Steering Problem

Hello,

My car broke down last night. I was wondering if anyone could give me
some hints as to what's going on. I've searched through the group, but
the best I can come up with, is a possible ball or CV joint problem.

The car is a '97 Ford Escort.

Here's what happened:

1) I made a left hand turn.
2) During the turn there was a loud "Klunk, Klunk" sound.
3) When I turned the steering wheel to the right to straighten out, the
wheel went ALL the way to the right, and I can no longer turn the
wheels to the left. The steering wheel won't move at all.
4) If I apply too much force to the steering wheel when attempting to
turn it left, I just hear a popping sound from the front end of the
car.

Symptoms I had shortly before the above:

1) A thumping noise (almost like a flat tire) from the front of the car
when going less than 20mph. (occurred frequently but not all the
time).

2) Difficulty controlling car in turns at highway speeds.

Thanks,
Charles

"Charles" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Hello,
>
> My car broke down last night. I was wondering if anyone could give me
> some hints as to what's going on. I've searched through the group, but
> the best I can come up with, is a possible ball or CV joint problem.
>
> The car is a '97 Ford Escort.
>
> Here's what happened:
>
> 1) I made a left hand turn.
> 2) During the turn there was a loud "Klunk, Klunk" sound.
> 3) When I turned the steering wheel to the right to straighten out, the
> wheel went ALL the way to the right, and I can no longer turn the
> wheels to the left. The steering wheel won't move at all.
> 4) If I apply too much force to the steering wheel when attempting to
> turn it left, I just hear a popping sound from the front end of the
> car.
>
> Symptoms I had shortly before the above:
>
> 1) A thumping noise (almost like a flat tire) from the front of the car
> when going less than 20mph. (occurred frequently but not all the
> time).
>
> 2) Difficulty controlling car in turns at highway speeds.
>
> Thanks,
> Charles
>

My brother's 94 Escort wagon had one of the steering rack clamps either come
loose or break and his steering wheel was really shaky. If your CV joint
went bad, you wouldn't go anywhere. If it was going bad, you'd just hear a
clicking noise when the steering was turned all the way to the left or
right.

Sounds like the steering rack might have given out on you. That's where I'd
look first. Might want to check your power steering fluid to see if you
have any in there.

-Bruce

Charles wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> My car broke down last night. I was wondering if anyone could give me
> some hints as to what's going on. I've searched through the group, but
> the best I can come up with, is a possible ball or CV joint problem.
>
> The car is a '97 Ford Escort.
>
> Here's what happened:
>
> 1) I made a left hand turn.
> 2) During the turn there was a loud "Klunk, Klunk" sound.
> 3) When I turned the steering wheel to the right to straighten out, the
> wheel went ALL the way to the right, and I can no longer turn the
> wheels to the left. The steering wheel won't move at all.
> 4) If I apply too much force to the steering wheel when attempting to
> turn it left, I just hear a popping sound from the front end of the
> car.
>
> Symptoms I had shortly before the above:
>
> 1) A thumping noise (almost like a flat tire) from the front of the car
> when going less than 20mph. (occurred frequently but not all the
> time).
>
> 2) Difficulty controlling car in turns at highway speeds.
>
> Thanks,
> Charles

Sounds major... like a control arm has broken off, or the
rack fell off, or a ball joint broke.
Do both front wheels point in the same direction?
Is one front wheel under the car?

Yes, both front wheels point the same direction.

The driver side wheel is turned so for to the right that it's firmly
toughing the inside of the wheel well.

Now that I've taken a look at it in the light of day, I can see the
offending part. Though I can't identify it. I have digital pictures
of it. Is there a place were I can post binaries?

Thanks,
Charles

Charles wrote:
>
> Yes, both front wheels point the same direction.
>
> The driver side wheel is turned so for to the right that it's firmly
> toughing the inside of the wheel well.
>
> Now that I've taken a look at it in the light of day, I can see the
> offending part. Though I can't identify it. I have digital pictures
> of it. Is there a place were I can post binaries?
>
> Thanks,
> Charles

I can't help with posting the pics.
There is alt.binaries but the traffic is so high that your pics
won't last long before expiring.
If the wheels are upright, perhaps a tie rod end broke off?

You're right, it is the tie rod end. It appears that part of the tie
rod end is still stuck in the wheel knuckle.

Does this sound like an expesive fix? With some help, would I be able
to do it myself? (aside from the alignment)

Thanks,
Charles

"Charles" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> You're right, it is the tie rod end. It appears that part of the tie
> rod end is still stuck in the wheel knuckle.
>
> Does this sound like an expesive fix? With some help, would I be able
> to do it myself? (aside from the alignment)
>
> Thanks,
> Charles
>

If you take care to remember how many turns it takes to take the tie rod end
off, you can get the alignment close enough to not need an alignment if
you're trying to save money. In the long run, it's probably better to just
get an alignment anyhow. The part still stuck in the wheel knuckle would
probably come out fairly easy with a BFH and some penetrating oil.

I know with my mom's 92 Taurus, the tie rod ends were something like $17.
Should be pretty similar for your escort.

-Bruce

"Charles" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> You're right, it is the tie rod end. It appears that part of the tie
> rod end is still stuck in the wheel knuckle.
>
> Does this sound like an expesive fix? With some help, would I be able
> to do it myself? (aside from the alignment)
>
> Thanks,
> Charles
>
If you are fairly clever with tools and can work with your hands, yes you
can probably do it.

The store where you buy your tie rod ends may have some special tools they
will lend or rent
to you,and can show you how to use them.

You may want to consider replacing both sides, rather than just the one that
broke. That could
depend upon your finances, and whether or not the end broke from wear or
from mechanical
fatigue.

Charles wrote:
> Now that I've taken a look at it in the light of day, I can see the
> offending part. Though I can't identify it. I have digital pictures
> of it. Is there a place were I can post binaries?

try tinypic.com and post the link here

you save the jpg on your local drive and then upload it (free) to tinypic
make sure you compress the image to their size specs (practise first with some other
image)