Seven problems related to hydraulic power assist steering system have been reported for the 1998 Ford Windstar. The most recently reported issues are listed below.
Consumer states that while driving and without warning the power steering went out. Dealer has been notified. Ts there was a noise that emitted from the engine before the steering failed.
On September 1, 2002 my Ford Windstar began smoking. The smoking was caused by the leaking of the power steering fluid on to the exhaust system of the van. After being informed by my wife that the van was smoking I determined that the smoke was caused by the power streering fluid falling on the exhaust system of the van. After determining the cause of the smoke I turned off the van so that there would not be a fire. The van was taken to the dealer who stated that power steering fitting had rusted through and the hose had begun leaking. It was also stated that the hose connected to the fitting was also leaking power steering fluid. I questioned the service representative about the problem and he stated that other Ford vehicles had experienced the same problem. I gave approval to the dealer to fix the problem which costed $551. 74. The service representative stated that since I did not have an extended warranty on the vehicle that Ford would not cover any of the repair cost. Mr.
Rack and pinion steering is leaking fluid, and is causing consumer to have problems with power steering. It will be hard to control the vehicle. Dealer notified.
Vehicle is experiencing power steering leakage, dealer found two hydraulic lines rusted. However, repairs could not be performed due to lack of parts. Vehicle has been in shop for 10 days.
While driving at any speed vehicle will start to lose steering, and consumer can not control vehicle. Contacted dealer.
The power steering line of my minivan brushed slightly against the mountable curb as we backed from the driveway to the street in front of our house. This mountable curb and gutter is typically used in residential neighborhoods. Eden pairie's standard plate shows a curb height of 4 inches. Ourdriveway is not on any type of an incline. The bump was so slight that it did not concern me at the time. I proceeded to drive forward and to enter the highway. Luckily it was the part of the highway that still has stoplights, so my speed was very slow. The car made a groaning noise, I had a complete failure of the power steering sysem of my motor vehicle, and black smoke began pouring out of my vehicle. The Ford dealership said the slight bump had crimped the powersteering line causing a great pressure in the power steering lines which in turn exploded pouring power steering fluid all over the engine. The engine had to be degreased and the powersteering pump was damaged due to the sudden lack of powersteering fluid. Ford would not cover this under warranty saying that the slight bump was an accident that caused the powersteering lines to be damaged. This experience felt so lide threatening that I began to investigate the problem further. I found the placement of these lines to be so low in the front of the vehicle that they were at the level of the spoiler or even slightly lower. The minivan's with the tow package are lower than the other vans. I have had mechanics, engineers, and product liability expers examine the vehicle. They agree that this is a design defect that could likely result in death. The experts say this ;fluid could hit the catalytic converter which would bring the temperature high enough to cause a fire which burns much hotter than gasoline. Additionally, the slightest bump causes a complete failure of the powersteering system. This design defect is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury.
Had power steering oil replaced, still noisy pump.