000 but it is very intermittent. You know how it is, when you want to hear it and try and diagnosis it the problem mysteriously goes away...