New gear IS bad...

[gadget73]

Pull the cotter pin, remove the castle nut, smack the ear on the spindle with a BFH and the tie rod end pops out. Jack the car up under the lower control arm to keep it loaded to check for play in the ball joints.

[mrbear3800]

It's called getting an alignment LOL...
At the alignment bay they should have a setup which does just that....load the suspension but keep the car off the ground.

You should pick up a Haynes or equivalent manual if you don't have much experience but wish to do some maintainece(sp) to your vehicle. It's cheap and will answer many questions about your vehicle. There are pictures and basic explainations of many things.
Let us know how you make out...

How is it called "getting an alignment"? They check for ball joint issues during an alignment? Do they have turn tables the front tires can sit on while they check for binding? I saw a reference to a procedure online where the front tires are supposed to be sitting on turn tables and then a torque wrench is used at the knuckles to see if the turning effort at each knuckle is too high.

I know the binding is not an alignment problem nor is the lack of steering return after turning. The caster is well within specs. Its either this POS rebuilt Ford gear or the ball joints(or both).

I already have a Haynes manual for this car and have for all the other cars I've owned since I was 16(13 years ago). I know my way around a car pretty well BUT I have never really had steering problems with my past cars so I never had to teach myself how to do it. I can tell you I don't like working on this stuff. Many tools have been thrown.

One thing I've noticed about Haynes manuals is they are a good reference BUT the procedures they outline for certain tasks are often not very detailed/specific or they're just plain wrong. What I need to get is a Ford service manual. I like details...lol...

I don't have a garage and the parents(and most of my tools/stands and stuff) live 300 miles away and gas is expensive. Working on cars in the apartment parking lot is not allowed. I think I'm just going to take it to a Mercury/lincoln dealer and say "figure this out". And if they replace parts and it STILL isn't right, I ain't paying. I'm sick of this car.

Thanks for your help, guys...

[mercenvy]

How is it called "getting an alignment"? They check for ball joint issues during an alignment? Do they have turn tables the front tires can sit on while they check for binding?

Yes they do. At least all of the shops around here do. And yes they check balljoints during an alignment also. I have found that the quality of the alignment varies widely, so if you find a good alignment guy keep going to him...lol
I know the Haynes manual is not the last word....just that there are many steering/suspension test that are described in it, with pictures too. Sorry to hear you're having such a hard time with it, but if you're new to it it can be very frustrating. With the exception of the P/S pump and the lines, spindles, and the steering shaft(s) I have replaced every part of the steering/suspension in the front of my car. So it is somewhat old hat for me.
Good luck with the car, hope you get the problem worked out.

[mrbear3800]

Well, they did a decent job with the alignment. The steering wheel is straight when going down a level road, no pulling (well, as straight as it can be with all the play in the new steering gear).

I hope they DIDN'T check the ball joints because if they did, then they are still good (never told me they weren't) and I don't know what else could be the problem besides the SECOND Ford rebuilt gear being bad as well. What are the chances of that?

Only other thing could be the middle and upper steering shafts and the fire wall bearing but I didn't feel any binding or looseness in them when they were unhooked from the steering gear. Its going to a Mercury dealer wednesday so maybe they can figure it out....