Been noticing a bad clunk in the front-end of my 07 GT. I took it to my local dealership and it was diagnosed as a bad steering rack. They quoted me almost $650 to replace. Has anyone done one themselves or know how difficult of a procedure it is? I am decent with DIY I did my springs by myself, have done struts and springs on other vehicles before so overall I am ok with the wrench. Any thoughts on this?

 

Go to another dealer, its more likely front sway bar end links or upper strut mounts, def get a second or third opinion!

 

my old mark vii had 3 racks replaced over the years...pita on that car- hydraulic lines were inaccessible, no room, bunch of cut/welded/bent wrenches. other than that it was easy.

never heard of klunk from a rack...wonder if its just a inner tie rod and theyd rather change the whole thing as they come with the rack?

I agree, get a second opinion- but asap. not safe driving with loose frontend parts if its something important...rollbar links/bushings, meh- but steering/tierod/balljoints will make for a very bad day if the loose part becomes two.

 

Yeah my initial thought was sway bar end links, bushings or something easier to repair. I am really not sure what to do. I am not driving the car until I can get it fixed because what was just an annoying clunk is NOW a really loud and noticeable clunk. If I take it to another dealer will they be able to see what the first dealership diagnosed? I mean through computer via VIN?

 

Hey B1GP1MP1N,

My name is Deysha from Ford Customer Service. I agree with getting a second opinion. You should have them look into your Powertrain warranty as well. It’s good for 5yrs/60k miles. Also, if the repair/diagnosis was not performed under warranty, the dealers will not be able to see each other's notes. Please PM me if you need further assistance.

Deysha

 

Thanks for the reply. I called the dealership back and was told that the steering rack is not part of the power train warranty. I have to admit that the fact that something of this nature failed with the amount of miles I have on the vehicle is very disappointing but what can I say? My first 'American made' car in about 20 years and things like this certainly make me question the quality.

 

fwiw, back in the day my 74 Jensen-Healey had a clunk in the rack - but you would feel it in the steering wheel. I believe there are shims that could tighten it up but wound up I had to replace it.

Also, I bought a new Chrysler last year for a winter car and right off the lot it was pushing power steering fluid out the reservoir cap. (There was no clunking though.) They hooked up a device that measures pressure in the rack to know if its the rack or the power steering pump. They could tell it was a valving problem in the rack because there was too much return pressure. But racks aren't rebuildable any more (at least Chryslers) so they had to replace the entire unit.

So point being, ask about that pressure test to verify if its the rack.

 

I definitely understand. This is also where the second opinion may come in handy. Here is what is covered under the Powertrain Warranty. Hope this helps.

Deysha

 

if its not under warranty anyways, take it to a reputable alignment shop... be sure to ask around though, some are terrible.

we have a NTB store a half hour away I trust...know the one tech there saved me a bunch of dealer recommended work and didnt even charge me...been back several times, nice when you can find a place you can trust.

after a tierod recall, our steering wheel was 90 degrees out, our dealer wanted to drill out welds/jack the front end around on our van...no it was fine prior to them working on it- took to ntb they checked alignment-was fine, noticed tires were swapped from side to side, tech said some tires get a 'ply steer' bias due to the way some of the windstar/taurus alignment makes them flex- he swapped the tires back and it was fine...went to pay, was shocked at no charge- they check alignments and rotate for free...that was >10 yrs ago, been back several times, still the only place I'll take our cars for stuff i cant do at home.

 

I recall a post way back on another site where the poster found the bolts holding the rack to the car were loose, as I remember checking mine after reading it, that were surely make some clunking. When I did the J&M camber plates the strut bar would loosen up every month or so and I would have to snug down the top strut bolts. I also replaced the stock end links on the sway bar with Steeda ones, what junk, they wore out in a year and that clunk was obnoxious.

 

I crawled under and looked for anything loose. I check any visible bolts with a boxend and everything is tight. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

This is such a crappy problem to have. It literally sounds like something is loose and the clunk can even be felt in the floorboard. I am at a total loss as to what this can be. Maybe it's time to find a cliff and just report it stolen. Lol anyway thanks for the posts

 

I have a 2007 mustang clunk when I turn ...after I went out and checked the torque on the rack hold down bolts..
I had a bit of looseness in the right side rack mount bolt....bag now its good.
Check it ,,,out could save some money, I did.. people said my noise was the rack as well.
Do a good check on any bolts the in the area where you hear the noise...
Good luck