Mustang Power Steering Rack Problem

Description of Problem: I have a 96 Ford Mustang with a v8 5.0 it’s a 5 speed. My car was recently in a wreck some kid hit something in it. After wards I had no steering my wheel does a complete 360 without anything happening.

My mothers mechanic looked at it and said I needed a whole new rack and a whole new steering column. The guy is terrible though so I had someone else look at it. He said my rack was fine I just needed to replace a nut on the steering shaft. I’m not sure what parts I should get. When I look down at the shaft through the hood I can see the nut has a crack in it however when I try to turn my shaft with a wrench to straighten my tires they won’t move. Could something be jammed in the rack? What else could be wrong? Help please.

ANSWER: This does sound like the rack and pinion is broke. If the car was hit in the front end, that probably broke something internally.

To confirm, remove the nut on the shaft, slide the steering wheel side of the shaft off of the rack and pinion, then try to turn the shaft on the rack. If the shaft moves but the wheels do not, then yes, the rack is broken and needs to be replaced.

If the upper steering shaft turns but the sheering wheel does not, then you need a new steering column. It is also possible that they are both broken, depending on how severe the accident was.

Also look at both outer tie rods to make sure they are not broken instead.