pitchblaq

NP good luck Joe.

czr73

Just adjusted my steering pre-tensioner today. Took about 5 minutes. I soaked the locking nut with PB Blaster over night. So I tighten the tensioner 1/8 inch like most everyone suggested and test drive the car up to 80 mph and the vibration was reduced a lot but still there.

What if I tighten the pre-tensioner another 1/8 inch for a total turn of 1/4 inch, will anything bad happen???

Also, at 1/8 inch tightness my steering wheel was barely any stiffer.

Mcon

iTrader: (1)

If I had seen this thread before. What a different situation!!! Thanks to PR Fiebro and all other members on this thread who recommended doing this. I had noticed a around 55 to 65 mph vibration. I made the adjustment and my steering wheel is another now. I took a chance and adjust a little more than 1/8 and the difference is heaven to earth. I'm extremely happy.
Thanks again guy,

Gdwrench35

Be vary careful doing this. If too much tension is applied the rack can lock up while fully turned. I don't recommend doing this at all but band aid 'fixes' seem to be popular here so I'm sure my opinion will get shot down.

That nut was never meant to be adjusted by the user, nor on the vehicle. Rolling resistance should be gauged with a dial type torque wrench on the input shaft any time this is adjusted. You would be better off replacing the worn part. Your life iis worth more than the cost of a new rack. JMPO.

MattyG

Excellent advice. There are times when a manufacturer deliberately makes it difficult to access some parts of the vehicle. It can be for dealer profit margin reasons, but it can also be for safety reasons. That nut is obviously designed to be difficult to tamper with because it has an effect on steering.

When I owned my nearly indestructible Mazda 626, I went on an online forum and acted on the advice of some guy who said: it's too inefficient. Plug up some of these tubes or stick filters on them so the car will "breathe" better. Needless to say, about two days later that car was gushing oil out of its seals. I reversed everything and was lucky the car reverted back to normal.

Not against modifications or improvements, but you see quite a few complaints here about suspension problems on this forum because people are trying to create drift cars, lowered stance cars and the like. Nothing wrong with it, but if you cut n hack, be prepared for the consequences.

Gdwrench35

Another thing to keep in mind, its nearly impossible for a rack and pinion to cause a vibration in your steering. The source of the vibration you all mention is likely in your tires, wheels, brakes, etc. The source of the vibration causes the play in the rack and pinion to reverberate. You should fix the root cause of the problem but again, bandaids seem to be the popular opinion. Surprising for a group that drives upper end touring cars.

MattyG

Well in car mythology the internet is king. I like the GS owners on here but they are... ahem of the younger demographic and will often lean towards quick fixes, replacements and the like. Not their fault. They've been led to believe everything is a quick click and parts swap away - we all do it. I've done it and I'm a lot older.

The cause of vibrations starts with the roads you drive on, the wheels/tires you have and after that it's all transmitted up through the suspension pieces. If you go back through the threads on here you'll find all sorts of fixes: ball joints, lca/lca bushings (a likely culprit), Daizen poly replacements.

The list goes on and on. Honestly I think it's just a design issue related to Lexus' need to preserve ride while also enhancing handling in order to go up against the competition of the day. Lot of stress on that front suspension.

MattyG

Probably not so much bandaids as much as immaturity or maybe experience from previous owners. Or maybe kids living in rich postal codes with hand me down cars etc.

I don't think it's an "upper end" touring car at this point. Nobody notices this car when I drive it. In fact I often have crappy used Saturns, Sunfires, Civics and all variety of people tailgate and try to pass me routinely.

Recently I had an ES330 silver haired doddering guy and his wife take on the light from me without an ounce of trepidation. GMC trucks want to always tailgate and then pass.