2008 Power Steering Leak

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ExpeditionAndy

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Motorcraft power steering pump on Rock Auto is $168 but aftermarket is as low as $80.
Return Line Assembly is $55
The reservoir hose is back ordered

I'm not sure why they quoted such a high price. You could try other dealerships to see if they can get the hose.

It just seems odd.
 

bobmbx

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I might have a chat with a Ford Customer Service Rep. Do you have a written quote from that dealership showing the $4000 cost? Its absurd they talked you into paying for parts and telling you to come back later. Thats wrong.
 

david_jr

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Just called the dealer to see where we are. He said they checked every aftermarket parts supplier and there are none available. He said that he checked their parts department and we have moved from number 200 on the backorder list to number 34. I expressed my frustration that I have been waiting a month for a part from the manufacturer. He said they are finding many parts being hard to come by especially on vehicles older than 8 years. I find it hard to believe that Ford would do that to customers who spent $50K for a truck and is not even 10 years old. He said if the part does not come in by next week he will call Ford Corporate to see if there is anything they can do. I need the truck in 3 weeks to go on a planned family vacation and I need it to be working. I have never experienced anything like this. Also I noticed that there is a dearth of any you tubes on Expedition power steering replacements, F150s only. Color me frustrated!!

As far as the quote it was over the phone so it was not itemized. They cut the rack out and $2K so I'm assuming that is for parts and labor for the rack. The F150 videos I have viewed all seem to look the same way, really rusty. That is my truck, rusting away to nothing it seems.
 

Flexpedition

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Try a company like PIRTEK to build a new line. They have fully self contained vans that come to you.
 

ManUpOrShutUp

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Since there was no resolution to this thread in 3 years I would like to jump on and ask a question about my 08 Limited with 79K original miles. I have a pretty bad power steering leak, at least now I do. I am doing brakes and other simple repairs, but nervous about this. I first noticed the leak a couple months ago when I started up the truck after my son had been driving it and I heard it whining. I checked the PS and it was a bit low so I filled it up. The whining stopped, but after a few days the pump was low again and I could see fluid on my gravel driveway, but couldn't really get a good look at where it was coming from. So I had an oil change appointment coming up at the Ford dealer on June 20 and I asked them to check the leak while it was in. They called me at work and told me that it needed a new PS pump, new pressure lines, new return lines and a new steering rack and it would be $4000. I of course nearly fainted from that news. I asked if all of those things absolutely had to be replaced because I am not able to deal with that figure. He said he would call me back. He called me back about 20 minutes later and said that he spoke to the tech and I could probably get away without replacing the rack so the bill would only be $2100. He said it would be ready by the end of the next day. The next day I called in the afternoon they said the parts just came in and they would be working on it and it would be ready the next day. The next day this is now June 22, They call me and tell me that they got the parts, but Ford sent the wrong pressure line and so they checked for the proper pressure line and it is nationally backordered and they cannot complete the repair without it. They said that I had to pick up the truck, pay for the parts and then when the correct part comes in I bring it back and they install and I pay for the install then. So I picked up the truck, paid $1500 and took the truck home where it sat in my driveway for a week while I was away on vacation. When I returned, I took the truck out where I was doing some carpentry work and had all my tools in the back and this was about 20 miles from my house. When I got there I noticed that the power steering was whining again and I checked the fluid and it was almost empty. There was fluid all over inside the engine and radiator. I filled it up before I left to go home. On the way home about half way I noticed the whining again and again stopped to fill the reservoir. I got home and parked the truck and it hasn't moved since. Looking under it you can see fluid everywhere and it is noticeably leaking at the hose connections. Clearly it is leaking worse now that the dealer took it apart. I did not hear back from the dealer again since I paid the $1500 and took my truck so last Tuesday, July 11th, I called to see what the story is and if they can't get the part can we have it made, use aftermarket or even used if we have to? Same rep I had been dealing with tells me he will check on it and get back to me. Today is the 19th and I still have not received a call back and I think this is outrageous and my truck is sitting in my driveway leaking as we speak. I am getting quite upset about this and am looking for suggestions on how to proceed. thank you very much for listening.

Well the first mistake was going to the dealer as opposed to an independent shop. Dealers tend to just throw parts at it until the problem, hopefully, goes away. That ship has sailed though. If the job is simply incomplete, then I would take it to an independent shop to get the job done. I am certain you can get this part from somewhere. Just because Ford has a supply problem doesn't mean there aren't hundreds of suppliers sitting on 1 or 2 that they purchased previously. Now if you feel that you paid for a part or service that you didn't receive, then you may want to consider filing a chargeback with your credit card provider as well (you have between 90 and 120 days to do this depending on whether this is Visa, MC, etc.). If nothing else, this might at least get the attention of the ops manager and let him know that you're not going to put up with getting dicked around anymore.
 

david_jr

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Um, I paid $1500 basically for an oil change and got nothing else at this point. And I wrote a check did not use a credit card. At this point I am going to check the oil to make sure it is fresh just to make sure they did that. The filter really didn't look new when I looked under there, but there is so much fluid blowing around under there I figured it was fluid on the filter. I don't see myself going back to the dealer with this truck again, not this dealer anyway. I have an independent shop that I have used for other vehicles in the past and when I ran into the infamous engine misfires over the last couple of years the shop wouldn't even look at it they said take it to the dealer. Guess I might be looking for another independent shop now too after this debacle.
 

bobmbx

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Lets back up a bit. Are you certain that virtually the entire power steering system needs to be replaced to cure a leak? Has anyone pointed to a spot and said "there's the leak"?
 

ManUpOrShutUp

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Um, I paid $1500 basically for an oil change and got nothing else at this point. And I wrote a check did not use a credit card. At this point I am going to check the oil to make sure it is fresh just to make sure they did that. The filter really didn't look new when I looked under there, but there is so much fluid blowing around under there I figured it was fluid on the filter. I don't see myself going back to the dealer with this truck again, not this dealer anyway. I have an independent shop that I have used for other vehicles in the past and when I ran into the infamous engine misfires over the last couple of years the shop wouldn't even look at it they said take it to the dealer. Guess I might be looking for another independent shop now too after this debacle.

Oh a check, ouch. Good idea to check the oil/filter. I had an oil leak fixed under warranty at the dealer 2 years ago and they actually put the old filter back on because they didn't want to foot the bill for the $3 filter. Keep us updated.
 

98eb5.4

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Lets back up a bit. Are you certain that virtually the entire power steering system needs to be replaced to cure a leak? Has anyone pointed to a spot and said "there's the leak"?

op said
I filled it up before I left to go home. On the way home about half way I noticed the whining again and again stopped to fill the reservoir. I got home and parked the truck and it hasn't moved since. Looking under it you can see fluid everywhere and it is noticeably leaking at the hose connections.
.

https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...edition+power+steering+hose&_blrs=spell_check
 
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david_jr

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They did not show me a leak. I saw fluid leaking before I took it in, but I could not tell exactly where it was coming from. Have since tried to do online research and feel that it was probably one or both of the two lines due to rust and they were going to take me for the pump and a steering rack. I balked at the $4000 phone estimate and they excluded the rack from the deal. I don't know exactly what is leaking, but I do know it is leaking much worse after they worked on it. Rust is a real problem here where I live. I suspect they damaged the rusty lines taking them off and then when the part they got was the wrong part they had to put them back on to give me back the truck. We went from using 8 ounces of fluid a week to using 8 ounces of fluid every 10 miles. So the truck is now sitting and I am being held hostage by a backordered part.
 

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