Rumbly groan with turns at low speeds esp just beginning to move car Dealer just repalced entire rack and pinion and sway bar. no noise first day- today heard noise again

Unless the rack is moving side to side due to loose bolts or warn bushings it is almost impossible for it to make any type of noise at all,
if poping noises can be heard turning the wheel while the car is parked you have one of a few different problems,
1, worn ball joints
2, warn control arm bushings
3, worn tie rods
4, worn upper strut mount bearings

The rack and pinion can usually be rejuvenated by flushing the system and adding Lucas rack and pinion sealer, this seals it internally also making it work much better.

Could be a bad tire ( or bent rim Have balance checked), ball joint, idler arm, wheel bearing, steering tie rod end or defective rack and pinion unit. Lift vehicle about 1 inch off ground ( do each side independently) Use a pry bar and pry from ground up and down on wheel. Much play? bad ball joint. With both hands, try to move wheel side to side. Much play? could be a tie rod end or bad wheel bearing. Visually check play of steering arm into rack and pinion unit, more than about a half inch play, bad rack and pinion unit. Try to move back and forth with hands top and bottom. Much play? Bad ball joint or wheel bearing, verify visually that it is ball joint moving, else it is the wheel bearing. Manually check for play in each joint in steering control rods from steering knuckle all the way through each rod where there is a joint. Replace the one you find excessive play in. Check mounting studs for sway bar for loose fit, deteriorated rubber bushings or a crack / break in the sway bar. Replace if needed. That's about all I can think of unless it only happens when applying brakes, in which case it could be a warped rotor.

sounds like you may have a cracked Rack N Pinion, could be that something needs to get Welded down there. Something like the Rack Pinion casing can crack and allow the CV shaft to protrude far enough to hit your ball joint during turns thus hindering rotational movement

so what is the part number for a 2000 ford windstar v6 3.8L. my mechanic is quoting me $350 for part and total for part and labor about $855. his rate per hour is $90 labor. seems a little pricey. i want to order the part and have him put on and tell him i found out the labor is 3 hours at most. the sway bar links are bad too so he quoted me $202 for that which is where he has to take that off to get to rack and pinion so what is a fair price for sway bar labor if he is already doing rack and pinion? i really don't have the money for either but i have to do repair or p. steering pump can go out do he says (if the fluid leaks all way out).

On the suspension the only thing that can leak are rack and pinion, shock asorbers,and motor mount and axle boot.there is no fluid in sway bar you need to find someone who will show you and who you trust

he filled the PS fluid? it was low? If so it has a leak somewhere, usually the high pressure line. the rattle could be anything, have the front end and steering linkage checked. tie rods, sway bar links, ect.

Check the ends of your rack & pinion for signs of a leak. If a leak is present, replace the rack & pinion. If no leaks, maybe your power steering pump is going out.


I’m happy to help further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/jeremy_69f3cc28d95bf514

your vehicle has a transverse mounted engine and most newer vehicls have rack and pinion steering versus a shaft going to a gear box with a drag link and sway bar type steering system. most full size suvs have the gear box set up. some suvs like dodge durango have both a gear box and a rack and pinion. your vehicle has only the rack and pinion

rack and pinion .

your welcome
buy them off rockauto.com cheaper then dealer !

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Had similar problem with 2003 Dodge GC. Replaced the parts you mention + rack & pinion, then to fix the now noticable whining noise, replaced power steering pump and pulley. Fortunately was under an extended warrentee at 46k miles.