Steering

[BlackDynamite]

I've noticed lately that my steering wheel has a noticeable amount of play without turning the wheels.....about 1 to 2 inch's and when the car is off you car hear it kinda knock a little....this car only has 55,000 on the car....is there a way to "tighten" that gear box down there.....Suspension is my weak spot....:[

 

[Kckazdude]

No adjustments like on sterring gearboxes. Inspect your tie rod ends and lower control arms for the play.

 

[CyFi6]

also check the universal joints, i hear those go bad on these cars fairly often

 

[AJ'S 88NA]

^^^I've got the originals on my 88.

Like Kaka said you may have something worn out and need to see were you might have some play in the components. You could put it up on a lift and turn the sterring wheel back and forth to see were the noise is comming from.

 

[Kckazdude]

also check the universal joints, i hear those go bad on these cars fairly often

U-joints on any car isnt a common problem. Besides, you will never hear a u-joint when turning the steering wheel.

The 'knock' description tells me it is either a rack bushing or lower control arm bushing. With as much slack as is described, I would be willing to bet it is visually obvious.

 

[cuel]

^^+1. Either that, or tie rod ends(they would have to be pretty bad to knock). Best to get it in the air and check it, or take it to someone you know.
U-joints are part of the driveshaft. FWD cars use C.V.(Constant Velocity) axles, like what we have in the rear, just no where near as heavy. Some 4x4 trucks use u-joint in the front...

 

[CyFi6]

i think you misunderstood, im talking about the u joints on the steering column

 

[cuel]

Lol, sorry about that. You're right. I completely forgot about the u-joints in the column....

 

[BlackDynamite]

I actually got it on a rack and had suspension tech check it out, he said the tie rods are practically new and everything is fine, alignment was a little off....but nothing crazy. the popping noise is coming from that gear box where the steering shaft connects.

When we wiggled the wheel slack, back and forth, nothing moved underneath, until i turned the wheel past the slack

i'll check the u joints...

 

[BlackDynamite]

also noticed that when I'm driving it will sometimes pull left, then out of no where when driving it will want to pull right...kinda gotta bounce it back and forth....

 

[azndan]

my car seems to have this same problem, haven't had time to put mine on a lift but i drive a 87 na supra.
yeah i would like to hear what you do to fix this
Dan

 

[BlindRonin]

Sounds to me like you may have a faulty steering rack. Is there any P/S fluid around the boots? Also i cant remember but some older toyotas had a tube that allowed the air in the billows to pass from one side to the other it would be tiny , and for the life of me i cant remember if we had them. If the billows are torn or cracked dirt can be pulled in past the seals and cause the rack to fail.

 

[BlackDynamite]

well i noticed that one of the boots is broken....so that is a problem.

I really don't know much about steering, and suspension....but it's starting to sound expensive....sigh...

 

[ValgeKotkas]

Mine steers softly left, but it's harder to turn right.
Changed the rack (said to be a good working one + got it rebuilt)....same problem, and it seems, that a little play has come in too. Though my alignment is a bit off due to rusted bolts... We'll see if I get some new bushings to get the alignment corrected

 

[f00g00]

I had a problem with the steering going off during hard cornering, it would go wide and be off centered etc. and would hesitate when I turn the wheel slightly.
I was able to have my wife turn the wheel with the car not moving and engine running and I looked down at the rack and the whole rack was moving left and right. Turns out the rubber grommets that are under the two clamps that hold the rack in place were shot. Replaced those and it fixed the problem.

 

[BlackDynamite]

Still can't figure it out, but i will try and inspect those grommets.