I've read several posts about loose steering problems similar to the one I'm having. I've had my Explorer to the Santa Monica Ford dealer 4 times with no success (I work in Santa Monica).
There's a knocking in the steering column on stop/go and the steering wanders at highway speeds and is definitely worse when hitting a bump or trying to stop suddenly. More than 3 times I've almost lost control of the car trying to stop or take a curve in the rain because the front wheels (and the steering wheel) turn back/forth very quickly. I just let go of the steering wheel and the car has "righted" itself automatically. I've replaced all four tires, the shocks and had the front end aligned twice.
I live in Oak Park near Thousand Oaks and I'm looking for a good repair shop to take it to. There are several negative comments on Kemp Ford in Thousand Oaks in a couple of these groups.
Appreciate any help.
Sue