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steering

Old 01-31-06, 08:00 PM
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LEKSO
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steering wheel will not return to cener after making a turn.What coulb be wrong?
Old 01-31-06, 10:31 PM
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Xeeeeeem
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I have that same problem....i don't know if it a problem!?
Old 01-31-06, 11:34 PM
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PERRYinLA
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Not a good sign. The steering's geometry is supposed to create a natural force that encourages the steering wheel to rotate back towards the straight-ahead position.

The steering geometry could be way off (but it usually takes a hell of a hit to do that), or there is a lot of friction somewhere in the steering, or the power-steering rack is not doing its job. Aside from this problem, how does the steering feel otherwise?
Old 02-01-06, 01:08 AM
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Originally Posted by LEKSO
steering wheel will not return to cener after making a turn.What coulb be wrong?
bad caster
Old 02-01-06, 11:49 AM
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Originally Posted by PERRYinLA
Not a good sign. The steering's geometry is supposed to create a natural force that encourages the steering wheel to rotate back towards the straight-ahead position.

The steering geometry could be way off (but it usually takes a hell of a hit to do that), or there is a lot of friction somewhere in the steering, or the power-steering rack is not doing its job. Aside from this problem, how does the steering feel otherwise?
Thanks for the response.The steering feels stiff as if there was no power .After making a turn I would manually have to bring back to center or the car would continue to turn. I recently just got this problem and it seems like its getting worse everyday.I also went in for a wheel balance,rotation,and allignment about a week ago because the steering was vibrating at 60-70mph hoping that would take care of it all ,that stopped the vibration but not this problem .The mechanic mentioned that the steering rack and arm could be the cause. It's mostly when i make right turns.
Old 02-01-06, 12:14 PM
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Originally Posted by PERRYinLA
Not a good sign. The steering's geometry is supposed to create a natural force that encourages the steering wheel to rotate back towards the straight-ahead position.

The steering geometry could be way off (but it usually takes a hell of a hit to do that), or there is a lot of friction somewhere in the steering, or the power-steering rack is not doing its job. Aside from this problem, how does the steering feel otherwise?
The wheel begins to turn back but doesnt go center. also seems like when driving straight, the steering wheel is turned just a bit or even feels like the car veers to the left a lil so to keep the car going straight, i gotta keep my hand on the wheel and hold it turned just a bit. I got a balance and alignment not too long ago but then again, this pull to the left could be caused by my slightly sticking caliper
Old 02-02-06, 01:14 AM
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A slightly sticking caliper is also not a good sign!
Fortunately, it should be easy to fix, and even if you have to replace the whole assembly, that's a lot cheaper and easier than a steering rack issue.

LEKSO, you may not be as lucky. If the steering is stiff, something is amiss in the PS system.
Probably not the pump, since one side is worse than the other.
There are some valves/passages in the rack that might have failed or are clogged.
I would spend the time to search ClubLexus threads that deal with "power steering rack" issues and see if the symptoms described match yours.
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