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Cracked Steering Damper Assembly- Be careful



 
 
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Old May 18th 04, 08:59 AM
Jason
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Default Cracked Steering Damper Assembly- Be careful

I'm calling this one as BS. Catastrophic steering loss?? Steering wheel
freezing?? HARDLY!! I ran WITHOUT a steering stabilizer for over 3 months
with NO ill steering effects. Where the heck is there a bracket that goes
from the FRAME to the STEERING DAMPER?? The only attachment points for the
steering damper are on the axle tube, to the outer tie rod! If you remove
the damper, the only thing that it's going to change is the DAMPENING of the
steering!! I can understand if the steering linkage broke, but the damper
wouldn't cause this type of problem!
> wrote in message
...
> On Tue, 11 May 2004 13:03:24 -0700, wrote:
>
> >I have a 2004 Ford Super Duty F-350 4X4 DRW/PK CRF 6.0 Diesel
> >
> >Purchased it in November, 2003. After driving it for a month or so I
> >noticed the steering wheel was no longer level. Had to turn it to the

left
> >5 degrees or so to continue going in a straight line. Didn't think that

was
> >a problem.
> >
> >Fast-forward to Saturday, May 8, 2004.
> >
> >Was traveling on the Santa Ana Freeway in Los Angeles at approximately 40
> >MPH - all of a sudden, had to turn the steering wheel 45 degrees to the

left
> >to continue traveling in a straight line. Immediately got off the

freeway
> >and checked the front tires. All seemed to be OK with the tires but made

an
> >appointment with the local Ford dealer to have things checked out.
> >
> >I have 10k miles on the truck. Yes, I take a lot of long trips.
> >
> >I also noticed that my truck made a clunking noise when the steering

wheel
> >was turned to the left(while going backwards or forwards at slow speed)
> >
> >Today(Tuesday) went to the Ford dealer and decided to get the tires

rotated
> >and examine the steering components.
> >
> >The mechanic found that the metal arm going from the frame to the

steering
> >damper mechanism had severed(cracked). The mechanic also found that

there
> >was rust on part of the metal bracket mechanism that had cracked. The
> >mechanic also found that the bolt holding the steering damper mechanism

to
> >the frame of the truck was missing. Apparently it had not been properly
> >tighten at the factory and had eventually worked itself loose. This in

turn
> >caused a small crack. AND, that small crack caused the metal to fail on

the
> >freeway last Saturday.
> >
> >So this is a heads up to all of you F-ound O-n R-oad D-ead owners to

pay
> >attention to the little things. This could have been a problem for me

down
> >the road if I hadn't paid immediate attention to this matter.
> >
> >PS. Just heard from McCoy & Mills Ford in Fullerton, CA. The parts have
> >been ordered, they will get installed and I will get a front end

alignment.
> >Should get the truck back tomorrow(Wednesday evening).
> >
> >Thank you for your time.
> >

>
> I wanted to follow up on my own post.
>
> The problem occurred because some jerk at the Ford factory forgot to

install
> a nut and bolt in the assembly at vehicle production. The mechanic who
> repaired my truck said I could have had a catastrophic steering loss at

any
> given moment. The mechanic said the steering wheel would have frozen and

I
> would have not been able to turn. The mechanic said I was very lucky.
>
>



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