The Jeep Cherokee (among several others) was first, but many people credit the Ford Explorer with turning the sport utility vehicle from a hobby vehicle to something you could use every day, and eventually, the default option when buying a new car. More than half of all new cars sold today are technically considered “light trucks”. The CR-V and Rav4 outsell the Accord and Camry now, and Ford has discontinued all “cars” except for the Mustang. We all got pretty good at spotting a Crown Victoria in our rearview mirror, but now we have to check if the Explorer behind us has roof rails to determine if it’s a cop or a soccer mom. It has survived the Firestone tire debacle, high gas prices, economic crises, and attacks from the T-Rex in Jurassic Park.

The Explorer has now been around for over 30 years and gone through countless iterations in that time. The original from 1991 was little more than a 1982 Ranger with a station-wagon-shaped body, hastily created to respond to both bad press from rollover incidents involving its Bronco II predecessor, and new competition in the compact 4-door SUV space from the Chevy S-10 Blazer, Toyota 4Runner, Mitsubishi Montero and more. Today, it has taken on the form of a minivan without sliding doors, based on a platform expected to be shared with the next-generation Mustang.

As you can see in the table below, most of the steering rack options are for 2011 and newer models, when it first moved from a truck-based body-on-frame construction to a car-based unibody. A big part of that has to do with the switch from hydraulic to electric power steering, which allows the engineers to more accurately tune steering feel and performance to match the rest of the vehicle, as well as integrate with features like lane-keep assist or automated parking systems.

From what we have seen, the electric motor on this steering rack is not insulated well enough from the factory. When water or debris gets into the electric motor, it can get jammed internally, preventing it from providing any assistance in turning the front wheels. This is a very heavy vehicle that was always designed to have that electric motor on the steering rack, so it’s almost impossible to drive without it. You may get lucky and notice a noise from your steering before it gets bad enough to change your steering performance, which gives you some time to proactively fix the issue before it leaves you stranded. You will most likely get a warning message on the dash telling you to service the steering and AdvanceTrac system, as well as warning lights on the dash for your traction control, and as a side effect, you will no longer be able to select different 4WD modes. Vehicles that see regular off-road use or severe winters are more vulnerable to this issue. Our remanufactured steering racks have brand new silicone boots with rust-resistant clamps on them, to hopefully be a little more reliable.

As part of our mission to make it easier to buy auto parts, as well as address some of the frequent questions we get from people looking for the correct part, we have created the following guide to link you to the correct part. If you have any questions about what you find, check out the glossary of terms below, or contact us for knowledgeable assistance in finding quality replacement parts for any vehicle!