myotis1134
SHO Member
Hey guys, I've got a steering issue which I think is from the rack, but I'm in the second-guessing phase of the diagnosis, and would like some second opinions.
First up, here is a picture of what's going on. This is after a "professional" (or at least official) alignment, where they told me the wheels were aligned with respect to the steering wheel being straight.
I took this while driving - yes I know, I was careful - but in this picture I'm driving on a straight stretch towards Nikiski, and the pavement isn't terrible in this area - because the Marathon refinery is just ahead on the right, and a huge tank-farm is on the left. Lots of tankers driving to and from these places, and they put a little effort into keeping it rut-free.
So this steering thing has been present since I replaced the clutch in March. I took a hard look at the control arms, strut-bars, and all bushings. Everything appeared to be in decent condition, and nothing acted weird when I torqued it all. I bought a couple of expensive electronic torque wrenches for the clutch project, and I'm confident that everything was torqued damn near perfectly.
I may not have aligned the subframe perfectly, since I don't think the car was elevated perfectly level. It looked pretty damn close though, and I did use an exact 3/4 inch bar with a nice torpedo level for the alignment.
I didn't take the steering rack off, but wired it up since I have incredibly bad luck with them. My current rack doesn't have the welded bolts, and was a pita to free from and install onto the subframe, but it too got the perfect torque-down, and no leaks in the system. It doesn't move when the wheels are turned.
When driving and turning to the right, I feel a pulsating push-back. I find this funny, since there is none when turning left. This oddity has made me suspect either the rack is bad, or perhaps the check valve which I have transferred from rack to rack, has finally taken a dump.
I don't know what the "M" is in that pic, but the check valve on the tip of that magnetic pick-up tool has been in my last 3 steering racks. It's an extremely simple part, and I figure the only way for it to fail is to have something wad up in the spring somehow, possibly causing a partial shutting of the valve, which might explain the push-back and pulsing sensation. I never use teflon tape on vehicles, only thread sealant, so maybe an o-ring or extra gasket busted loose and got caught in the valve?
I'm dreading this fix because two of the last four racks I've put hands on had leaks at the tie-rods, out of the box, and this was not discovered until everything was buttoned up. Not to mention the crazy assortment of thread sealants I went through to find one that would work for my AN conversion for the cooler line project.
Bottom line is that I would like to be surgical about this if possible, and that means sampling you guys to see if any of these symptoms sound familiar. As always, I appreciate the help and effort.
p.s. Same issue with my set of winter tires.
First up, here is a picture of what's going on. This is after a "professional" (or at least official) alignment, where they told me the wheels were aligned with respect to the steering wheel being straight.
I took this while driving - yes I know, I was careful - but in this picture I'm driving on a straight stretch towards Nikiski, and the pavement isn't terrible in this area - because the Marathon refinery is just ahead on the right, and a huge tank-farm is on the left. Lots of tankers driving to and from these places, and they put a little effort into keeping it rut-free.
So this steering thing has been present since I replaced the clutch in March. I took a hard look at the control arms, strut-bars, and all bushings. Everything appeared to be in decent condition, and nothing acted weird when I torqued it all. I bought a couple of expensive electronic torque wrenches for the clutch project, and I'm confident that everything was torqued damn near perfectly.
I may not have aligned the subframe perfectly, since I don't think the car was elevated perfectly level. It looked pretty damn close though, and I did use an exact 3/4 inch bar with a nice torpedo level for the alignment.
I didn't take the steering rack off, but wired it up since I have incredibly bad luck with them. My current rack doesn't have the welded bolts, and was a pita to free from and install onto the subframe, but it too got the perfect torque-down, and no leaks in the system. It doesn't move when the wheels are turned.
When driving and turning to the right, I feel a pulsating push-back. I find this funny, since there is none when turning left. This oddity has made me suspect either the rack is bad, or perhaps the check valve which I have transferred from rack to rack, has finally taken a dump.
I don't know what the "M" is in that pic, but the check valve on the tip of that magnetic pick-up tool has been in my last 3 steering racks. It's an extremely simple part, and I figure the only way for it to fail is to have something wad up in the spring somehow, possibly causing a partial shutting of the valve, which might explain the push-back and pulsing sensation. I never use teflon tape on vehicles, only thread sealant, so maybe an o-ring or extra gasket busted loose and got caught in the valve?
I'm dreading this fix because two of the last four racks I've put hands on had leaks at the tie-rods, out of the box, and this was not discovered until everything was buttoned up. Not to mention the crazy assortment of thread sealants I went through to find one that would work for my AN conversion for the cooler line project.
Bottom line is that I would like to be surgical about this if possible, and that means sampling you guys to see if any of these symptoms sound familiar. As always, I appreciate the help and effort.
p.s. Same issue with my set of winter tires.
