Tie rod ends and steering wheel alignment

[VTWolverine]

I've had some front end work recently and am having a recurring issue. I replaced my steering rack earlier this year with a remanufactured OEM rack and Sankei 555 outer tie rod ends. Picked it up, drove a week or two (nothing off-road), then the steering wheel shifted about 15 degrees to one side. The alignment was otherwise straight, just the steering wheel was crooked. Not a huge deal but I let the shop know, they fixed it.

A few months later, I replaced the bushings (OEM) and alignment hardware on my front LCAs. After the alignment, the same thing happened. I drove a few hundred miles and now the steering wheel is crooked in the same direction by roughly the same amount. Could the outer tie rod ends be to blame? Something else?

 

[Mr Chuck Norris]

What did the shop "fix" the first time this happened?

Could be a loose steering shaft skipping splines, could be the rack itself skipping teeth, could just be alignment cams shifting because they suck.

Why do you suspect the tie rods? Tie rods themselves either work or they don't.

 

[VTWolverine]

Didn't learn what they adjusted the first time, it was at the Toyota dealership and the service advisor didn't know. I don't have any particular cause to suspect the tie rod ends, I saw that you could adjust the steering wheel position by tweaking them so I wasn't sure if they were slipping or something. I guess it is probably some characteristic of the rack, which is unfortunate considering it was just recently installed. Was hoping that OEM reman would be a good bet, maybe not.