This is still a mystery to me, Al Tayer and Ford so i am wondering if anyone has more mechanical, electronic or technical knowledge and can help me understand why my steering rack had a problem and needs replacement.

Al Tayer hasn't seen this case with a Raptor and Ford told them today that this is the first steering rack issue they see!!! This could mean they try to accuse me of misusing the car and not repair it under warranty but i will have something for them if they do (i can not share here coz i am being polite) .

Regardless of warranty, i really want to understand what happened and why!!!!

Any help is appreciated

What's the issue exactly? Can you describe it for us?

It's hard to diagnose online, but steering is actually pretty simple and only a few things can go wrong.

So if you explain what's happening I think we can pretty much guess where the issue could be.

First off, there's not much abuse you can do to damage the steering, other than run it without fluid, and that would be because of a leak and not direct abuse.

But, did you slide and hit a curb, with the front wheel at an angle? Perhaps going a bit too fast around a roundabout in the rain? That theoretically could push hard against the rack and damage the gears. Check if your front wheel rims show any sign of contact with the footpath (and swap the rear wheels to the front before going to Ford! LOOOL). If there's a problem with the rack AND there's evidence of footpath damage to the front wheel rim, then it's pretty fair to say the driver caused the damage...

If you banged onto a rock from underneath, perhaps driving in a wadi, you could bend the steering rods but that would be easy to see and not concerning the steering rack, which is deep inside a metal tube. (by steering rack we mean the gears where the steering box connects to side-to-side travel, right? Like this http://auto.howstuffworks.com/steering2.htm)

PR wrote:What's the issue exactly? Can you describe it for us?

It's hard to diagnose online, but steering is actually pretty simple and only a few things can go wrong.

So if you explain what's happening I think we can pretty much guess where the issue could be.

First off, there's not much abuse you can do to damage the steering, other than run it without fluid, and that would be because of a leak and not direct abuse.

But, did you slide and hit a curb, with the front wheel at an angle? Perhaps going a bit too fast around a roundabout in the rain? That theoretically could push hard against the rack and damage the gears. Check if your front wheel rims show any sign of contact with the footpath (and swap the rear wheels to the front before going to Ford! LOOOL). If there's a problem with the rack AND there's evidence of footpath damage to the front wheel rim, then it's pretty fair to say the driver caused the damage...

If you banged onto a rock from underneath, perhaps driving in a wadi, you could bend the steering rods but that would be easy to see and not concerning the steering rack, which is deep inside a metal tube. (by steering rack we mean the gears where the steering box connects to side-to-side travel, right? Like this http://auto.howstuffworks.com/steering2.htm)

Thanks for taking the time and explaining it, very useful.. And none of that happened which is why im surprised. So its a brand new Ford Raptor (had it a bit over a month and had 4000 Kms on it so far). Here is what happened exactly:

I was off-roading with the club last Friday and i got stuck in sand. The guys helped pull me out. Once i was out the steering was off center and had excessive play (not sure why!!) and i also had "hill decent control fault" and "service advance trac" messages on the dash. Turning left or right was not smooth at all after that, it was like the car was automatically counter steering to the opposite direction i was going.. If i turn right the car would go right, left, right, left..etc

They first thought it was a steering angle sensor but then told me it wasn't that and its a steering rack problem. This is all the information i have but not sure why it happened and what caused it

Good - then you need to stand firm and reject the "driver abuse" claims, because that means they need to repair it under warranty.

If they can prove the damage was caused by a careless driver, meaning the machine is not at fault, then they escape fixing it for free under warranty and you have to pay.

A problem with the steering rack would mean the gear teeth have slipped, and they need to replace the rack. They cannot fix it, so make sure they don't say "Oh, it's OK now." what they would do is bang it hard so the gears fall back into place, but actually the teeth would be damaged and you cannot see it, so after a while the problem would happen again. They should replace, and even you can ask to see the part they took out (ask them nicely, though, not challenging them like you don't trust them - it's good to build a relationship with them. I tell them I want the old parts because I use them for decorations in my office, which I do 8)

Thinking about it, here's my guess as to what happened (but don't tell the dealer) - if you were stuck deep, with your front wheels turned, and then the pull happened with the front wheels turned and at the same time you steered against the force of the pull (the sand is holding the wheel turned, but the force of the pull is dragging the wheel against the sand, and the steering wheel turned also against the sand) then it is possible that the force was too much for the rack gears and they slipped.

Can you see the picture? Wheels turned full left, car being pulled straight, and you turning the wheel right.

That's why always put front wheels straight before pulling.

I'm not saying this is what happened, I'm just thinking about a possible explanation. Anyhow, with the dealer you keep repeating that there was no impact with footpath, no reason for any damage, and the part is faulty under warranty so please change it, thank you. Gluck!

Wow man you are a legend crystal clear!!

Al Tayer is actually good that way, they always replace things which is why i have to wait 3 weeks to get the car now, waiting for the parts to come.

I have been their customer for 6+ years (Edge for 4 years + Mustang for 2 years and now the Raptor)

The way you explained it could have been the way it happened, not 100% sure though, i know the steering was turned to avoid roll over as it was stuck at an angle almost at the top of a dune. I can picture the way you explained it and it makes sense (if thats actually what happened) but i think it is the only reasonable explanation anyone gave me so far

Thank you very much once again, i really appreciate your help!

I am watching this with interest.

Thank you all

Cool, thanks - every uaeoffroader pitches in to help as he or she can 8)

It's fixed!!!! And much sooner than i thought too which is a bonus.

new steering gear installed, steering feels tight again and no electronic warnings!! Woohooo!

All repairs were done under warranty, no questions asked so all good thanks for all the help!

Babanist wrote:It's fixed!!!! And much sooner than i thought too which is a bonus.

new steering gear installed, steering feels tight again and no electronic warnings!! Woohooo!

All repairs were done under warranty, no questions asked so all good thanks for all the help!

Let's get stuck in the same spot again and see what happens

Hahaha uncle i have a feeling that wasn't what broke it, maybe it triggered it. I don't know!
I will do my best not to get stuck in the future haha