I have a 2001 Ford Windstar Sport SE and sometimes I hear a loud clunking noise, like a big rock jumped up and hit the underside of my van. I have noticed that the sound only comes when I am driving slow, and it sounds like it is under the front passenger wheel or around there.

Also sometimes when I am turning, my steering wheel will only be able to do 1/2 of a turn and I wont be able to turn until I straighten out the wheel and then try again. This happens only some times when I am driving along, but every time I drive through a big puddle it will happen.

Thanks for your help!

Loose shock or strut? I'd get that checked out ASAP being you can't turn the wheel at times.

It's hard to pin point the causes. For the steering problem I'd check everything to do with the steering. Check anything that could be loose, anything that could block the movement. It's also possible that it's something inside the steering rack, but that seems a bit less likely.

The relationship to driving through water is puzzeling. I can't imagine why water under the tire would make this occur.

If you can, jack up the vehicle so the both wheels are off the ground, start the engine and have someone turn the wheel with it at idle. Use a light to watch each side carefully.

Headnsouth is right, this is a serious saftey issue and I would not drive the vehicle until I discovered and fixed the cause.

Regarding the clunk sound, you didn't say if it was repetative or intermittent. You'd have to wonder if this was related to your steering problem. I once had a frontend noise due to loose bolts holding the subframe to the vehicle.

When I drive through a puddle and it makes it hard to turn I am not just slowly driving through the puddle. It rains all the time here, so I am normally splashing through and the water is hitting the underside of my van.

As for the clunking, I only hear it some times. Not too often, maybe a few times a week. The last time it happened I was in reverse slowly going out of my driveway. I wasn't even really hitting the gas, just coasting, and then it sounded like a rock came up really hard and hit under the van near the passenger side. Also, the clunking sound only happens when I drive really slow.

If your windstar is front wheel drive it maybe the trans axles making the noise.

Headnsouth makes a good point. The transmission in my '96 was destroyed when the housing cracked at the differential. The differential is located on the passenger side of the transaxle. When it broke through I was approaching a traffic light, just about to a stop (<5 mph). I heard a 'clunk' when it happened, but I believe I also heard this at a few other times.

When I replaced it, the transmission shop told me that they've seen other AX4S transmissions with this situation, caused when a pin slips out of the differential gears and collides with the housing. I'm guessing the clunk that I heard was the pin hitting the housing, getting 'popped' back in place for a while. It seems like it only happened at low speed, possibly somehow prevented at higher wheel speeds. If you get it checked out ASAP, you might be able to save the cost of a whole new transmission.


Maybe the water is only a coincidence, not a real factor. It's hard to venture a guess as to how water is limiting the range of your steering.

Pull the tire off on the side making the noise. Check to see if brake caliper is on tight and the bolts are tight. Then work your way up from there with suspension and drive train steering.. I have seen a tire wt get hung up in the caliper as well
Only made noise a little but messed up the caliper and the rotor.. Just some thoughts..