Steering Creaking

[Dobaroy]

We have recently purchased a 2000 Taurus and notice when you turn to the left at very low speed (in parking lot) it makes a creaking noise. Does anybody here have any ideas?

Thanks

[shorod]

Welcome to the forum!

In the early to mid 90's, there seemed to be a lot of Fords with squeaky ball joints and/or outer tie rod ends.

You could also be experiencing dry upper strut plates as well, or possibly have an issue with the anti-swaybar end links being dry and noisy.

One way you can attempt to narrow down which part is the cause would be to use a small and sharp pick to poke a small hole in the rubber dust boot of the joint in question, then insert the straw from a can of spray white lithium grease into the joint and give it a quick squirt. Do one part at a time and cycle the joint a few times by steering or going for a quick drive. If the noise changes or temporarily goes away, you know you are in the right area. Don't be fooled though, it will only be a temporary fix. You'll need to replace the component to remedy the noise long term.

-Rod

[Dobaroy]

Thanks for the welcome. Sounds like a good way to detect the problem. We have a needle affair that fits on the end of the grease gun and that might be a good way to get that lithium grease in there. Most of our old cars are all rear-wheel drive so we are kinda new to the front wheel drive scene. Thanks again. Roy

[shorod]

Originally Posted by Dobaroy

TMost of our old cars are all rear-wheel drive so we are kinda new to the front wheel drive scene. Thanks again. Roy

Then I should probably warn you not to try the needle and grease trick on the Constant Velocity (CV) joint boots. These boots are the bellows-like boots on each end of the drive axle (aka: half shaft).

The needle grease gun sounds like it might have too large of a needle. You want something that basically will close itself up after you pull the pick out. Also, the aerosol lithium grease has a propellant behind it which helps it get into the tight clearance areas of the various joints. You can try the needle grease gun, but it may take a few miles to get the grease to work its way into the tight areas and alter the sound.

-Rod

[UsedtobeSmart]

Like Rod said, lots of Taurus power steering systems are noisy; that's one of the defects that hopefully has been worked out in the past year or so. I ended up replacing half my front end and still get a really annoying noise half the time -- mine's a 97. About the only thing that hasn't been touched are the CV joints, so he's probably onto something by suggesting they get sprayed. Please let us know if you do that how it works.

Good luck!

[shorod]

Originally Posted by UsedtobeSmart

About the only thing that hasn't been touched are the CV joints, so he's probably onto something by suggesting they get sprayed. Please let us know if you do that how it works.

Good luck!

Well, I hope I don't get misinterpreted there. I was trying to warn the poster to not pierce the CV boots and greasing them. That will make a big mess and lead to an unecessary expense.

Creaking steering won't be due to CV joints or halfshafts.

One other item that I forgot to mention before would be the subframe bushings. They have been known to cause creaking noises as well.

-Rod

[Dobaroy]

Thanks for the heads up! Will more than likely stay away from the CV joints, don't really want to go there. Never thought we would have to get into subframe bushings in a 2000 car because some of the old cars we have, we are only now changing the subframe bushings from rubber to polyurethane (they are 30 odd years old!) Thanks again, Will keep you posted. Roy

[UsedtobeSmart]

Originally Posted by shorod

Well, I hope I don't get misinterpreted there. I was trying to warn the poster to not pierce the CV boots and greasing them. That will make a big mess and lead to an unecessary expense.

Creaking steering won't be due to CV joints or halfshafts.

One other item that I forgot to mention before would be the subframe bushings. They have been known to cause creaking noises as well.

-Rod

Right. Sorry about that; sometimes my brain gets going faster than my fingers can keep up and stuff gets a bit muddled. Don't mess with the CV's.

[Dobaroy]

Thanks Rod, you were right on with your method of diagnosing the problem. Rep points to you! This one turned out to be a dry tie rod end which we are going to replace today. Thanks a lot to everybody that wrote. Roy

[shorod]

You're welcome, and congrats!

Remember to have the wheel alignment checked after the new outer tie rod end is replaced to keep the tires wearing properly!

-Rod

[Dobaroy]

Just picked the car up from the Alignment Shop! Thanks again

Roy