mkon6060

i believe it is in the steering column i have the same issue and if you hold the steering wheel while parked you can replicate the problem i believe it to either be a bad retainment issue or the tilt lock has a little play i can assure you it is not an issue with the suspension

weird223

Just to pass on the information for everyone to know, winchested was dead on with me damaging my IWE's, well only the drivers side. That noise in the video is what a damaged IWE sounds like. I removed my cv nut (13mm) so the cv wouldn't be in such a bind when prying down on the lower control arm. It was able to slide in and out of the hub freely when I was prying. That wasn't the best idea, because I must have damaged the IWE in the process. I had a heck of a time getting that "2 spacer in. The "1-1/2 autospring that I installed previously went in with no problems.

Chovrock1

I have the same issue when turning the steering wheel. I haven't told the dealer yet.

rich_earth

The issue on this thread effects some but not all 2011+ F150's with the EPAS. My bought new 2012 F150 has not had this problem.

NemesisR6

Don't post here very much at all, but just wanted to let folks know that, after a LOT of back-and-forth, I finally got the EPAS replaced on my 2015 F150 XLT screw.

I bought the truck in August 2015 and first noticed the rattle at about 3,000 miles. As many have said, it seems to be more pertinent during warmer weather, so once the cooler months came around it didn't seem to do it as often and I figured I would take it to the dealer if it returned. When it warmed up it was worse than ever.

My first two trips to the dealer, the first for a scheduled service, I had a technician drive the vehicle and they stated they could not replicate the problem. It wasn't until I requested to ride along in the vehicle with the shop's foreman/supervisor to a stretch of road that I knew the vehicle would exhibit the behavior that I was able to get confirmation that there was an issue.

Even after that, there was a lot of hoops to jump through, since Ford (of course) said that this was the first they'd heard of this, and that even through the shop foreman believed the issue was coming from the EPAS/steering gear assembly, they would replace the lower steering shaft first. They did so and, of course, it did not solve the problem. They then replace the EPAS and the issue, for now, is gone. It currently sits with about 16K miles on it, so I only have about 20K miles to confirm that the issue is gone for good or if it returns.

My take: Ford knows about this issue, but is applying the old tried-and-true Fight Club "Recall Formula" that takes into account:

1. The vast majority of drivers probably won't really notice this issue during everyday driving
2. The issue itself does not seem to make the vehicle unsafe, but merely an inconvenience to the driver who actually notices it
3. Deny at every opportunity........in that because it can be so hard to diagnose
4. Make the effort to get the part replaced difficult and time-consuming, so much so that many owners may just give up and live with it
5. The overall cost to replace the part makes it prohibitive to issue any type of recall or TSB as most drivers would not notice the issue in the first place, along with #2.

Overall, I've been very happy with the truck save for this one issue, which I hope is fixed permanently. You can choose to believe my points above or not, but the idea that they claim ignorance on an issue that has had a foothold in this forum for over 5 years is a bit absurd.

Johnnyh55

Same issue here 2014 Screw FX4 with 1.5" AS level, dealer can't reproduce the issue but did say if I want, they can diagnose it further but since you put a leveling kit on this truck there will be charge as there is no warranty on the suspension parts. That I knew for ball joints and tie rods but hopefully if they figure out its the rack they wont say the level caused it so no warranty. I wish we had the magnuson moss warranty act in Canada for that reason. Not sure if I should remove the level and go back to stock tires to get this fixed.

papa tiger

Go back to level this weekend and if the tires are ok take it to a different dealer so you don't get a lot of run around. Some things about the 14 require different arms. I didn't read the complete thread to know if you changed them out.

Johnnyh55

You mean remove the level? What arms are you talking about? I know the control arms are different design on the '14's as the shock goes through the control arms with studs instead of a bolt and nut like the '09 to '13. I have changed them, they are the factory ones. I just removed them when I installed the level and put them back into place after.

Steelhead 6.2

Had this exact sound on my 13' Screw. Brought it to the dealer, and they replaced the front left tie rod, and noise is gone. They said it was worn out from the larger tires on my truck. It has a 4" lift and 35's. Also, no more clunking from suspension when hitting bumps or speed bumps. Beauty!

Solar07

I was one of the originals of this thread start as well. My 2011 fx4 5.0 had a brutal steering knock at just 10k. After months of fighting ford, writing letters, and 8 trips to the dealer and letting an engineer take my truck to drive for a week in 2013 they finally replaced the epas. This solved the issue immediately. The truck was bone stock. I put Boss coils on it later that year and still no issues. Fast forward to today, truck had 38k miles on it and the knock and play is back in full force. Every little bump. So 25k miles later it's acting up worse than ever. My extended warranty is out as of last Nov and the same dealer I took it to before is claiming the issue is not really an issue and they never heard of the problem. I said I know that's bull because you replaced mine. Anyway, the difference for me is its doing it very badly when really cold, not hot. 15 to 25 degrees and it's all you will hear with every bump especially below 30 mph. I just replaced the coils as Boss covered a leaky shock issue and so the coils are now brand new. Oddly I noticed my front left wheel had what looked to be inner tie rod play. You can ever so slightly grab the tire and move it oh so little left and right like a tie rod is bad. Right doesn't do this. SoI ordered all new Mastercraft tie rods inner and outer for both sides. They are now on and no change. So everything up front is really new. They replaced my hubs and IWE under warranty last year, new Springs and struts, new tie rods and I tightened and check everything. I even cranked the epas bolts down to the whopping 400 ft lbs required. No change.

what I notice,

when the problem is occurring, if you shut the truck off and moving steering left to right either thru the steering wheel or by grabbing the intermediate shaft, it will knick very loudly. On days the issue randomly stops it does not do this when turned off. Lastly, the front left still seems to have just slight left and right play like a inner tie rod but I know see it is actually in the rack itself. This to me wouod explain why some of you are seeing tire wear issues. It's going to look and act like a worn tie rod but the play is in the steering gear.

with all this new stuff and only 38k I'm not sure what to do. I truly have nothing left for the dealer. So it's either by the rack which can be had for 900 on tasca parts or trade it in. I haven't heard of any 16 17s having the issue yet. Although I may move to a 6.2 250 so I don't have epas anymore. Although I haven't confirmed the 2017 250 is still hydraulic. I noticed on the build site is has all these power steering away control, low steering boost, etc which sounds a damn lot like an electronically assists steering rack.

end rant