Ford Escape How To Replace Intermediate Steering Shaft and Knuckles

[@JavierSalazar-l7d]

Buenas tardes , se puede cambiar esta pieza sin desmontar el volante y el motor?

[@Tobinindustrial]

No tuve que quitar el volante ni el motor. Es difícil llegar a él, pero se puede reemplazar simplemente desatornillándolo y retirándolo. Fue un apretón fuerte y me hice algunos cortes en las manos en el proceso.

[@JesusMorales-x5m]

Buena noches bro onde lo puedo conseguir

[@Tobinindustrial]

El mio lo compré en Amazon

[@marinellagiuliano2095]

Yes my 2011 Ford Escape is going in on Monday for this issue

[@Tobinindustrial]

It's an awkward kind of job thanks to ford engineering.Word of warning, this unit may not last long. It may still make noise even as new. If it is a Ford OEm part, perhaps it may be okay. I just wanted to let you know. This part was replaced twice already in my vehicle. Be sure to test the steering wheel rocking it back and forth vigoriously before leaving the shop. You may still hear clunking noises. I hope not. Keep me posted, if you don't mind.

[@Dallas-Rife-UDX-347-Tennessee]

Any problem you encounter trying to remove parts, bolts, nuts, clips , etc,, Trust me , Ford engineered this into the equation lol Good job , you’re more patient than me !

[@Tobinindustrial]

I agree wholeheartedly. You need to be a contortionist to be able to perform work like this. There's a lot of sharp metal edges that have my hands scratched and scrapped up. Way to go Ford engineering... lol

[@Dallas-Rife-UDX-347-Tennessee]

@@Tobinindustrial I’ll be 48 years old this November,, I don’t tackle jobs like this anymore. I’m down to oil changes and brake jobs , anything beyond that and my patience level meter is pegged out !

[@Tobinindustrial]

@@Dallas-Rife-UDX-347-Tennessee I had to bite the bullet and do my own work because I just put $2700.00 in parts and labor in July and then this happened. I just hope nothing else goes wrong with the escape. I am thinking about putting my ford focus back on the road. I am gonna get a mechanic to have a look at it to see what it needs.

[@CB-RADIO-UK]

Thats a tough job Andy. Years ago i would have been laying on my back upside down on the seat. Not so sure these days though.

[@Tobinindustrial]

It was a hard job but I already sunk $2700.00 into parts and labor so I had to suck it up to keep from blowing the vehicle budget and do my own labor.

[@isaacdejong6483]

Question, can the splines on the shaft become misaligned if the shaft is fully extended? I recently replaced my upper steering shaft and my steering wheel is now misaligned.

[@Tobinindustrial]

Not to my knowledge. The spline would have to totally seperate in order to be moved. The spline is the full length of the movement. It may have been asembled wrong but that is not likely. If you used the seatbelt to secure the steering wheel or you locked the steering wheel in the center position, you should not have a problem. The steering wheel can move a bit left or right but the shaft, if set up at the factory properly, has to notch into the groove with very high accuracy. How far off is your steering wheel? If it is of to the left of right by about 5 degrees, that may be just normal wear of everything from the tie rod ends to the rack and pinion on an older vehicle. My steering wheel is not dead center. For some reason, ford steering wheels like to lean a bit to the left by a few degrees after so many thousand KM's. My Ford Focus has a left lean as well by about 4-5 degrees.

[@isaacdejong6483]

@@Tobinindustrial Steering is off a full 10 degrees. The car had an alignment 6 months ago and was dead straight prior to changing the steering shaft. The only thing I can think of is when I was removing the bottom U-joint, the old upper shaft fully extended. I did not pay attention at that moment in time and am wonder if the lower portion of the upper shaft got off one or two splines.

[@Tobinindustrial]

@@isaacdejong6483 I cannot be 100% certain but, if I recall correctly, the spline is tapered so that it would not seperate. It is like a telescopic antenna, it would not pull apart. That would be a design flaw. The interlocking splines run the full length of both sections and, if aligned properly at the factory, it could not change orientation. I think you may have an out of specification shaft. Were the wheels straight when you disassembled the old shaft? I am grasping at straws here my friend. I certainly do hope it is an easier fix than replacing that shaft again.

[@isaacdejong6483]

@@Tobinindustrial I did not have the wheels fully straight, as I had a problem accessing the lower U-joint bolt, but I left the steering wheel and wheels in the same position from removal to installation. I appreciate the insight and help!

[@isaacdejong6483]

Also, why would you need to lock the steering wheel? If the shaft is splined and cannot change orientation, as well as the U-joints only being able to install in one orientation, I would think the steering wheel would not have to be "locked." Just an observation.

[@davidweanker6505]

ik if youre having difficulty im going have a nightmare

[@Tobinindustrial]

David, my brother. Ford, like any other vehicle builders, make things ever so difficult. And to add insult to injury, the aftermarket part doesn't seem to last very long. It's probably not worth the time, expense and misery of replacing it. I think that it would never fail completely but if it did so on the highway, it could be catostrophic. Shame on the Ford engineer designing

[@SpectreOZ]

Ford Engineers are evil... just recently replaced an alternator in an '06 Focus, should have been straight forward apart from the lack of space/clearance

[@Tobinindustrial]

I agree. Evil is the word for sure. There is no other need for that other than to be devil oriented design.