Power Steering Issues/Ford Dealer being dumb??

[FordTechOne]

It's a nut that is molded into a bushing. The bushing is then press-fit into the aluminum housing of the EPAS. Yes, it is threaded for the bolt. If the bushing broke loose and was no longer pres-fit in place, you wouldn't be able to get the appropriate torque to suck the EPAS to the cross member.

The bushings with the captive nut are also not replaceable and there is no service part. (in this case the entire rack needs to be replaced). I went through this exact crap show when the DS captive bushing disappeared from my EPAS unit 20 miles north of san Felipe.

You actually can check the belt. There are 4 bolts that hold the cover. Is the belt is shredded, or partially shredded, it is tight enough inside the EPAS to cause binding, which may be the cause for the "groan". I understand that from Ford's service manual perspective, that the entire EPAS is the service part, But you can actually buy the belt separately, and it does have a part number, both in the U.S. and Mexico.

I was not aware that the EPAS bolts were torque to yield. You can't buy the DS bolt in qty of 1. The DS bolt only comes in qty 5 or 6. The PS bolt can be purchased qty 1. if I remember right, one of the bolts is $19 per and the other is $16 per.

I appreciate the pro-tip on torque the dS first. Logic would dictate that as the PS bolt is quite a bit shorter.

I see what you are saying; the threaded insert is part of the bushing itself. You are correct; no service part is available.

I haven't had an EPAS unit apart in the field; since they are considered "non-serviceable", we just replaced the entire rack in the event of any failure. Good to know that not only can you access the bolt, but the belt part number is available. Great information, actually.

I don't believe the EPAS mounting bolts are TTY based on the torque spec; my guess would be that engineering wants them replaced because of the thread locking compound. I think that if you wire brushed the old compound off and reapplied thread locker, you'd be fine.

 

[Denvertaco07]

Ah, ok, I figured the single use might be because TTY, but thanks for clarifying.

 

[zombiekiller]

I see what you are saying; the threaded insert is part of the bushing itself. You are correct; no service part is available.

I haven't had an EPAS unit apart in the field; since they are considered "non-serviceable", we just replaced the entire rack in the event of any failure. Good to know that not only can you access the bolt, but the belt part number is available. Great information, actually.

I don't believe the EPAS mounting bolts are TTY based on the torque spec; my guess would be that engineering wants them replaced because of the thread locking compound. I think that if you wire brushed the old compound off and reapplied thread locker, you'd be fine.

I have a picture of the part number on one of my gopros from a baja trip, when I find it, I'll pass it along.

Interestingly enough ( which shocked me), If the belt snaps, obviously the steering is manual, but all of the modes, etc still work and it will let you clear the codes. (and they do not resurface).

The threadlocker on the epas bolts is incredibly important, so I can see why they would dictate single use in the manual. Without the threadlocker, they like to wiggle loose and push the captive bushing out of the rack. ) ask me how i know. )