By chance I heard my wife back ruck out of garage and noticed a loud squeak from front end as she steered. With windows up and heater on we had not heard the sound during this winter and don't know how long it had been making noise. We made an appointment and took it to the dealer. As we pulled in the shop with it squeaking at each turn of the steering wheel a mechanic walked over and said that must be a 1997. I said yes and he said the pitman arm is supposed to be lubed for life so there is no grease fitting, and they are known to fail on the 1997's. we get our truck oil changed and lubed every 3000 miles or close to it. He said if we hadn't notice the noise it would have seized up and broke. As I understand it the pitman arm connects the steering box shaft to the steering linkage and a failure would have resulted in a sudden loss of steering. We got it fixed immediately by replacing the pitman arm at a cost of close to $300. How long will the new arm last without grease? I reported it to Ford, and they said they would track the vehicles and notify me if there is a recall. Then I did some research and found there are at least a couple service bulletins dating back to 97 and 98 that they were aware of this problem in early production. You would think they would notify us of the problem while the warranty would cover the repair and at least to assure our steering would not fail. The bulletin numbers I found are #9810569 in 1998 and BC2360970501 in 1997 both about the pitman arm replacement. The repair was done at metro Ford of grand ledge Michigan (517-627-3293).

- Grand Ledge, MI, USA

Had to replace steering pitman. Vehicle was out of warranty.

- Berthold, ND, USA

There was a squeak, and Ford called it a groan when turning steering wheel. Dealer said it was a defective pitman arm.

- Bryan, TX, USA

On both occasions tie rods came apart at the middle without warning!

- Southbend, IN, USA

No summary

- Akron, OH, USA

Part failed, causing loss of control. Vehicle was forced into oncoming traffic. The dealer and Ford were contacted. They both agreed that it shouldn't have failed. They were not concerned about the safety issue, just there warranty liability. When the part failed it damaged the backing plate and punctured the rim, causing tire failure. What may have happened if this was at highway speed?

- Strongsville, OH, USA

Pitman arm broke between the steering shaft and gear, causing drive to lose control of the vehicle, resulting in a crash. Dealer was not willing to inspect the defective part. Also, left ball joint were bad, causing tires to wear out.

- Harrisburg, PA, USA

Tie-rod snapped in two after driver engaged "reverse" to back out of a space. Driver lost all steering control. Vehicle towed to Ford dealer. Employee, and, or others could have sustained serious injury or fatality if part had failed while vehicle was being operated at normal driving speed.

- Blue Is, IL, USA

Steering gear assembly and pitman arm failed causing loss of control.

- Sarver, PA, USA

Steering column linkages failed.

- Ontario, CA, USA

Pitman arm & idler arm need replaced after only 40K miles. Steering became unpredictable.

- Milford, OH, USA

Steering linkages make popping noises at low speeds & on rough roads. The noise is louder when turning wheel. Developed a lot of play in steering wheel. Problem occurred after warranty ran out. Will be taking vehicle back to dealer.

- Cadiz, KY, USA