Steering column vs rack (1 Viewer)

[Nothinghead]

Since installing my OME shocks and UCAs, my steering is very heavy and slow to return to center. I had it aligned and this problem was worse after doing so. The les Schwab tech said my steering rack is bad. I’m not so sure.

What I’m experiencing when driving is the steering is super heavy for a few degrees of turning and then the resistance lightens for a few more degrees and then sometimes comes back a bit. It’s always slightly heavy the extent changes. Colder temps also make it worse. P/S pump seems fine.

after reading some Toyota forums, it sounds like it could be my lower steering column. Specifically, the u-joint on the steering colum just before it attaches to the rack may be seizing up. I sprayed some penetrating oil on the u-joint, hoping this will lube the bearings and it seems slightly improved.

Am I on the right track? Is there a good way to know whether this is a rack or column problem before I go spending hours and $$$ on parts that may be fine?

A new rack from Mr T is around $600 and a solid Saturday for me. A column is $250 and a couple of hours.

This is on an ‘05 with 200k miles.

 

[Rednexus]

With 200K miles on the clock, your rack is probably nearing the end of it's life anyway. The bushings on mine were totally shot at 150K. I had some front end clunking, and had my wife turn the steering wheel side-to-side while I looked at the front suspension. The rack had a good half inch of side-to-side movement in it. Bushing replacement requires rack removal (plus bushing removal which is supposedly a major PITA), so I just did the whole rack. I could not believe the difference in overall handling and steering response when I replaced it, probably due to the sloppy bushings. If your bushings aren't shot at 200K, they probably will be shot in the near future.

I used a Cardone reman rack from Rock Auto and it was $250. The quality was very good. I also had some of the stiffness you mentioned, which went most (but not all) of the way away when I replaced the rack. Dousing the U joint with PB Blaster made disappear the rest of the way.

So....I would just replace the rack. If the lower steering column is questionable too, also replace it. It's not a really difficult job, and could be done in 4-6 hours if you have everything on hand. It took me 8 but I had to grab a few parts and I also did a couple of other things under the hood. Just don't break your clockspring like I did .

 

[Nothinghead]

I blasted my steering shaft u-joint twice over a couple days with some penetrating oil and all stickiness in the steering has resolved. It’s now tight like it always has been for the past 100,000 miles/9 years and recenters without any problem. I expect it’s going to get chunky again at some point so I have a replacement shaft on the shelf but at least I’m okay for a bit longer and can replace it when the weather is a bit warmer.