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[kelly]

Hi Eric,
1997 Mustang GT, 4.6L, 300k miles

I am getting a slight “clunky” feel in the steering wheel while driving, especially when making minor corrections.

I performed the “wiggle-the-wheel” test (official term) per your videos and cannot detect any obvious looseness in the outer or inner tie rod ends or ball joints. I pulled the steering rack boots to visually inspect the inner tie rod ends and found what appears to be grease inside the cavity on the driver’s side. Is there supposed to be grease covering the teeth of the rack piston? (That attaches to the inner tie rod end)

I was unsure if it was grease or a combination of leaked power steering fluid and gunk. The boots are not wet and there are no obvious P/S leaks.
My only other possible culprits I can think of are the U-joints in the steering column, the rag-joint, or that the internals of the rack-and-pinion are simply worn out.

Thoughts? (Picture attached)

Thank you for your EXCELLENT help with my EGR issues on the same car.

Kelly
Atlanta, Ga.

Attachments:

• 97StangInnerTR.jpg

[kelly]

Eric,
Love your work! Congrats on the new truck!
I have what may be a simple issue but has stumped everyone for a long time:

1997 Mustang GT – 4.6L – 300K miles (yes, 300K on the original engine/trans) – COMPLETELY stock! (yes as unbelievable as that is on a 90’s Mustang)

PROBLEM: It has a spark-knock (pre-detonation) issue pretty much since the early 2000’s. It will not run on regular unleaded gas without spark-knocking, especially when putting it under a heavy load (pulling hills, etc).
I took it to Ford who said the ECM was reading octane levels at 93 so they re-flashed it back to 86. This fixed the problem for about 2 weeks, then the spark-knock was back. I have confirmed the correct temperature spark plugs were installed (OEM), otherwise I have been running high-octane (93) gas nearly its entire life to combat the issue. Also, there is no knock sensor on this car.

Other than that, it has been a great car and was my daily driver through my 20’s and 30’s. Now that I am in my 40’s it is my project car BUT the spark-knock issue always bothered me.

I have had a wild idea that there is a lot of carbon build-up causing higher compression ratios in several of the cylinders but that’s a stretch, I know.
Have you ever heard of this issue? Any other ideas?

Many thanks and keep up the good work!

Kelly
Atlanta, Georgia

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