Recently bought a 2003 Ls430 with 100k and I'm trying to figure out what would be causing a dead spot for about 2-3in from the center of the steering wheel in both directions. Also It seems to center lazily at times, but I haven't really gone to a empty lot to really check it in depth so I plan on doing that this week. I know that at full lock it'll stay there until I pull it back a bit, I'm unsure if that's normal on these.

I looked underneath yesterday and a lot of the suspension components looked old, but nothing majorly shot. Absolutely zero play in the front wheels both horizontally and vertically. While moving the steering wheel left and right I had someone I trust let me know that they didn't notice any oddities in the steering components (then again I should've probably been the one doing the inspection while they moved the wheel, so I plan on doing that when I do the brakes this week). No clunking when moving the steering wheel. Outer Tie rods wouldn't move by hand when I gave them a good tug. The Inner tie rods seemed like it was actually one of the better parts down there as far as the boot goes, but it was pretty damp from oil leak the car had, but at best it was only an assumption from touching the boot and noticing there was oil over it and towards the center, not just under it and none at the outer edges.

I do also have a slight rear wander as well, but I imagine these are most likely separate issues but maybe I'm wrong. Any other post of similar symptoms I found online seem to be left without a final conclusion or update. I had 2 people respond to me on old posts on reddit but they said they never figured it out in the years since they posted it so I'm hoping to be the one that does with the help of you beautiful people.

But, I'm kind of lost as to what to do next. I don't want to blindly start buying bushings and tie rods considering there was no play. I was thinking alignment, but then I was thinking what if my issues lie on the other side of the spectrum, what if components are seizing instead? Is there supposed to be some play ? Is my steering rack worn down at this mileage? What would be some test that I can do or things to look for to come to a more concrete answer? Any input would be appreciated and thank you in advanced.

 

It's a limo not a sportscar, so the steering is not razor sharp and responsive.
However, 2-3" either way from center sounds wrong to me. Is that when driving or when stationary?
Mine has 150k and the steering is fine for what she is.

Since she is RWD the steering can go past the return point, so that is 100% normal.
Compared to FWD cars this 16½ foot barge turns on a dime.

 

I know for a fact the play is there when driving, but I’m not sure about stationary, will be checking when I do brakes in the next couple days. I can get a nice little shimmy out of the steering wheel while continuing to be straight. That being said I did expect a floaty feel, but I’d say the amount of play is just enough to be concerning.

 

In the old days the kind of steering play mentioned was an screw adjustment to the steering pinion but don't know if this car has the adjustment or not. If it doesn't it has to be replaced. You should be able to look from outside with hood open and see if there is an adjustment. Will look at mine later as mine is 192k and no play.
Looked at mine and there is an adjustment if this is where the play is. As I remember tighten till touches then back off around 1/4 turn.

 

Appreciate the help! I'll do this probably tomorrow and update. You wouldn't happen to know what size bolt I could fit into the hex would you?

 

Never have adjusted but from top looking down it looks like maybe a 1/4 inch screw so probably small metric allen wrench. Very easy to tell if this is where play is have someone with car off lightly move wheel back and forth and you can see play if there. You should be able to do this from top.

 

I actually managed to fix it a bit ago unintentionally...so I also have another issue where the car has a slight pull to the right, so I went to check the tire pressure today. For whatever reason the PO had them at a matching 23psi and 38psi! And for whatever other reason setting them back to 33psi actually completely eliminated the dead spot (sadly it still pulls to the right). I heard that the suspension geometry on these is pretty sensitive but I never thought that tire pressure would cause such slop in the steering. Well on to the next problem I guess. But thank you so much for your response!!!

 

If you rotate the tires from front to back and it drives straight then one of the front tires has what is called radial pull and needs to be replaced.