Steering wheel pulls at 40+ mph (1 Viewer)

[DannyC]

Hey folks,

I recently had the steering rack replaced on my 2004 LC. When I got it back, the steering wheel alignment seemed fine at low speeds, but as soon as I took it up above about 40mph, it pulled pretty hard to the left (had to turn the steering wheel almost 90 degrees to keep the wheels straight). I took it back to the shop, and after checking it out, the mechanic said the rack was at fault. He put in a new rack this morning, and when I got it back it's better, but pulls very slightly in the opposite direction, but again, only above 40mph. I've searched mud threads and can't find anything about this specific issue. Anyone have any ideas about what might be wrong?

 

[travistheone]

try taking a small length of 80# braided fishing line. tie this to the left side of the steering wheel. equip yourself with a variety of sinkers. tie the appropriate weight to the braid. that ought to settle it straight.

 

[DirtDawg]

try taking a small length of 80# braided fishing line. tie this to the left side of the steering wheel. equip yourself with a variety of sinkers. tie the appropriate weight to the braid. that ought to settle it straight.

Hahaha, what?!? Please tell me this is a joke.

In all seriousness, have you gotten re-aligned after the rack install? Where are you sourcing the rack? The only variable that has changed is the rack, so we need to eliminate the variables.

 

[CharlieH]

Drive at speeds below 40+.

 

[DannyC]

Hahaha... Thanks guys. However, I'm out of fishing line and do on occasion need to move out of the slow lane.

Alignment was done after both rack installs. The first rack was not original, but the second one (which is in now) is from Toyota (and expensive as balls), and despite that there's still a bit of pull at 40+mph. I'm very confused, as is my mechanic.

 

[DirtDawg]

Hahaha... Thanks guys. However, I'm out of fishing line and do on occasion need to move out of the slow lane.

Alignment was done after both rack installs. The first rack was not original, but the second one (which is in now) is from Toyota (and expensive as balls), and despite that there's still a bit of pull at 40+mph. I'm very confused, as is my mechanic.

When I replaced my rack on my 4Runner I went through 3 racks, one Toyota, 2 aftermarket. Others have also complained that the Toyota racks are not as quality as they should be for oem. So I would have your mech (or yourself) double check everything, and if everything is ok, try a new rack. Either have Toyota replace it, or get a refund and buy an aftermarket rack.

 

[brianrride]

I have learned by experience that just because they say they aligned it does not mean it is aligned. Ask for befor/after print out of alignment specs...seems like I get better quality when I do that. Then review them. Good luck!!

 

[OG 91 LC]

Rotate tires and proper air.

 

[uHu]

X2
Try the easy, fast, cheap things first. Rotate tires.
And then, or at the same time, have another look at wheel bearings, ball joints and A-arm bushings.

 

[DannyC]

Thanks again, all.

Dirtdawg, your experience with the 4runner scares me a bit. Hoping it's something other than the oem rack, since that was expensive.

Here's what really confuses me though: the steering wheel is perfectly straight at all speeds below 40. I can drive to work in traffic and never notice that there's anything wrong. But there's a very specific point where suddenly the wheel starts pulling, and it almost feels like it's from a motor or a pump kicking in. It has that sort of "electric" feel to it, rather than a mechanical feel of the wheel being forced over. I feel like if it was just an alignment (or bearings, or wheel rotation) problem, the onset of the "pull" would be gradual, starting from 5mph or whatever, right? It makes me think it may have something to do with the power steering, but I don't know enough about the system to know where to start looking.

 

[aging fleet]

Another vote for the alignment.

Definitely ask to see the specs when you have it checked.

 

[uHu]

Is the speed at which this occurs always the same? Or is it at a certain RPM? Like if you drive in the top gear it's always at one consistent speed, and one step down it's at a lower speed?

 

[DannyC]

It's definitely an issue of speed, not RPM. It's very dependable - if I'm cruising on a perfectly flat road anywhere up to 40mph the steering wheel holds very steady - no noticeable pulling at all. As soon as I hit about 41mph the steering wheel feels like it's being turned, so I have to let it rotate about 25 degrees to keep the wheels straight. This holds true whether I'm gradually changing up through the gears or gunning it hard.

Will try the alignment again... but I'm still looking for alternate theories, since the alignment has been done twice now without much change.

 

[BlueWeim]

I just did my rack. originally the truck was all over the road and had to anticipate where it was going next and watch the pot holes. Now that I put my new rack in, it slightly pulled to the right, (I also had tires put on on the same time as the alignment). I drove it for a few days and the pulling drove me insane. It wasnt as bad as yours sounds. I lowered my torsion bars a bit and went through and re-torqued all the bolts on the rack. i found that one of the passenger side u bolts had worked its way loose a little bit, which makes sense because they are a bitch to get to with a wrench. after re-torquing and lowering torsion bars it drives like it did when it was new.

 

[DannyC]

I just did my rack. originally the truck was all over the road and had to anticipate where it was going next and watch the pot holes. Now that I put my new rack in, it slightly pulled to the right, (I also had tires put on on the same time as the alignment). I drove it for a few days and the pulling drove me insane. It wasnt as bad as yours sounds. I lowered my torsion bars a bit and went through and re-torqued all the bolts on the rack. i found that one of the passenger side u bolts had worked its way loose a little bit, which makes sense because they are a bitch to get to with a wrench. after re-torquing and lowering torsion bars it drives like it did when it was new.

Huh... that's interesting. After putting in your new rack, at what point did the pulling make itself apparent? Did it kick in at a certain speed, or was it pretty obvious from the get-go?

 

[BlueWeim]

The slight pull was barely noticeable until 35 or so and then it made itself more noticeable. Still drive better than before with the pull but now it's outstanding. I'd have them re-align and go from there. I have lifetime alignment on my 2000 just because. so I was able to be picky and it took them twice to make it perfect

 

[BlueWeim]

Seems weird that it would go left with first rack and now right with second rack. Are you sure the rack is centered?It shouldn't really effect the alignment unless they didn't catch it st the alignment shop.

 

[2001LC]

You feel it's "electrical" TSB:
http://rav4world.com/tsb/BR001-04.pdf
Ask your mechanic if aware of this?

 

[DannyC]

@2001LC Wow that's really helpful. I would not be at all surprised if he was unaware of this zero point calibration process. (He's a pretty good mechanic, but not a LC specialist). I'm going to print this out and take it to him this afternoon after work. Thank you!

 

[DannyC]

Seems weird that it would go left with first rack and now right with second rack. Are you sure the rack is centered?It shouldn't really effect the alignment unless they didn't catch it st the alignment shop.

Yeah, it is extremely weird. Not sure if the rack was centered, since I didn't do it myself. Can check with the mechanic though.