1997 Lincoln Town Car STEERING PROBLEM

Tiny
NICKGOINS
  • MEMBER
  • 1997 LINCOLN TOWN CAR
  • V8
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 98,000 MILES
Steering is very firm and when turning left or right it is like it catches and turns very sharply for app. 1/8 turn of the Steering wheel. When turning either left or right, it takes considerable effort to turn it back to go straight. We checked all front suspension parts and they seemed fine. We sprayed BLASTER on the intermedete shaft u-joint because it seemed like it was binding. A little better, but no where close to normal. It is still bad. With this problem, in your opinion is it in the intermedete shaft or more likely to be in the gear-box? If neither, could you please help me with some advice on this problem. I would like to be able to only buy one of these, if only one is the problem, as neither of them are cheap. I am disabled and on limited funds, but I will not buy at a junk yard either. I would appreciate any and all help regarding this problem. Thank you very much, Nick
Friday, August 27th, 2010 AT 10:53 PM

12 Replies

Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Hi Nick. Welcome to the forum. This sounds like a tight ball joint. As such, it will check fine when you're just looking for looseness. I would suggest disconnecting an outer tie rod end, then turn the spindle by hand. The way you're describing it, you should find it almost impossible to turn the bad side by hand. Tight ball joints were somewhat common on older Ford trucks but I don't remember hearing of anything common like that on the bigger cars.

A tight joint in the steering shaft should turn easy for 1/4 turn, then hard for the next 1/4 turn. If in doubt, you can disconnect that too to see how easily it swivels.

Caradiodoc
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Friday, August 27th, 2010 AT 11:32 PM
Tiny
NICKGOINS
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Hey guys. When we were checking the steering problem we took the tires off and disconnected tie rods to see if we could easily turn the steering from left to right, turning the spindles by hand as far to the left and right as they would go. Everything turned freely. When we were Spraying BLASTER on the intermedate stering shaft u-joint and turning the steering shaft we noticed the u-joint was binding and actually buckling a small amount and making a poping noise when it would bind. That is why I figured it was a bad intermedate shaft u-joinat or problem with the gear box. Is there a way to isolate each of them seperatly to diagnose which one it is or if it could be any other problem besides a tight ball joint, as they have allready been inspected and are good All grease fittings, if avalible have been lubricated and spindles turn with very little effort. Or if there is anything else that could cause this problem. If you need more information, go back to my original question. The car steers in a very jerky manner and I can'not drive it until I can repair it. Your response and expert advice is very much appreciated. Thanks, Nick
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Saturday, August 28th, 2010 AT 12:21 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Boy, that's an unusual problem to have a tight joint in the steering shaft on a Ford. It's more common on other brands. I would head to a salvage yard to get a different steering shaft. That will let you see how it comes out, then you can disconnect yours on one end so you can swivel it to see which joint is binding. It really is irrelevant anyhow as you can't buy those u-joints for the shaft. You have to buy the whole shaft as an assembly.

Caradiodoc
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Saturday, August 28th, 2010 AT 4:10 PM
Tiny
NICKGOINS
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Thanks for responding 08-28-10 4:10 PM to my problem with the steering problem. As we have eliminated the tight ball joints by disconnecting the tie rods to see if the spindles turn freely, and probably isolated it to a bad intermedeate steering shaft, if the shaft is not at fault, how do I check the gear box to see if it is defective. If there is anything else besides tight ball joints, bad intermedate shaft or gear box that could cause the steering problem I am having, info would be greatly appreciated. In closing, how do I check the gear box and if there is anything else could be the cullprit. Your reply is greatly appreciated. Thanks Nick
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Sunday, August 29th, 2010 AT 9:48 AM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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I thought you found a tight joint in the steering shaft.

To test the steering gear, the service manuals usually have a test that involves removing the steering shaft and linkage, then using a torque wrench to measure turning torque on the input shaft. That is pretty hard to do in the car though.

Caradiodoc
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Sunday, August 29th, 2010 AT 11:28 AM
Tiny
NICKGOINS
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Thanks for the info. Will replace the steering shaft in the next 2 weeks. Will let you know if that was the problem for your info, as I know it is not common on a Ford product. Thanks, Nick
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Sunday, August 29th, 2010 AT 1:58 PM
Tiny
NICKGOINS
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Hey guys [Caradiodoc]. The problem was the intermedate upper steering shaft. The parts guy at the lincon dealer said if you put chain lube on the u-joint about every other oil change they will never freeze up due to corrision as there are no grease fittings on the u-joint and the chain lube will stick to the u-joint better than just trying to oil it for corrosion purposes. Just thought I would run this by you. Don't know if it is right or wrong. Just relaying the info. Thanks for your feedback. Nick
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Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 AT 3:03 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Thank you for sharing that. I'll add it to my memory banks. Apparently this is a somewhat common problem on your model since the guy knew what to do about it.

Caradiodoc
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Tuesday, August 31st, 2010 AT 4:08 PM
Tiny
NICKGOINS
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  • 9 POSTS
Caradiodoc, After replacing intermedete shaft, car developed a loud clicking noise in the dash. Sounds like it is coming from just right or behind the radio area. I know this has nothing to do with the int. Shaft, but was wondering if is a relay or something for the heater or radio. Sometimes it is clicking and the next time I drive the car the loud clicking noise is gone. Any idea what part I would need to replace. Your advice is appreciated. Thanks, Nick
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Friday, September 3rd, 2010 AT 5:37 AM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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You're going to have to stick your head down there and look around. There could be a plastic shield that is mispositioned and rubbing. The clue is that would still make noise when the ignition switch is turned off. If it only occurs with the ignition switch turned on, it could be a relay but you'll have to poke around to try to feel what is clicking.

Caradiodoc
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Friday, September 3rd, 2010 AT 6:34 PM
Tiny
RAUL MORALES2
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Interesting - I have a 2003 town car and just finished fixing my hard to steer problem-
As I understand it, the steering system on these cars are a bit more complicated vs standard system. The pump produces pressure, which is actually regulated by a proportional pressure valve, this valve provides the required pressure in accordance to the pressure switch on the steering line, I believe it's called a low-pressure switch. This is to maintain a certain amount of pressure thus (feel on the steering column). So, knowing as little as I do, I went and replaced the intermediate shaft (Lower) which was binding by the way but my problem remained. I then checked wiring on that valve which is located on the right side of the rack looking from front of car. Looked good, so I replaced the pump. And the problem got worse, I was like, great ready to junk this POS. So today I decided to remove the lower shaft and see if I could actually turn the rack and pinion by turning the shaft that connects to the lower intermediate shaft, I could not, not enough room. But you know what I did? I put the front car on jacks, opened the reservoir and kept the cap open, then I manually moved the wheels left to right, right to left and oil started coming out of the reservoir, this is without motor on.
What was happening is that when I pushed to one side and then tried to push to the other, there was a like air on the line or something because it started easy then hardened, I did this enough times to eliminate the easy part and the wheels moved at the same resistance left to right. I greased the upper u-joint and returned the shaft (lower shaft), since I did not find any binding when moving the wheel, I realized that there isn't anything wrong with the rack and pinion, this had to be either electrical or air on the line.
I went into the car and turned the wheel (car still up in the air- turn your air suspension switch of btw) and everything seemed okay, so I lowered the car and started it. Turned it left to right with little pump noise until it went away and so did my problem.
I bought this car as it was, so I had no history to go by. On this car it turned out to be the shaft which I replaced, the upper shaft which I lubed and air on the line which I just showed you how to internally bleed this system.
Great cars, I love these Lincolns I really do but could have done without the controlled power steering system. Good luck hope it helps someone.
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Saturday, October 9th, 2021 AT 3:58 PM
Tiny
CARADIODOC
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Thank you for that information. It is common on any car for power steering fluid to burp out of the reservoir when turning the steering gear without the engine running. Fords have a real lot of trouble bleeding that resulting air out. There are all kinds of special tools on the market now for doing that.

One thing I neglected to mention is the clock spring under the steering wheel. That's a wound-up ribbon cable inside a plastic housing. It makes a solid electrical connection to the air bag. Those clock springs are just long enough to handle rotating only slightly more than the steering system can go from full-left to full-right, and no more. Some of the tests we talked about involved disconnecting the steering shaft from the steering gear. Once that is done, you're free to rotate the steering wheel endlessly in either direction. Likewise, you can operate the steering gear by hand too. If you disconnect the steering shaft while the front wheels are straight ahead, then, for example, turn the steering gear one revolution one way, then reconnect the steering shaft, the clock spring will be turned one revolution off-center when the steering system is recentered. Now when turning fully one way, the ribbon cable is either going to wind up tight and tear off on one end, or it's going to unwind too far and fold over on itself. In the first way, the Air Bag Computer will see the break in the circuit and immediately set a fault code for "Open Squib" or "Open Initiator". It turns the system off and turns on the red warning light to tell you. In the second way, the same thing will happen, but not right away. It will take repeated folding over on itself many times before the ribbon cable cracks.

The way to prevent this damage to the clock spring is to always have the steering system centered when the steering shaft is disconnected, and to use something like rubber bungee strap to hold the steering wheel from being turned. That keeps the clock spring centered, then simply put the front wheels back to straight ahead when you reconnect the steering shaft.

If you still end up with a damaged clock spring, new ones always come locked in the centered orientation with a warning label through the middle that tells that it is centered. Everyone I've seen so far has a pair of locking buttons that prevent accidentally turning it off-center Those locking buttons are pressed down to unlock them by the steering wheel when it is bolted on.
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Saturday, October 9th, 2021 AT 8:05 PM

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