Ford Explorer: Rack & Pinion Help

2000 XLT, 4WD, 47k miles

I noticed that occasionally I'll hear a light knock from the front end,
and can be felt thru the steering wheel. I've felt it occasionally over
bumps, and especially if I make left/right motions with the wheel.
When I got home I had my wife wiggle the wheel back and forth
(engine off, key on, all wheels on the ground) while I crawled beneath to
find the noise. It sounds (and feels) like it's coming from the
rack & pinion assembly, like there is play between the rack and
the pinion gear. And I mean it's RIGHT there where the input shaft
meets the rack.

Working on a friend's mini-van years back, I was able to take
excess play out of the R&P by tightening on a large hex-type
bolt on the back of the rack. Would this be something that
can be done on the 2000 model?

What else could this problem be cause of?

I raised the tires up and did the side to side test for the
tie rod end test and I don't feel any tie rod play.

Any ideas?

Like I said, last night I narrowed the sound down to around
where the input shaft goes into the rack, which lead me to
believe it was the inner tie rod or the rack/pinion itself.

Took it to the dealer today (whom I trust pretty well)
and diagnosed it as an inner tie-rod issue.

I take it in on Monday.

Thanks for the replies!


"Fred" <com> wrote in message
news:com...