Steering Problem...

[Trojan Man]

Hey all,
This one has bothering me for a while now. I cannot tell whether the problem is due to the steering rack, front wheel bearings, or perhaps even the struts or SFB's, but here it is. When I take a hard/sharp left turn, my steering hits a hard spot, then with a little effort, goes past it. It always does this on a hard or sharp left turn, and occasionally on a regular left turn. When it happens, it almost feels as though something in the suspension is binding. It almost makes a clunk which makes me lead away from the steering rack idea. I just had alignment done and the problem is still there, and all the tie rods, etc, feel tight. It never does this on a right turn. Does anyone have any idea what this could be?

Also, when I make hard turns, aside from this problem, I get a 'groaning' noise. Some people have told me it is the tie rods (they feel tight to me), others have said it could be the strut bearing plates or the wheel bearings. It almost sounds like a squeaky door when you open it, only much louder. I was thinking that this could maybe the the SFBs if they are worn out. If the SFB's were worn, could that perhaps cause BOTH of these above problems?

I look forward to any opinions.

Thanks
-Adam

 

[Millersho]

I have somewhat a similar problem, except mines not as pronounce.

Everytime I turn wheel, it squeks as its turning.

I have new tie rods and steering rack.

I'm pretty certain it's the strut bearings causing the squek and the surging in the steering as I turn to the right. It's probably the controller arms as well.

Anyways, IMO it's suspension work thats needed for this fix.

I have a 90.

 

[Mr.Xc]

My SHO had that same squeek.sounds like a dry high pitched squeal when turning the wheels. First I changed the strut bearings only, This did not fix it. Went back in and installed new upper strut mounts...no more squeak!! I found that the rubber mounts had gotten soft from age and were rubbing on the metal washers on the top of the strut where they pass through the mount. PS: you will need a coil spring compressor to change the top mounts.

 

[jedhead]

HydroStream6:
Hey all,
This one has bothering me for a while now. I cannot tell whether the problem is due to the steering rack, front wheel bearings, or perhaps even the struts or SFB's, but here it is. When I take a hard/sharp left turn, my steering hits a hard spot, then with a little effort, goes past it. It always does this on a hard or sharp left turn, and occasionally on a regular left turn. When it happens, it almost feels as though something in the suspension is binding. It almost makes a clunk which makes me lead away from the steering rack idea. I just had alignment done and the problem is still there, and all the tie rods, etc, feel tight. It never does this on a right turn. Does anyone have any idea what this could be?

Also, when I make hard turns, aside from this problem, I get a 'groaning' noise. Some people have told me it is the tie rods (they feel tight to me), others have said it could be the strut bearing plates or the wheel bearings. It almost sounds like a squeaky door when you open it, only much louder. I was thinking that this could maybe the the SFBs if they are worn out. If the SFB's were worn, could that perhaps cause BOTH of these above problems?

I look forward to any opinions.

Thanks
-Adam

I would check the subframe bushings. I had a simular problem and it turned out that my subframe bolts work themselves loose. I retightened them after adding some loctite.

Bob

 

[Millersho]

THX for the info Mr.X!

 

[Trojan Man]

Is there any way to 'test' the subframe bushings? I crawled under there tonight but it's hard to tell by looking at them. And also, do they thread into the body or is there a nut? My hands are too big to reach up there to try to hold a wrench so I can try to tighten it...