nicks88

Ok. I am getting frustrated with this old car. But, I love it and so I keep it around.

I replaced my steering rack bushings, sway bar bushings, and end links last weekend. The car was wandering all over the place before I did this. This helped the problem, but the steering still feels "loose." Is my steering rack bad? Is there a way to diagnose? OR should I have the car aligned first and see if that fixes it. Thanks everyone.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

tie rod's?

CUMan

We had similar problems with our 94 ES at about 160,000 miles. The steering was loose, and the steering wheel would not center properly. Also, when we made a right turn, the steering response was not immediate. There would be a delay, and then there would be a noticeable jerk in the steering wheel. There was also significant noise in the front end when making turns. I took it in for an alignment, and the guy doing the alignment said it was a worn-out rack and pinion.

I ordered the replacement rack from Rock Auto (as I recall). If I remember correctly, it was about $300 with a $150 refundable core charge. This was a rebuilt rack.

Replacement of this part is a labor intensive job. I believe the labor cost was about $400 at a local garage. The steering was perfect after the new rack was installed. The car now handles just as well as it did when new. There was an initial period when the steering wheel seemed harder to turn than normal; however, this went away after a few days. I assume that was air trapped in the power steering system.

If you have this part replaced, make sure you have an alignment done afterward.