Rack & Pinion Play in Steering

[Eightiesrock80]

so I definitely have some play in my steering and I already replaced the steering shaft with u joints. When I play with the free play in the wheel the entire shaft turns back-and-forth all the way to the rack and pinion. During that time the tire rods are not budging if I give it a little more effort pass the FreePlay then the tie rods start moving. So I know it’s the rack and pinion having play. Is there a way to tighten up that little play in the rack? I found the screw or bolt that loosens and Toghtens but it has a plastic cap. I posted a photo if I turn to tighten that cap will it tighten my steering? I have nearly 200,000 miles.. posting a picture

 

[whtbronco]

I tried adjusting it. Go get yourself a rebuilt rack, preferably a Motorcraft and call it a day. That's what I did.

I have successfully adjusted steering racks and recently my daughters 2003 Monte Carlo, but not on the Expedition.

 

[Broncoholic]

I tried adjusting it. Go get yourself a rebuilt rack, preferably a Motorcraft and call it a day. That's what I did.

I have successfully adjusted steering racks and recently my daughters 2003 Monte Carlo, but not on the Expedition.

Are you saying you didn't try adjusting the Expedition rack? Or you tried, but were unsuccessful?

 

[whtbronco]

Well that was clearly yet another example of my full thoughts not getting typed I'm sorry to say. I know I wanted to adjust it, as noted I've done it other vehicles. At this point I can't remember if I tried and failed or if I found out I couldn't do the same on this one. I know did a bunch of research into it due to the different dust cover and such. I ended up replacing it, and then 22 months later the Motorcraft reman was replaced under warranty due to excessive play.

I also know adjusting the gear lash can cause problems as most of our steering racks wear only right in the middle. Then we adjust out that play and it makes it too tight as you turn and I've known of people over doing it and the steering rack can get stuck. On my daughters car I turned the wheels a bit to get the steering rack off center and then adjusted the gear lash until it felt snug at the steering wheel and backed off a tiny bit. This worked out to get rid of almost all the play and we decided it was adequate for the time.

 

[Vincent Vega]

@Eightiesrock80 I checked the Ford shop manual and did not see anything regarding backlash adjustments to the rack. It only describes removal and installation, and doesn't show any adjustment screws or similar. Did you make sure its not your inner tie rod that is the problem? The rack and pinion can definitely wear out, but it is rare on these. Let me know what you end up doing, or if you already did.

 

[Eightiesrock80]

It was my Rack the teeth were worn out inside with 190,000 miles

 

[Eightiesrock80]

I put in a new reman

 

[Broncoholic]

It was my Rack the teeth were worn out inside with 190,000 miles

Good feedback. Probably same thing with mine with 177k and lift and oversized tires.

 

[Eightiesrock80]

Yeah, it’s the oversize tires that do it

 

[Broncoholic]

What brand reman did you use? I wish more OEM parts were available for our 20+ year old vehicles! I'd pay a premium for OEM. I'm literally trying to drive mine till the wheels fall off... or maybe I should say "trying to drive the wheels off!" I'm hard on mine, but keeping it on the road is still significantly cheaper than buying new or slightly used.

 

[whtbronco]

I have replaced my steering rack twice now. Both were Motorcraft reman'd racks. The first was swapped at 194k miles in 2016. That one wore out and was replaced under warranty at 221k miles in 2018. This one had a power steering pressure hose port that was bored out. I played hell trying to find an o-ring that would seal it up, getting that o-ring in there was very difficult because it was too big, but every other o-ring sprayed ATF.

I generally prefer factory parts new or reman, in this case I was not impressed but I paid a premium price of course. At least the warranty replacement request was honored without issue.

 

[Eightiesrock80]

I installed a reman ford rack a year and seven months ago so far it’s still tight

 

[Underdog66]

I'm in the midst of replacing the rack on my 2005. The bolt heads got chewed up a bit while we tried to remove them. I learned the hard way that a 6 point socket would have been better than my 12 point. We had to heat the nuts to remove them, thus ruining the nylon inside. I'm having a difficult time finding OEM nuts and bolts at a REASONABLE price. The dealer only sells them in packs of four, even though TWO is all that's required. They wanted 60 bucks for 8 nuts and 4 bolts! What's worse is the fact that the through bolt that holds the bracket to the frame is no longer manufactured.

Would it be alright to use equivalent diameter and length grade 10 nuts and bolts? The only ones I could get locally do not have the flange head on either the bolt or the nut. Also the bolt that holds the rack to the bracket doesn't have the 'catch' to hold it from spinning while tightening.
Thanks

 

[Eightiesrock80]

I would use whatever you could find at Menards or Home Depot Lowe’s and just make it work. Anything will work as long as it’s tight don’t be afraid to try to make it work with custom nuts and bolts

 

[whtbronco]

I'd go with grade 5 minimum, grade 8 preferred. Nylok nuts aren't too hard to find and add a washer if needed to replace the flange. Otherwise whatever will work is fine in this case, it would be for me. You can get a local machine shop to weld something to the bolt head to keep it from turning as well.

 

[Underdog66]

I found these flange nuts. They have 10 stamped on them. Are they class 10.9? Or do they have to be or just the bolts?
Thanks

 

[whtbronco]

Based on this it appears to be a class 10 nut.

Nut Grades, Identification Markings and Strength (Metric)

 

[Underdog66]

My neighbor is a diseal mechanic and helped me complete the replacement of the rack. We ran into what may or may not be an issue with the steel plate that "holds" the lines into the rack. First it doesn't seem to sit flush to the rack. There's a small gap, maybe 1/8th of an inch. Second the lines seem to be kind of "loose.". We filled the system with ATF, bleed the air out and test drove the truck. There are no leaks.

Any input to boost my confidence that we did it correctly would be appreciated.

 

[whtbronco]

Yep that dang little plate doesn't sit quite flush which is a bit irritating when you notice it. If you have power steering and no leaks you're good to go. Keep an eye on it for a few days though. I twice had one of the o-rings behind that retainer plate that started leaking after 2-3 days. I ended up installing a larger o-ring which was a real pain to get fully seated without tearing the o-ring.

 

[Underdog66]

Everything seems fine with no leaks. However upon sharp radius turns, the tires seem "squirrelly" if that makes sense. It's almost as if they're binding like in four wheel drive. Could that be due to a miss alignment?