Steering Tie Rod Assembly problems of the 1998 Ford Expedition

Dt: the consumer stated the driver's side outer tie rod broke on her vehicle as she was driving on the expressway at 50-60 mph. This happened on 8-30-05. She reports having no problems prior to this. There was not an accident. She had received a letter from Ford on 9-04 to have the tie rods inspected every 15,000 miles. She had the vehicle inspected immediately after receiving the letter. The car had 90,000 miles at that time. Both outer tie rods were replaced.

While driving my 1998 Ford Expedition at about a 35 mph speed, on a smooth dry paved road, a sudden load bang noise with tire squealing and a loss of controll of the steering occured. Inspection of vehicle steering revealed the rh inner tie rod joint had fallen apart. The ball and socket of the tie rod had broken and no sterring controll of the rh frt tire resulted. No vehicle damage resulted (other than the tierod), no personal or property damage occured. Ford had sent me a letter of concern with the steering and suspension. It contained a brief note on how to check for defective or worn parts. When I called the dealership they informed me their would be a charge for the service. I checked the vehicle myself using their recomendation and noticed no worn parts. I have informed Ford and the dealership of the concern, they said bring it in to the dealer to inspect. Again the wanted $$. I will have a private garage install all new front steering parts on my vehicle. I wanted to inform your department of the vehicle steering component failier and the sudden loss of control to my vehicle which could have lead to very bad crash.

Consumer heard a sound while steering the vehicle. It was a thumping sound. Dealer stated that it sounded like tie rod failure . Dealer advised consumer that tie rod was defective and would need to be replaced.

While driving at 60 mph the front end tie rod broke without warning. As a result the driver lost control of the vehicle but was able to recover and pulled to the side of the road. The front left side of the vehicle had collapsed. Please provide additional information .

While backing out of the driveway left front tie rod broke.

The ballstud of the driver's side inner tie rod broke apart while driving. The ball of the ballstud seperated from the socket.

Broken tie rod.

When the vehicle was turned, the driver's tire turned outward, which was the result of a broken tie rod.

Tie rod broke while driving off highway 25-30 mph, resulting in tie rod and ball joint to be replaced.

Tie rod end on front left wheel has disconnected while driving at 30-35 mph. Dealer and manufacturer were not notified at this time. Consumer states that the driver had no control over the vehicle after crossing the railroad tracks.

Both tie rod ends were broken and replaced by a repair shop. Dealer notified. Feel free to provide any further information.

The truck began to pull to the right, then the tie rod broke from the wheel.

Consumer was driving on highway and prepared to exit on off ramp when left driver's side tie rod separated from vehicle and entered the wheel well which caused vehicle to come to a violent halt. Vehicle was towed to dealer, and dealer confirmed tie rod broke. Inspected right side, and said that tie rod was near failure as well. Repairs were made. That was second time in 3 years that tie rods were replaced. The first time it was under warranty, and the second incident was not covered under warranty. Consumer was upset that these parts t failed. Had not occurred under normal wear and tear circumstances. This was street and highway driving, no rough wear on the vehicle.

While backing out consumer heard a dragging sound, tie rod end broke.

Drivers side tie rod broke when backing out of garage. Nlm.

From Apr-98 to July-98 the NHTSA had investigated tierod-end failures in 96-98 Ford f150, Ford Expeditions and Lincoln navigators. This investigation needs to be re-opened. I believe I have found the reason for the failures. Please have the engineer in charge of this issue call me as soon as posible. This is a major safety issue. Kyle lembach 02-28-99. P. S. I have contacted the NHTSA twice in the past 2 weeks with no response.

Dealer had to tighten and reglue the jam nut to the front left tie rod end and adjust the sleeve, which may cause loss of steering control. . Et.

Tie rod broke causing tire to collaspe inward resulting in damage and loss of control.

Ford motor company contacted--they deny liability--dealer contacted-ignored eye witness statement. Tire snapped off tie rod assembly and caused vehicle to go off road-- no help from the dealership-- accident occured as result of tire snapping off the tie road right at the lock nut joint. There is no evidnece of steel bending. It just shattered.