canucklehe

Just replaced my steering rack on '93 ES300 with a reman unit. It is a huge improvement over previous rack.

At low speed to park or turn, it is fine.

When driving straight at road speed, 95% of driving the steering wheel is straight. To change lanes or go through curves, the movements are very subtle, maybe 60 degrees left or right (or 10 o'clock/2 o'clock).

So here's the issue: under normal speed driving, the first movement I make with steering wheel is stiff/hard and it binds up a little. As soon as I get past initial movement, it's fine and moves easily. I called the reman outfit and they will gladly replace it, but wondered if my issue wasn't with the steering sensor mounted on rack. They also thought any issue with gears in rack would be felt through out full range of steering. I definitely don't want to pull this rack off again if I don't have to.

I always thought concept of speed sensor is to take away power assist once speed/rpms are up, to make car feel sportier and stiffen up the response and feel. Once the RPMs are lower, like making a 3 point turn, or parallel parking, the power assist kicks in. So.... I didn't think a potentially malfunctioning speed sensor would cause this binding issue.

I'm going to drive it for a month and see if it repairs itself. My friend had a binding issue with a reman unit that seemed to work itself out in a week.

any thoughts or feedback appreciated on rack vs. sensor. anyone ever replace a sensor, and what were the symptoms?

LeX2K

First thing you should do is jack up both front wheels, and with the engine off check to see if the wheel moves smoothly through its travel without any binding.

canucklehe

it is the sensor that threads onto rack with 2 prong electrical connector. I was told this may be "pressure idle switch", to tell car to increase RPM at low speed, when cranking wheel back and forth to park, etc...

I'm leaning to faulty rack but will keep driving for a month and see if it gets better or worse.

I was told to try Lucas formula by one person. it worked when my car had morning sickness before i replaced rack but I'm doubtful it will work on this problem.

another suggestion was to use something like STP slick, or some other super lubricant, to see if that will lube it up, as it needs some viscosity to help it. ??? dunno.

LeX2K

You should not have to use any additive, the rack should be working properly without adding anything to the PS fluid. There is a procedure in the service manual that shows how to test the solenoid and PS ECU, if it was me I'd do the tests before going about replacing the rack again.

But my first thought is, bad rack. Where did you get the reman rack/who makes it? The idle up switch only changes the amount of air the engine takes it, that won't cause the symptoms you are having. Forgot to say, trapped air can cause issues, to test for air in the system with the engine running turn the wheel all the way to one side and observe the fluid level in the reservoir. If it drops significantly you have air, if it only changes a little you do not.

canucklehe

I'm thinking air has bled out from the amount of driving I've done. resevoir level is not changing anymore. it did for the first while. i did not try the test the way you describe though, to see if level drops.

I also took car in for alignment.

I bought rack from Detroit Axle/Dearborn axle. lifetime warranty, good feedback, they've sold thousands of items, so I thought it'd be okay. They seem very good about warranty if I want to return it. I just don't want to pull it out again anytime soon...although second time around I'll be much quicker!!