Steering Gear Compatibility

[Lincoln SHO]

Hello All,

I've been having a possible issue with my steering gear. Not 100%, since it only happens in the bitter cold <10 degrees outside, but during those times, I hear an uncomfortable grinding sound when turning. Above those temps, sounds perfectly fine, feels perfectly fine, drives straight as an arrow and no sounds whatsoever.

Anyhow, onto the main question. I found a 2019 ford flex nearby with a steering gear for a good price. Given that they're both based on the Ford D4 platform, does anyone know if the steering gears are interchangeable?

Much appreciated

 

[kryptto]

not doubting your analysis - ok maybe I am - sure its the power steering, not the strut tower bracket or tie rod ends - did you get out have someone turn and listen where it is coming from?

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

Hello All,

I've been having a possible issue with my steering gear. Not 100%, since it only happens in the bitter cold <10 degrees outside, but during those times, I hear an uncomfortable grinding sound when turning. Above those temps, sounds perfectly fine, feels perfectly fine, drives straight as an arrow and no sounds whatsoever.

Anyhow, onto the main question. I found a 2019 ford flex nearby with a steering gear for a good price. Given that they're both based on the Ford D4 platform, does anyone know if the steering gears are interchangeable?

Much appreciated

What year is your car? this is what I found on napa's website and car-part.com confirms there is a difference somewhere depending on year, but to know what will fit your car we need to know your year.

Make	Model	Year(s)
Ford	Police Interceptor Sedan	2019 -2019
Ford	Taurus	2018 -2019
Ford	Flex	2016 -2019
Lincoln	MKT	2019 -2019

my advice is consider other potential issues like @kryptto said, have someone turn the wheel back and forth when its cold enough to replicate the issue. bare in mind the platform stablemates are useful for a lot of things but they are still different cars, (i.e. the explorer is on the D4 platform too but not on this list). usually when steering racks go bad its due to a bad seal left unattended long enough to cause the teeth to wear and cause noticeable issues with steering or repeated overextension of inner tie rods to cause the gear inside the rack to wear out, inner tie rods are replaceable and so are most seals and thats the usual reason people replace racks, but theres more information to be had: year of car, wheel position when noise occurs, moving or stationary or both, can you feel it in the steering wheel when it happens. all of this plus having a good ear next to the wheel and eyes on the suspension will help you out a lot.

 

[kryptto]

Also if I recall not a true test but doesn't the computer start to throw codes when the power steering rack is going bad?

 

[Lincoln SHO]

Thanks for replying. 2013 SHO and doubt away. I'm far from an expert. Not even a novice. I had the dealership check the noise a year ago and they recommended replacing the steering gear, but stated it was not a safety concern. Took it to a small shop and they said it was perfectly fine. No codes are being thrown. I'm probably going to pass on the flex steering gear, but took it as an opportunity to learn more about the cross-compatibility of the D4 platform components. That's what really piqued my interest. I'm assuming that the year gap between the 2013 and 2019 is too great, especially given there seems to be some minor refresh that was done in 2015/2016 models. I've had a fair amount of things go wrong with the SHO (profile picture was taken the same week I bought it), and plan to keep it for at least 10 more years despite that.

 

[Junkyard_Mad-Scientist]

Also if I recall not a true test but doesn't the computer start to throw codes when the power steering rack is going bad?

It will only throw a code if something connected to it senses a fault, the gear itself (rack assembly) is just cold metal parts. I had something similar to this happens yearssss ago, weird noise in steering, only when cold, if the saying what can go wrong will go wrong ever applied to anything it was what the issue ended up being. Bad seal caused condensation inside the rack and froze over night. I believe it was confirmed by heating the rack and watching for water to drip out. Not my car not my story but I was along for the ride and you remember something like that lol

 

[sleep7]

Mine is making a quite a bit of noise even in the warmer weather. My mechanic sent me this video that I uploaded later.

If it is the steering rack, is it possible to pull one from a junk yard thats not from a SHO? Found a used one from a police package Taurus.

 

[kryptto]

Mine is making a quite a bit of noise even in the warmer weather. My mechanic sent me this video that I uploaded later.

If it is the steering rack, is it possible to pull one from a junk yard thats not from a SHO? Found a used one from a police package Taurus.

PI and SHO parts should be the same as far as suspension. Please wait for others to validate.