2008 Power Steering Leak

[Amanda1234]

Please tell me how this was resolved! I’m having the EXACT same issue.

 

[JExpedition07]

Please tell me how this was resolved! I’m having the EXACT same issue.

Well if we’ve learned a lesson for this thread, don’t take it to the dealer take it to your trusted mechanic.

 

[Amanda1234]

I’m just curious if it ever was repaired and what the cause was.

 

[david_jr]

Sorry Amanda. I hate it when I follow a thread regarding an issue and then the OP does not reply with the resolution if there is one. Guilty as charged although for some reason in my mind I thought I had updated the thread. So after I posted my frustration here, I contacted my company's head Fleet Mechanic for advise on where I could possibly get my truck fixed. I try never to mix business with personal, but in this case I was desperate and was down to about a week before I was leaving on my planned vacation. My Fleet Mechanic gave me the name of his contact at a Ford dealer that the company uses, which is more than an hour from me, but who might be able to offer me suggestions. I talked to the contact at that Ford Dealer who confirmed that the part was definitely not available from Ford. He then checked aftermarket for me and said that also was a no go. I asked him what the possibility of having lines made. He gave me the number of a company that they use to make certain lines, but he did not seem optimistic that I would be able to get a line made. I called the company that he suggested, which was almost 2 hours from my house and told them my story. The man I spoke with said he could not make my line but thought there was an auto part store in Springfield, MA area that also made hydraulic lines and he thought it was worth giving them a call. So I called them and spoke with the line guy and told him my plight. He said he needed to see the line before he could tell me whether it could be made. So I called my Ford back and told the guy I had been dealing with all along that I had someone who might be able to make me a line, but he needed to see the line to know for sure. So I asked him if I brought the truck back to them, could they remove the line for me and I would leave the truck there until I got a line for it so I could take it to the Springfield guy. He said they would take it off for me. So I stopped on my way home from work at an Advance auto parts store close to my home and the dealer. I went in and bought 2 quarts of power steering fluid because I knew it would need at least a quart to get to the dealer which was 10 miles from my house. So I picked up the fluid and walked up to the counter and set the bottles on the counter. The man behind the counter says to me, "How are you doing?" I know he was just being polite, but I was quite frustrated at this point. So I said (not snippy but matter of fact), "I'm buying 2 quarts of power steering fluid, how do you think I'm doing?" Then I went on to tell him my story and he tells me there's an auto parts store on Elm St. across town that makes lines. So I call them and ask them the same thing I asked the guy in Springfield and he said if I brought the line over he would take a look to see if he could make it. So the next morning I filled up the power steering fluid and headed to the dealer. About half way there I had to stop and fill it again, it was really pouring right out. So when I got to the dealer I talked to my service rep and told him that I had found a place in town that might make the line and asked him to call me as soon as it was off so I could take it over there. He said he would. So I left and went to work. It got to be about noon and I hadn't heard from him so I was getting nervous. Then he finally called me and told me he had good news. He said that they got the line off and he took it over to the parts store I told him about and they looked at it and said they couldn't make one. However the guy at the parts store said he would check with his distributer Gates to see what they had to say. Low and behold Gates had 10 Ford Expedition lines in stock that were not in any parts store database for some reason. He told me they ordered the line and it would be in the next day. I told him I would pay any amount of shipping to overnight it. At this point I'm like 5 days from my vacation. I asked him if he wouldn't mind calling me as soon as they had the part just to let me know because I found this hard to believe. He said he would call me when it came in. So the next day I'm at work waiting for a call and the hours are passing and my phone's not ringing. Finally about 1 PM my phone rings and its my guy. He tells me that he had to stay home with a sick child, but he wanted to let me know that the part came in and his guys were installing it and I should be able to pick the truck up that night. I was ecstatic because of the ordeal I had been through, but I called my wife and let her know. So we did get the truck back that night and it was fixed (but not without another issue, but that's an unrelated story). We left for our vacation the following Tuesday which took us to stops in Harrisburg, PA, Fredericksburg, VA, Jacksonville, NC (Camp Lejuene), Myrells Inlet, SC and finally to Rehoboth Beach, DE before finally heading home, just under 2,000 miles total and the power steering held up no problems.