1993 Ford E-150

HELLO, MY NAME IS TED AND I CURRENTLY OWN 1993 FORD CLUBWAGON, AND I'VE HAD IT FOR NEARLY 5 YEARS. (PLEASE EXCUSE MY LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE CAR. I DON'T REALLY KNOW ABOUT PARTS OF VEHICLE.... ) ANYWAY, I'VE NEVER FOUND ANY PARTICULAR PROBLEM WITH MY CAR, EXCEPT FOR THE FACT IT TENDS TO LOSE THE WHEEL ALIGNMENT QUITE OFTEN, AND HEARD REALLY LOUD, DULL "THUMB" SOUND EVERY TIME I TURN THE STEERING WHEEL ALL THE WAY TO COUNTERCLOCKWISE. I'VE TAKEN MY VEHICLE TO FORD DEALERSHIP FOR THAT SPECIFIC PROBLEM BUT THEY COULDN'T RESOLVE THE PROBLEM. RATHER, THEY HAVE SUGGESTED AS IF IT WAS TO BE DISREGARD. FEW DAYS AGO, I PULLED MY CAR FROM THE PARKING LOT AND AGAIN, AS USUAL, I HEARD THAT "THUMP". BUT THIS TIME, THERE WAS A SMALL METALLIC PART FLEW OUT OF THE CAR. SO I BROUGHT THE CAR TO THE DEALER SERVICE CENTER AND FOUND OUT DRIVER SIDE FRONT FRAME WAS CRACKED !!!! THE CRACK RAN ALL THE WAY TO GEARBOX. AND OF COURSE, IN ORDER TO REPLACE THE FRAME COSTS FORTUNE, FOR IT WILL BE STRUCTURAL REBUILD. (THE ESTIMATE, SUM OF $6,000 OR UP, WAS MADE BY FORD DEALERSHIP). SO I CALLED THE MANUFACTURER'S CUSTOMER RELATIONS DEPARTMENT BUT UNFORTUNATELY THEY WEREN'T WILLING TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT. I'M SO PERPLEXED ABOUT THE FACT THAT DESPITE I HAVE MAINTAINED THE VEHICLE WELL OVER THE YEARS, THE VEHICLE IS PRACTICALLY A JUNK. TO ME, IT'S CAUSED BY MANUFACTURER'S DEFECTIVE PART, FOR THE VEHICLE WAS NEVER INVOLVED IN COLLISION. NEVER. AND AS YOU WELL KNOW, CLUBWAGON ISN'T A CARGO VAN, IT'S RATHER LUXURIOUS PASSENGER VAN. I'VE NEVER OVERLOADED THE VEHICLE WITH STUFF NOR PUT 20 PEOPLE IN IT. THEREFORE FRAME WASN'T DAMAGED DUE TO MISUSE NOR EXCEEDING ITS CAPABLE LIMIT, I BELIEVE. I'VE ONLY SEEN OR HEARD OF INCIDENTS OF BROKEN FRAME OR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE CAUSED MAJOR ACCIDENT, NOT JUST PULLING OUT OF PARKING LOT. I'M POSITIVELY CONVINCED THAT THE MANUFACTURER IS TO BLAME, AND AS I SUBMIT THE COMPLAINT, I WOULD LIKE TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO THANK YOU FOR YOUR TI.

I JUST WANT TO KNOW IF THESE VANS ARE HAVING TROUBLE. THE IGNITION SWITCH SOMETIME WOULD NOT TURN OFF AND I WOULD HAVE TO WORK THE KEY AND ALSO TURN THE STEEING WHEEL BACK AND FOR TO GET THE KEY OUT. I TOOK IT TO A AUTHORIZED FORD DEALER TO HAVE REPAIRED. THEY REPLACED THE SWITCH CYLINDER THEY SAID. ONE WEEK LATER I WAS DRIVING THE VAN AND WHEN I TURNED THE WHEELS TO THE LEFT SOME TIME I WOULD HAVE TO USE FORCE TO GET THE WHEELS BACK TO THE RIGHT. THE WHEELS LOCKED UP AND I COULD NOT TURN THEM WHILE GOING TO BACK UP AND ALSO I COULD NOT GET THE TRANSMISSION OUT OF DRIVE. AGAIN THEY SAID THE CABLE TO THE TRANSMISION HAD BROKEN AND WAS REPLACED. MY QUESTION WHAT HAS TO BE DISASSEMBLED TO REPLACE THE SWITCH CYLINDER AND IF THE STEERING WHEEL HAS TO BE PULLED TO DO SO AND IF DURING REASSEMBLING THAT THE ROD THAT LOCK THE STEERING WHEEL WHEN THE IGNITION IS IN PLACE WAS DISTURBED AND HAS TO BE LINED UP. AND IF NOT PROPERLY ALINED WOULD THIS EFFECT THE STEERING OF THE VEHICLE WHEN THE KEY IS IN THE ON POSITION. I AM VERY CURIOUS DO KNOW. IF YOU COULD WOULD YOU PLEASE E-MAIL ME WITH A ANSWER. THANK YOU IN ADVANCE MILES