Escort Steering Rack

My mother's 1992 Ford Escort has a worn power rack and pinion assembly. There is end play in the right side that measures 1/8 inch at the tire tread. I am guessing there is about 1/16 inch play at the tie rod. Is this an acceptable amount of wear? I am not worried about toe so much as the chance of failure of the steering assembly. I don't know how much this is affecting handling, as she also has a tire that has a bulging tread that is causing it to pull badly.

--
Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

mike , i've never seen an escort that did not have at least that much
play in it. don't sweat it going out. get mom another tire, or better
yet, get her a couple new ones for the front. if those old tires
weren't wearing well, and you think you have an alignment problem then
you should go ahead and spring for mom a front end alignment. remember,
x-mas is just around the corner.....

All that's most likely needed is an inner tie rod end.
Bob
"Mike Walsh" > wrote in message
...
>
> My mother's 1992 Ford Escort has a worn power rack and pinion assembly.
> There is end play in the right side that measures 1/8 inch at the tire
> tread. I am guessing there is about 1/16 inch play at the tie rod. Is this
> an acceptable amount of wear? I am not worried about toe so much as the
> chance of failure of the steering assembly. I don't know how much this is
> affecting handling, as she also has a tire that has a bulging tread that
> is causing it to pull badly.
>
> --
> Mike Walsh
> West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

She definitely needs two front tires. One has a bulging tread and the other one is worn down to the wear indicator. The tires are worn evenly (with 5 psi more than Ford recomends) so the alignment can't be too far off. I don't know how long here has been play in the steering. I didn't check it closely until my sister in law complained about it, and I am sure the problems she had were because of the bad tire. My mother is out of state on a visit and I don't know how long she was driving with the bad tire.

plainoldmechanic wrote:
>
> mike , i've never seen an escort that did not have at least that much
> play in it. don't sweat it going out. get mom another tire, or better
> yet, get her a couple new ones for the front. if those old tires
> weren't wearing well, and you think you have an alignment problem then
> you should go ahead and spring for mom a front end alignment. remember,
> x-mas is just around the corner.....

--
Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

How hard is it to change the tie rod at the rack and pinion assembly? The Chilton book does not say anything about adjustments or repair, only how to replace the whole assembly.

Bob wrote:
>
> All that's most likely needed is an inner tie rod end.
> Bob
> "Mike Walsh" > wrote in message
> ...
> >
> > My mother's 1992 Ford Escort has a worn power rack and pinion assembly.
> > There is end play in the right side that measures 1/8 inch at the tire
> > tread. I am guessing there is about 1/16 inch play at the tie rod. Is this
> > an acceptable amount of wear? I am not worried about toe so much as the
> > chance of failure of the steering assembly. I don't know how much this is
> > affecting handling, as she also has a tire that has a bulging tread that
> > is causing it to pull badly.
> >
> > --
> > Mike Walsh
> > West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

--
Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

> she also has a tire that has a bulging tread that is causing
> it to pull badly

I was about to suggest two new front tires as Mom's Christmas present,
but if one of them has an aneurysm big enough to see and to cause a bad
pull to one side, a Thanksgiving present would be better. Maybe even a
pre-Thanksgiving present (beat the crowds). For that matter, if you
really want to be safe you should probably install the donut spare on
that corner in order to drive to the tire shop.

Even if it's one of the zoomier Escort variants and you want it to be
properly shod, the cost should be in the low three figures; a pair of
pretty decent tire for regular Escorts shouldn't even be that much. If
you are feeling the long-range Christmas spirit here, and have reason
to believe the two rear tires have been exposed to similar duty for
about as long, especially if they're also of the same brand, might as
well do 'em all.

Everything else that might be wrong with the car is a nit, compared to
the presence of a tire that could pop with little warning and has an
effect on handling that could put her into either an oncoming lane or
the sidewalk or ditch without continuous steering input. Yoiks!

Cheers,
--Joe

My sister-in-law is taking the car to get two front tires today so my mother will have good tires when she gets back in town tomorrow. I found out today I can replace just the inner tie rod, but I don't know if the steering assembly is Mazda or Ford. The Chilton book does not say anything about replacing just the tie rod, but judging by the pictures on the Advance Auto Part's web site it looks like they just screw onto the rack.

Ad absurdum per aspera wrote:
>
> > she also has a tire that has a bulging tread that is causing
> > it to pull badly
>
> I was about to suggest two new front tires as Mom's Christmas present,
> but if one of them has an aneurysm big enough to see and to cause a bad
> pull to one side, a Thanksgiving present would be better. Maybe even a
> pre-Thanksgiving present (beat the crowds). For that matter, if you
> really want to be safe you should probably install the donut spare on
> that corner in order to drive to the tire shop.
>
> Even if it's one of the zoomier Escort variants and you want it to be
> properly shod, the cost should be in the low three figures; a pair of
> pretty decent tire for regular Escorts shouldn't even be that much. If
> you are feeling the long-range Christmas spirit here, and have reason
> to believe the two rear tires have been exposed to similar duty for
> about as long, especially if they're also of the same brand, might as
> well do 'em all.
>
> Everything else that might be wrong with the car is a nit, compared to
> the presence of a tire that could pop with little warning and has an
> effect on handling that could put her into either an oncoming lane or
> the sidewalk or ditch without continuous steering input. Yoiks!
>
> Cheers,
> --Joe

--
Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.

mike, there ain't nothing to it....just get after it and remove the old
one. once you look at it ...you'll see. try counting the threads that
are showing on your old tie rod and make sure that the same number show
on the new one when replaced. that way you cant get bad off.

I finally got a chance to get to my Mom's and replace the tie rod today. You are right, it was easy.

plainoldmechanic wrote:
>
> mike, there ain't nothing to it....just get after it and remove the old
> one. once you look at it ...you'll see. try counting the threads that
> are showing on your old tie rod and make sure that the same number show
> on the new one when replaced. that way you cant get bad off.

--
Mike Walsh
West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.A.