Steering Linkages Problems of Ford F-150 - part 1

2004 F-150 with 41,000 miles has a bad shimmy around 55 mph and wears tires every 8,000 to 10,000 miles. Recently truck became very hard to steer so I took it to a local mechanic where it was discovered that the steering intermediate shaft was falling apart.

See all problems of the 2004 Ford F-150 🔎.

I have a Ford regency F-150 with a factory 6 inch lift done by regency. When the lift was done the steering linkage is in contact with the brake line so when the steering wheel is turned a hole was worn in the brake line causing a loss of brake pressure. I talked to regency and rick said it was the second he had heard of. Mine is being fixed now but anyone else who owns one of these vehicles is at risk of an accident. I am reporting this in the hopes no one is hurt unnecessarily.

Vehicle was traveling at 15 mph and lost control due to a codder pin snapping in half causing the right front wheel to come entirely off of the vehicle. The disk brake stayed connected to the rim and was also removed entirely from the vehicle causing the brake lines to be severed which caused no pressure. With no pressure in the brake lines I was not able to stop the other wheels but was forced to let the vehicle come to a skidding stop, which happened by hitting a tree. The vehicle was taken to a local Ford dealership where a year prior they had worked on the same wheel to pack the bearings and do other small maintenance. Both the dealership and Ford claimed no responsibility for the accident, which seems strange since a vehicles wheel should remain on when going 15 mph.

See all problems of the 2002 Ford F-150 🔎.

Caught problem before tragedy.

See all problems of the 1997 Ford F-150 🔎.

Very serious failure!!! while backing up a steep hill in 4wd. The truck's pitman arm came completely off of the splined shaft that comes out of the steering box. So, there was no longer any connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels. The retaining nut and lock washer came off, too, and were recovered. The lock washer is of the helical spring type, and has a black oxide finish. Because of this finish, it is easy to deduce from the wear marks on the washer. That the retaining nut was not torqued at the factory. Luckily this failure occurred at almost zero speed in a driveway. Clearly, had it occurred at freeway speed (which is where the truck would have been 2 miles later), the results could have been catastrophic. The owner of this car, woody porter, is my father-in-law. I was driving it at the time of the failure, and filled out this form for him with his permission. If you have any questions, you my contact me, john gunther, at 650-802-8384. Thanks. Dt.

Tie rod came off backing up.

See all problems of the 1998 Ford F-150 🔎.

On both occasions while taking turns at low speed tie rods snapped where threaded rod attaches to main housing of tie rod. In both cases I was able to stop vehicle before striking either oncoming traffic or other objects. When I brought my vehicle in for repairs I asked the dealer if this was a common occurence he hesitated then said no. Then while walking to service area to fill out forms I passed two other trucks with same problems of snapped tie rods. While relating this story to several environmental police officers who drive similar vehicles, they reported that they were on theri third and forth sets of tie rods for their vehicles.

Tie rod separated from linkage while pulling into a parking lot. This potentially catastrophic failure should not have occured on a such a low mileage vehicle.

Passenger side tyrod failed at the balljoint on highway at 65mph. We had a mechanic replace the tyrod and he discovered the driver's side tyrod extremely worn. No crash involved-thank goodness. Thought it should be reported. We are original owners of the Ford-f150 with just over +65,000 on vehicle. Please contact us if you have further questions. Thanks. K. Pagano.

While backing vehicle in parking lot, heard a noise. Drove approximately two blocks when I was not able to steer the vehicle upon inspection discovered the tie rod had broken.

There is no reason a well maintained vehicle should have 3 tie rods close to failure and one fail completely. Upon contacting the dealer at first they stated that they should be recalled due to the high failure rate of the tie-rod ends it's so high they can not keep them in stock at the dealer. . . . Call any auto parts store downriver they will tell you that the 1997-98 F-150 have a abnornally high failure rate. Murry's autozone and a&w auto are yet to even get 1998 tie rod replacement's. They say dealer item only. . . . In closing I take very good care of my vehicle's I have a almost 3 year old and safety in job one when it comes to vehicle's. . Thank you . . . Sal.

While driving 25 mph and making a turn, steering wheel kept turning but vehicle was still going straight. Dealer determined the pivot arm had disconnected.

No summary listed for this vehicle.

While driving at 20 mph drive side tie rod broke, and the consumer could not control vehicle. Contacted dealer, and the dealer replaced all four tie rods. Consumer stated that the driver's side tie rod end was broken, also the passengers inner sides were loose.

Drivers side tie-rod fell off while driving the vehicle and punctured the wheel (rim) causing instant deflation of tire pressure. Lost all steering capabilities and front left wheel was jambed with the tie rod causing vehicle to come to a complete stop. Ford installs zerkless tie rods (suppose to have lifetime lubrication?), the rubber boot is not tight fiitting allowing moisture to find its way inside. It appears that the tie rod was corroded from the inside out. This is suppose to be a major complaint among F-150 owners. This is a manufacture defect that could become deadly if incident occures at highway speeds.

One of five 1997-1998 Ford F-150 pickup trucks owned by the new york state department of transportaion which have had tie rod failures after reaching 75k miles or more.

Front suspension is a "sealed ball/socket system" supposedly needing no grease. The tie rod driver's side/inner just popped off at low speed. It was determined that the socket was dry causing excessive wear/corrosion on the joint. Was also told that the pittman arm is also dry and in need of grease - actually, replacement, now. I am continually assured by Ford service dept. , that the truck does not need to have grease added as it has a "sealed ball and socket joint system" these parts should be mandated to have grease fittings for preventative maintenance capabilities. ****hubs**** design flaw with the diameter of the hubs in relation to the wheel/rotors, etc. , on the 1997 trucks, the diameter of the hubs did not allow for even a minor amount of normal corrosion. This results in the mechanic's inability to remove the hub for service without damaging the hub assy. (there is no "lip" or difference of diameter to tap he edge of the hub assy to remove it from the wheel assy. This happened on the truck when it was less than 1 year old and had not been exposed to salt water/air.

As I was making a right hand turn the passenger side tie rod broke. Leaving me with no control of steering. Luckily I was able to get to the side of the road.

I just wanted to make sure this was a random occurrence and not a common problem. No safety defect listed.

I had noticed a squeak from the front end when making turns. I found nothing loose so I ignored it for a while. After doing some investigating found there to be problems with pitman arms on these vehicles. I checked mine and found that to be the noise and replaced the part. I kept the old part. It appears dry and soon to wear out.

These are common failure items for the 97-01 Ford F-150. Should there be a recall?. No safety defects indicated.

The way the tie rods are made when they become slightly worn they pull apart. After talking with some auto repair shops I found that this is a common occurance.

Pittman arm referenced eight (8) times in TSB's. Rear window also referenced in TSB's.

By chance I heard my wife back ruck out of garage and noticed a loud squeak from front end as she steered. With windows up and heater on we had not heard the sound during this winter and don't know how long it had been making noise. We made an appointment and took it to the dealer. As we pulled in the shop with it squeaking at each turn of the steering wheel a mechanic walked over and said that must be a 1997. I said yes and he said the pitman arm is supposed to be lubed for life so there is no grease fitting, and they are known to fail on the 1997's. We get our truck oil changed and lubed every 3000 miles or close to it. He said if we hadn't notice the noise it would have seized up and broke. As I understand it the pitman arm connects the steering box shaft to the steering linkage and a failure would have resulted in a sudden loss of steering. We got it fixed immediately by replacing the pitman arm at a cost of close to $300. How long will the new arm last without grease? I reported it to Ford, and they said they would track the vehicles and notify me if there is a recall. Then I did some research and found there are at least a couple service bulletins dating back to 97 and 98 that they were aware of this problem in early production. You would think they would notify us of the problem while the warranty would cover the repair and at least to assure our steering would not fail. The bulletin numbers I found are #9810569 in 1998 and bc2360970501 in 1997 both about the pitman arm replacement. The repair was done at metro Ford of grand ledge michigan (517-627-3293).

Had to replace steering pitman. Vehicle was out of warranty.

A loud noise comes from the pitman everytime the wheel is turn. Also, the door ajar light sticks and stays on longer and longer each time.

One of five 1997-1998 Ford F-150 pickup trucks owned by the new york state department of transportaion which have had tie rod failures after reaching 75k miles or more.

On both occasions tie rods came apart at the middle without warning!.

While traveling approximately 50 mph vehicle shimmied violently. Consumer was able to stop vehicle without incident. Dealership examined vehicle, and determined that outer left tie rod broke. Then, on September 7 2001, while traveling 15 mph, consumer lost steering and braking systems when inner right tie rod broke. Please provide any additional information / attachments.

Part failed, causing loss of control. Vehicle was forced into oncoming traffic. The dealer and Ford were contacted. They both agreed that it shouldn't have failed. They were not concerned about the safety issue, just there warranty liability. When the part failed it damaged the backing plate and punctured the rim, causing tire failure. What may have happened if this was at highway speed?.

There was a squeak, and Ford called it a groan when turning steering wheel. Dealer said it was a defective pitman arm.

Tie-rod snapped in two after driver engaged "reverse" to back out of a space. Driver lost all steering control. Vehicle towed to Ford dealer. Employee, and, or others could have sustained serious injury or fatality if part had failed while vehicle was being operated at normal driving speed.

"clunk" noise heard/felt through the steering column when maneuvering in parking lots, stop and go traffic, acceleration and braking, or driving over bumps.

See all problems of the 1996 Ford F-150 🔎.

Pitman arm & idler arm need replaced after only 40k miles. Steering became unpredictable.

Steering linkages make popping noises at low speeds & on rough roads. The noise is louder when turning wheel. Developed a lot of play in steering wheel. Problem occurred after warranty ran out. Will be taking vehicle back to dealer.