NE Ford

I am having the same exact problem, just started out of the blue a few days ago. Is this something that needs to be addressed immediately? If I continue driving on it will I be damaging other parts?

abgiles

Bump for the exact same issue as NE Ford. Did you replace yours yet? I'm traveling for work for the next couple of weeks, and don't have the tools and place to fix it until I get home. I've just developed a slight vibration, especially on hard turns.

ohhdom

having some issues here as well, however i brought mine to a mechanic. He's telling me the part is available only through dealership (@$249)? Can someone confirm, the original post was a few years back. After so many years i hoped the part isn't only Ford and i hope the price at least dropped..

abgiles

I did see on another forum site that there is an aftermarket one. Ford isn't the only manufacturer any more.

abgiles

Dorman makes one. Google it to find it. Should be less than $175

cmolina07

If I experience a knocking sound when I'm parked and shake the wheel left and forth could this be the shaft? Or is this the steering box? The noise comes from the joint of the two....

Joshua DeStevens

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. I'm about to do mine and was doing a little research before starting. The Ford part is available on ebay now for 199.00. Is it always the easiest jobs that require the most expensive parts??

jamie930

why pay for a new one when you can just lube up the old one? I lubed mine up about a year ago and its still fine

flyboy1717

I realize this is an old post, but I recently replaced the original shaft with the Dorman one. It worked fine for exactly 33 days, but is now making the exact knocking noise you are describing. I think there is a problem with the u-joints in the Dorman shaft. They are staked and I'm concerned that there is too much play in the joint.

Has anyone else had this problem? Given this is about as critical as a part as it gets, I think I'm going to suck it up and buy the Ford part.

tomb1269

I know this is an old thread, but a few things I found doing mine.
1. Once the bolts are out if the lower joint will not tap loose from the bottom, particularly after use screw drive to spread the pitch gap a little, then try knocking down on it and pulling up a couple of times. Mine popped free after a couple of tries.
2. The slop / slack that shows up shortly after installing is most likely do to one or both bolts not threading deep enough to pitch tight enough, in addition to some of the corrosion rubbing loose. To check this grab the shaft and wiggle the joints, you will see it move. The reason for this is that the original bolt rusted where it sat in the pinch gap and either you did not clean those threads extremely well or the were to damaged, and therefore even though you got it tight and maybe even to the 29ftlb torque spec it was not able to pinch enough. So remove and clean or replace with an appropriate bolt size and grade (suggested 10.9 but at least a 9.8 grade).


Hope this helps some others. If I end up finding a replacement I will follow-up.