trips1

With all the good help from this forum i changed the Power Steering fluid using turkey baster. My old fluid was really looking black and i used 1 qt of Mobile 1 ATF. I was able to get 3 changes of the fluid from the PS fluid holder. I did drive 1-2 miles between these changes. BTF i bought the turkey baster at dollar store for 1$ :-)

But somehow the Power Steering Fluid again looks more towards blackish side.
Does anyone knows how much total PS fluid is there in RX?? Any suggestion if i should do the turkey baster suck, empty and refill procedure again or with 1Qt of ATF things should be good.

And another question i have on the steering wheel noise. I had posted this before also. I did try the WD-40 spray on the bottom of the shaft but it did not help

I just came across this thread while looking for noise issue with my steering wheel.
I am getting this noise from last 2.5 years and i had got it checked at Lexus dealer as part of some other repair (Oil Sludge issue, fixed by Lexus without any charge).
Lexus dealership had mentioned about "Noise coming from Spiral Cable" and the cost to fix it was 400-500$. It was not any safety hazard and so i did not bother to get it fixed at the dealership.
The noise is very low and sounds like something wrapped around my steering wheel.

I am just wondering if the noise would be due to the similar issue with the bushings as mentioned in this post?
Has anyone heard about "Spiral Cable" in the steering wheel.

Should i let an independent mechanic open the steering shaft to look into this and grease/oil the shaft along with the bushing.
What would be reasonable for an independent mechanic charge for this?

Thanks Trips.

Lexmex

What's the temperature been like here you are at, and when exactly do you hear the noise (time of day, starting out, what mph, turning full, turning half, etc.?)

carguy07

My spiral cable was replaced under warranty a while back. It was just doing that thing where the steering wheel kind of grabs and binds when moving slow and turning the wheel a lot. Very similar to the issue that other guys are having luck fixing by greasing that rubber seal on the steering shaft. I think it was just a wiring harness under the air bag cover. For what it's worth the noise is back some again.

mikey00

That spiral cable noise in the steering wheel is a common problem. It is sometimes refered to as the "clock spring". Mine started making the noise a couple of years ago just when it was cold out. Now it pretty much does it all the time. This is different then the bushing noise some have had where the steering goes through the firewall. When I get some time I plan on taking off the small cover underneath the top of the steering wheel and see if there is some way to lube it.

trips1

Please update the thread if lubing the steering wheel shaft helps the spiral cable noise.
I hear it all the time, irrespective of cold or warm weather. The noise is very light, and similar to a twisting wire......

mikey00

Today I removed the small cover underneath the steering wheel to try and determine where the noise was coming from. Once I had the cover off I realized the noise was not coming from up there as it originally appeared. It was coming from the rubber bushing where the steering shaft goes through the firewall as many previous posters have said. I sprayed some silicone on it and the noise is gone.

trips1

Thanks for updating the thread.
I will also try to open the steering cover and see what is going on. Please can you let me know if it is straight forward and if there is nothing special needs to be done to avoid damaging the air bag underneath the steering top.

Thanks.

mikey00

Black plastic cover on bottom of steering wheel is held on by 3 phillips screws. One on the bottom and 2 on the front. You need to turn the steering wheel to access the front ones. Once off you can see some rotational parts in there. It may be worth it to spray lightly with WD40 or similiar product.
Before you do this you may want to try just spraying the rubber bushing where the steering shaft goes through the firewall. It fixed my problem and I lived with this noise for a long time thinking it was coming from the upper portion of steering column.