Steering Wheel problems of the 2002 Ford Explorer

I took my car to a local repair shop to have the front & rear struts replaced. They found that all of the springs were broken. About 1/2 to 3/4 of the top coil had separated from the rest of the spring.

While inspecting the left, rear wheel bearing a broken spring was found. It was determined that the wheel bearing was also in a stage of failure. A load noise like the vehicle had "truck tires" was coming from the rear. The spring was fractured at the top in multiple places and partially collapsed.

Tl- the contact owns a 2002 Ford Explorer. The contact stated he noticed that the front tires were wearing excessively. The vehicle was taken to an authorized dealer and the contact was informed that the front passenger coil spring was fractured, causing the excessive tread wear. The vehicle was not repaired. Both rear coil springs also fractured since the failure occurred. The vehicle was not repaired. The manufacturer was made aware of the failure, but offered no assistance. The failure mileage was 75,000 and the current mileage was 96,000. The VIN was unavailable. Rvk.

Read strut springs fail and crack. This issue has been reported in the past and many owners have experienced the same issue. This has happened on both the rear driver and passenger side of the vehicle. Ford has been notified many times with no response. I have been doing a lot of research into this issue, and realized that hundreds of owners ar claiming the same problem.

There is a noise that sounds like something is loose in steering column. Made an appointment with dealer , and dealer refused to fix vehicle because it was not purchased there.

This vehicle has been in the service department 3 times since September 2001. The steering column has been replaced, the wheel bearings have been replaced(this was suppose to eliminate steering column rattle) and the lower control arm has been replaced. I still hear and feel a metallic rattle coming from the steering column. In my review of your website other 2002 Explorer owners are experincing the same problem. I have talked to at least three other owners that have the same problem. My dealer has done everything recommended by Ford, but nothing has solved the problem. Ford is "working on it". They have been working on it since September 2001. My safety concern is this. If something is loose that is causing this noise it has to be progressing. What will happen after more mileage builds on this vehicle? will I be driving down the highway one day and lose control due to steering failure? there is to much smoke here for that not to be fire sooner of later by my Explorer or some other owner. How long does it take for a company the size of Ford to solve a problem?.