NHTSA Complaint #10520361 — 1999 FORD EXPEDITION

HERE IS MY PROBLEM: ABOUT A MONTH AGO, MY 99 EXPEDITION BEGAN TO MAKE A "CLUNKING" NOISE WHILE MAKING SHARP TURNS (LIKE INTO PARKING SPACES). IT IS NOT JUST A NOISE - YOU CAN FEEL IT THROUGH THE STEERING WHEEL AND IT MAKES THE WHOLE TRUCK JERK AROUND. IT IS ALMOST LIKE MY FRONT WHEELS ARE DRIVING OVER GOLF BALL-SIZED ROCKS. THE PROBLEM STARTED VERY SUDDENLY, AND IT IS SOMEWHAT INTERMITTENT - BUT IT IS BECOMING MORE FREQUENT AS TIME GOES ON. I HAD IT IN TO THE FORD GARAGE TWICE NOW, AND IT JUST DOES NOT WANT TO ACT UP WHEN A TECHNICIAN IN THE VEHICLE. SINCE I CAN'T ALWAYS MAKE IT HAPPEN, I AM INCLINED TO BELIEVE THAT IT IS NOT A MECHANICAL PROBLEM (LIKE A U-JOINT OR CV JOINT). IT IS EITHER REALLY BAD OR NON-EXISTENT. ALSO, I DO NOT NOTICE ANY MAJOR SYMPTOMS WHILE DRIVING IN A STRAIGHT LINE, ALTHOUGH I SOMETIMES DO HEAR A HIGH-PITCHED WHINE FROM THE FRONT END WHILE TRAVELING ABOVE 40 MPH. THIS NOISE IS ALSO INTERMITTENT, AND IT SOUNDS SOMEWHAT LIKE A WHEEL BEARING GOING OUT (THEY CHECKED OUT OK). WHEN I FIRST EXPERIENCED THE JUMPY FRONT END WHILE TAKING CORNERS, I IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT THAT THE TRUCK HAD BEEN SWITCHED INTO 4WD. THE JERKY, CLUNKY BEHAVIOR OF THE FRONT END IS NEARLY IDENTICAL TO HOW THE TRUCK ACTS WHEN YOU RUN IN 4WD ON DRY PAVEMENT. I HAVE PUT THE TRUCK INTO 4WD TO TEST THIS THEORY, AND THE PROBLEM IS SIMILAR, BUT MUCH WORSE WHEN I FORCE THE TRANSFER CASE INTO 4WD. ONE OF THE MOST NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES IS HOW THE TRUCK ACTS WHEN I FIRST START TO MOVE. IN 4WD, THE TRUCK IS MUCH MORE HESITANT TO START MOVING - IT WILL NOT EVEN CREEP FORWARD IN IDLE. ONCE I START TO MOVE, HOWEVER, THE TRUCK JERKS AROUND JUST LIKE I DESCRIBED ABOVE. *TR