Can a steering rack shift position? (1 Viewer)

[Snowrydr01]

I had my steering rack done last week since by all accounts it was a job i didnt want to deal with. When i got it back i noticed that the steering wheel was about 15 degrees off center and that struck me as odd as I have been going to this shop for a while and they are very good. I hadnt gotten a chance to get the core back and have them look at it but i noticed if i make a full lock right turn the wheel is now centered. If i make a full lock left turn the wheel is that 15 degrees of towards the drivers side.

One the road it feels great, no odd handling.

 

[danielharro]

what year is your rig? VGRS (Variable Gear Ratio System) controls the steering box and thus your wheels. If you have VGRS systems then you might need to recalibrate it if you will and recenter you steering wheel with Techstream. I have done this with my LX, but the shop you took it too should really make this right. Just my thought, I am sure someone with years of institutional knowledge will chime in.

 

[vipergrhd]

Have the shop recheck their work, did they align the vehicle after replacement? Chances are the steering rack pinion shaft doesn't have a master spline where it will only go one way if you are off one spline that is enough to knock out the steering wheel off center.

 

[jLB]

You wouldn't happen to have an LX with VGRS now would you?

I've had a few instances where my (VGRS equipped) LX wheel has been "off center", and after driving a short distance it would "fix" itself.

 

[Snowrydr01]

few points of clarification, its a 2000 lx470 i do not believe i have VGRS

I do not think its a mis aligned spline that would at least be consistent. the steering wheel position is different after a full lock left or a full lock right turn.

The rack came with new bushings so that shouldnt be an issue. Old rusty bolts that are a slightly smaller OD?

 

[DJCloz]

how much did you pay for labor if you don't mind me asking? I have a new rack to install and have been lagging a little bit.

 

[Rolocado]

Start with the wheels straight and turn all the way left then all the way right. If you can turn it one way farther than the other, the rack isn't centered in its travel. Also check how many threads are on each tie rod. They should be within a thread of each other. If they aren't have them center the rack and re-align it.

 

[Snowrydr01]

Start with the wheels straight and turn all the way left then all the way right. If you can turn it one way farther than the other, the rack isn't centered in its travel. Also check how many threads are on each tie rod. They should be within a thread of each other. If they aren't have them center the rack and re-align it.

You may have half read the thread but the problem isnt that its off centered all the time, its that its intermittent. Always being off center would be easy to diagnose.

 

[Snowrydr01]

how much did you pay for labor if you don't mind me asking? I have a new rack to install and have been lagging a little bit.

5 hours labor and $125 for a front end alignment. so right around $600. Besides from being a shop that i trust one of the main mechanics had a 100 series for 10+ years and 100k+ miles so is very use to them

 

[DayCruiser]

Six hours labor last month ... around $600. 2001 here... guess they took the extra hour to make sure the steering wheel was centered : )

how much did you pay for labor if you don't mind me asking? I have a new rack to install and have been lagging a little bit.

 

[Mike6158]

5 hours labor and $125 for a front end alignment. so right around $600. Besides from being a shop that i trust one of the main mechanics had a 100 series for 10+ years and 100k+ miles so is very use to them

Then why is the steering behaving the way it is? How did it leave the shop like that?

 

[re_guderian]

5 hours labor and $125 for a front end alignment. so right around $600. Besides from being a shop that i trust one of the main mechanics had a 100 series for 10+ years and 100k+ miles so is very use to them

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this, as if you "assume" new bushing and relatively firm placement of the rack, everything else is mechanically driven. Get underneath while someone else turns the wheels and watch what happens with the rack side-to-side. Other than that, is your intermediate shaft slipping/loose? or rack internals. That's all I got... You don't by any chance have old, damaged tires with a separating belt? Can't think of anything else that would explain different return-to-center steering wheel position with your wheels straight down the road. You're SURE ball joints and TRE are good? i.e. you've jacked up the front end and pried?

 

[Snowrydr01]

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around this, as if you "assume" new bushing and relatively firm placement of the rack, everything else is mechanically driven. Get underneath while someone else turns the wheels and watch what happens with the rack side-to-side. Other than that, is your intermediate shaft slipping/loose? or rack internals. That's all I got... You don't by any chance have old, damaged tires with a separating belt? Can't think of anything else that would explain different return-to-center steering wheel position with your wheels straight down the road. You're SURE ball joints and TRE are good? i.e. you've jacked up the front end and pried?

Tires have less then 100 miles on them. Inner and outer TREs are new 555 units done with the rack intal. Ball joints are good. I bought a 555 set and then never ended up putting them on since the TREs had absolutely no play. I didnt trust it and even popped knuckles off and they felt great.

The more i think of it the more i and wondering if the old hardware might have been rusted and became a smaller OD. the fact in can drive for miles and miles and not shift makes me think its torqued down properly, but then a full lock turn puts extra lateral stress on the rack and moves it over ever so slightly?

 

[re_guderian]

Tires have less then 100 miles on them. Inner and outer TREs are new 555 units done with the rack intal. Ball joints are good. I bought a 555 set and then never ended up putting them on since the TREs had absolutely no play. I didnt trust it and even popped knuckles off and they felt great.

The more i think of it the more i and wondering if the old hardware might have been rusted and became a smaller OD. the fact in can drive for miles and miles and not shift makes me think its torqued down properly, but then a full lock turn puts extra lateral stress on the rack and moves it over ever so slightly?

Possibly, but I'm also struggling to understand why it would have a one-sided bias if that were the case. Assuming steering stops are set the same, are you getting the same # of turns lock-to-lock in both directions? 15 degrees seems like a lot when your hands are on the wheel, but as a fraction of the total lateral steering movement, it's not that much. Can you post up some pics of threads showing on TRE's and maybe the alignment numbers? Something just doesn't add up. If the hardware is smaller, the bushings are sleeved. Have someone turn the wheel while you're either underneath, or looking down and the rack and see if a) it's moving at all, and b) if it's moving the same left-right. Just can't see how it could repeatedly push in one direction more than the other, and still have room to move. Bolt, no matter the OD, is eventually (and quickly) meet the bushing sleeve. My simple mind says that if I can't think of anything external that can cause the asymmetrical symptoms, then it must be rack internals. But I know jack-crap about rack internals...

 

[jLB]

Maybe rack moving?
Maybe steering shaft jumping splines?

OEM rack? 3rd party rack? Rebuild of original rack?

Probably the best way to figure it out, is have one person turn the wheel "lock-to-lock" while another watches what is happening to the steering/suspension.

 

[Snowrydr01]

Maybe rack moving?
Maybe steering shaft jumping splines?

OEM rack? 3rd party rack? Rebuild of original rack?

Probably the best way to figure it out, is have one person turn the wheel "lock-to-lock" while another watches what is happening to the steering/suspension.

It was an OEM rebuild from CVJ in CO. They seemed to get good reviews on their axle shafts too and price was decent.

I am dropping off another car for inspection Thursday and will leave the LX there for inspection Friday.

Before i had the rack done there was a ton of lateral movement at the rack from what i have to assume where dead bushings but the wheel always returned to center although with a very vague steering feel.

 

[gatormark91]

Check the steering column intermediate shaft at the firewall for play. The U-joint gets crusty and loose. So sometines steering is straight, sometimes off center. I didn't notice it in mine until after I got a nice tight new steering rack or in. Mine does this, and my buddy's. Have the part to replace it, haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

 

[Buu100]

It was an OEM rebuild from CVJ in CO. They seemed to get good reviews on their axle shafts too and price was decent.

I am dropping off another car for inspection Thursday and will leave the LX there for inspection Friday.

Before i had the rack done there was a ton of lateral movement at the rack from what i have to assume where dead bushings but the wheel always returned to center although with a very vague steering feel.

How much for the rack from CVJ?

 

[Snowrydr01]

Check the steering column intermediate shaft at the firewall for play. The U-joint gets crusty and loose. So sometines steering is straight, sometimes off center. I didn't notice it in mine until after I got a nice tight new steering rack or in. Mine does this, and my buddy's. Have the part to replace it, haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

Thanks, will check today.

 

[Rolocado]

Check the steering column intermediate shaft at the firewall for play. The U-joint gets crusty and loose. So sometines steering is straight, sometimes off center. I didn't notice it in mine until after I got a nice tight new steering rack or in. Mine does this, and my buddy's. Have the part to replace it, haven't gotten around to doing it yet.

Are you referencing the ujoint inside the truck firewall?(green) Or engine side? I have play in my steering shaft (red) that gives me horrible steering feedback on small roads. I simulated on a washboard road to make sure that's what I thought it was. Do the steering shafts go back after time?