Steering Idler Arm Problems of Mercury Grand Marquis

While driving on the expressway, the vehicle suddenly changed lanes and the steering became erratic. Upon examination, the idler arm had separated from the steering link arm. There was no warning and the vehicle had recently passed a safety inspection.

See all problems of the 1999 Mercury Grand Marquis 🔎.

Took car in for squeaking noise under car; discovered it was u-joint seal going dry. However, upon inspection technician discovered four dangerously worn ball joints, both upper and lower ball joints on both sides, and dangerously worn idler arm. This was confirmed visually by myself. Upper left ball joint was in the best condition, all others were missing jackets, had no lubrication, and worn to the level that very little force was needed to remove the ball from the socket after removal, one came out with no force. The idler arm was barely connected, and over 75% of metal at the link worn and rusted. Nothing in the car's driving behavior gave any indication that any of these parts were worn. Steering had only slight amount of play which was still present after the parts were replaced and the car aligned. Left upper ball joint had been replaced one year and 3 months previous to discovery. No other signs of wear were present at that time. The previous ball joint replaced was least worn, but jacket was torn and no lubrication present. With one exception, the ball joints appeared to have only gravity as the primary force holding the balls in the sockets. My concern for other drivers is related to the lack of indications that the front end of this car had degraded to this level. The vehicle's steering responses were asymptomatic, period. This had not been my experience in the past. Possible causes for asymptomatic behavior is unknown (weight of vehicle and gravity?) the earlier problem (1yr 3mo. Earlier) with the left top ball joint failure was only discovered after it failed after hitting small pot hole coming from parking lot and the wheel broke and layed in flat on the road. Speed was under 5mph.

Consumer dismayed to notice the smell of fuel as she drove and parked the vehicle. The smell would be present when the vehicle was parked as well. The fuel was leaking into the brake line. The idler and pitman arms were replaced.

See all problems of the 1997 Mercury Grand Marquis 🔎.