Play in my brand new steering rack

[toverturf]

HD Billet Rack Clamp






– Opt Offroad I wonder if something like this would fix it. Maybe your d clamp is bent a little bit.

 

[JohnMc]

Per the video, the rack is free to slide sideways back and forth. The D clamp is not there to hold the rack in place side to side. The drivre side and center, forward facing mounts are what does that. Something is either loose or missing there.

 

[Kmurt]

Does the amount of "crooked" change or is always the same?

Have you done a full bolt check / re-torque of all the suspension parts?

-Charlie

The crooked steering wheel stays about the same.

No I have not. Makes me wonder if something else is loose since I’ve been putting all my attention towards the steering rack.

 

[Kmurt]

Per the video, the rack is free to slide sideways back and forth. The D clamp is not there to hold the rack in place side to side. The drivre side and center, forward facing mounts are what does that. Something is either loose or missing there.

What is the actual function of the D clamp? I thought it would have something to do with side to side movement.

The washer on the driver side was not OEM so I replaced it with a OEM washer and torqued to 141 ft/lbs. Other than that it was just the long bolt and nut to tighten it.

I can double check to make sure I didn’t mix up the center bolt for the d clamp bolt since I know they are different lengths.

 

[GhostRing]

I did still have my old rack and pulled the remaining bushings out of it.

Is there any compelling reason to allow the movement?
i.e. vibrations etc. not withstanding, does the rubber play permit a little give
when pushed up against a rock or minor wheel impacts being absorbed better?

 

[2TH4IST]

Yes, the rubber gives it some flex from road imperfections. The D clamp is to help eliminate front and rear movement. Vertical bolt, left to right movement and rotational, horizontal bolt is the same, left to right and rotational.

I have derlin bushings in my miata and a de powered rack. A little bump can catch you off guard sometimes.

Also as for the wheel turning, does it happen on every road or just some? Roads can have crazy crowns and can cause cars to do wierd things. Are your tire pressures the same?

 

[phattyduck]

The crooked steering wheel stays about the same

That just means you had lazy alignment techs. One of the steps in an alignment is getting the steering wheel straight.

-Charlie

 

[Kmurt]

Yes, the rubber gives it some flex from road imperfections. The D clamp is to help eliminate front and rear movement. Vertical bolt, left to right movement and rotational, horizontal bolt is the same, left to right and rotational.

I have derlin bushings in my miata and a de powered rack. A little bump can catch you off guard sometimes.

Also as for the wheel turning, does it happen on every road or just some? Roads can have crazy crowns and can cause cars to do wierd things. Are your tire pressures the same?

Thanks for an explanation.

It happens on most roads and I can really replicate the wheel turning when braking hard. It will turn to the right a couple degrees and then when I let off it goes back to normal.

I will check my tire pressures all around and start looking at making sure all the suspension hardware is tight too.

Could the pulling of the steering wheel have something to do with brake components?

 

[Kmurt]

That just means you had lazy alignment techs. One of the steps in an alignment is getting the steering wheel straight.

-Charlie

The steering wheel has been given back to me straight the last three alignments I got but eventually it would just work itself off center. Every time I worked on the steering rack I would lock the wheel straight too.

They also did the last two for free so I can’t really hate on them haha

 

[JohnMc]

I did still have my old rack and pulled the remaining bushings out of it.

Is there any compelling reason to allow the movement?
i.e. vibrations etc. not withstanding, does the rubber play permit a little give
when pushed up against a rock or minor wheel impacts being absorbed better?

They're there to allow it to move a *little* bit, and then deflect back.

In the video it seems like the rack is sliding sideways back and forth way too much. That is, very directly, the steering wheel turning and the wheels aren't (as much as they should).

 

[spartacus]

Might be worth a shot, try switching the bolts on the c clamp.top to bottom. I belief one bolt is longer then the other.

 

[GhostRing]

They're there to allow it to move a *little* bit, and then deflect back.

In the video it seems like the rack is sliding sideways back and forth way too much. That is, very directly, the steering wheel turning and the wheels aren't (as much as they should).

Agreed.
Mine doesn't seem to move as much as his, but now debating the effort to switch to the polys for somewhat limited improvement. I agree it may
not be a good idea to solidify the rack mounts, and I doubt I'll do the
billet U Clamp, so I'll be looking into other potential issues first.
[MENTION=118736]Kmurt[/MENTION] have you checked all of your alignment tabs?
I've had a time or 2 when the alignment slipped because a tab was bent.
In fact, one alignment they went right over it! (no longer using that shop)

 

[Qusak]

I’m still chasing an issue where my steering rack has a lot of movement in it.

I have installed a brand new OEM steering rack, OEM rag joint, OEM outer tie rods and energy suspension D-shaped bushing in the rack.

I have torqued every nut and bolt to spec and followed Timmy the toolmans video on how to replace the rack. I’m really not sure what to do at this point. Is everything supposed to be tightened with the wheels on the ground? I torqued everything with the vehicle on jack stands. bazoocam chat Could the OEM bushings be bad already?

Here is the last thread following up to this new thread I created: Steering Wheel Issue

Here is a video of my problem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=zSyax75zJnlm6Crj&v=_2HlE-UqPS4&feature=youtu.be

Undoubtedly, the rack is in motion. The "through" bolts' bushings are undergoing deformation. Could it be that you received the incorrect bushings?

 

[Kmurt]

[MENTION=118736]Kmurt[/MENTION] have you checked all of your alignment tabs?
I've had a time or 2 when the alignment slipped because a tab was bent.
In fact, one alignment they went right over it! (no longer using that shop)[/QUOTE]

I was under the 4runner the other week and actually found one of the cam bolts slightly loose on the drivers side and passenger side. Then I went ahead and tightened every other bolt i could reach including ball joints and they all seemed okay.

I disconnected the rag joint and made the steering wheel straight and now at least when im driving the steering wheel is straight, but will still pull to the left when i brake hard.

 

[GhostRing]

Bit of an update to my steering saga-

I went ahead and re-installed the rest of my poly bushings into the rack
and it did make a marked improvement (duh) in the tracking and input.
I can't take for granted the energy that rocks/snow/whatever transfer to the bushings.

I'm still getting a little darting to the left with a brake stab, but not nearly
as aggressively as before. I'm installing a new booster next week-ish,
so I'll attempt to bleed things a million times again and see if I can get it more betterer...