Sloppy steering?

[97SHOgt]

Does anybody know what causes the steering to be loose. When the car is just sitting there, the steering wheel has a lot of play in it. I can turn it quite a bit before I can actually feel it turning the wheel. Anybody know what to start looking at?

 

[rangerj]

Loose steering is usually caused by worn parts such as tie rod ends (inner and/or outer), ball joints, and suspension bushings. There is also a possibility that the steering universal joint is worn, or the gearing in the rack could be worn, but these would be low on the list of possibilities.

 

[projectSHO89]

A pretty common source of play is the loose pinch bolt where the steering column shaft mates to the input shaft of the rack.

Other that that, rangerj pretty much hit all the likely spots except possibly loose wheel bearings.


Steve

 

[sho_me92]

A pretty common source of play is the loose pinch bolt where the steering column shaft mates to the input shaft of the rack.

Other that that, rangerj pretty much hit all the likely spots except possibly loose wheel bearings.


Steve

didnt they only have this problem with 89 - 92 or something like that?

 

[97SHOgt]

It is a '92, i guess I should've mentioned it.

 

[sho_me92]

o i just saw a gen3 on your sig. but yes what projectSHO89 said. i have the same problem. i think a simple tack weld would fix it

 

[SHOtime2511]

it can also be caused by worn SFB's

 

[97SHOgt]

Loose steering is usually caused by worn parts such as tie rod ends (inner and/or outer), ball joints, and suspension bushings. There is also a possibility that the steering universal joint is worn, or the gearing in the rack could be worn, but these would be low on the list of possibilities.

Is this in the order I should go about replacing things. It has a ton of miles on it so it all could be bad for all I know.

 

[rangerj]

What's a ton of miles? Start by checking the steering connection to the rack. Tighten the pinch bolt if necessary. Look for any leaks coming from the steering rack and look for any split or broken rubber boots on the inner tie rod ends. If the outer tie rod ends, ball joints, wheel bearings, etc. have 100,000 miles or more on them I would consider changing them and the associated bushings. The lower control arms will come complete with bushings and ball joint. Moog lower control arms come with a greasable ball joint and the SHO LCAs are beefier than the SLO LCAs. Replace the strut rod bushings at the same time.

If the bearings and hubs are just as old I would replace them as well. Replace the steering nuckle pinch bolts and nuts, and the axel nuts. The nuts are lock type nuts and should not be reused. The pinch bolts get worn and/or bent. Replace them and the associated nuts. Torque every nut or bolt to specification (check a referrence source for your model year).

 

[97SHOgt]

It has 242,000 give or take a few miles It's probably due for about everything, I can't complain though, I got it for $350 and it runs pretty decent.

 

[DemonNeno]

How much slop are we talking about? Does the car have a tendacy of "wandering" on crowned roads or uneven lanes? To check your parts, all you have to do is jack up the front end on the subframe, so that your lower control arms are hanging. Give it a left & right shake (as if turning the wheels left and right) and look for slack in the inner and outer tie rods. To check your balljoints, suspend the vehicle up the same way and grab the bottom of the tire toward the front bumper and push it in and pull out. Again, look at the balljoint and check for play.

You shouldn't get any more then about 1/8th turn of play in your steering wheel from bad parts, unless a part is near complete failure. Otherwise, check your power steering fluid. Is it char-black? You could be experiencing a rack clutch failure.