Steering Looseness (Is that a word?)
03-31-11, 09:23 PM
#46
My 2001 has with 85K miles on her and the steering hasn't been feeling right for some time now. I noticed unusual wear on the outside of the front tires as well. The inner tie rods were floppy so I replaced the inner and outer tie rods and thought that would fix things up. Things felt better but still not right. The ball joints, upper, lower control arm bushings look good and are tight. Still, while driving down the road every imperfection and paint line would upset the direction of the car and it would wander. I also felt small disturbances kick back in the steering wheel. I inspected things while I had someone rocking the steering wheel back and forth. The steering rack seemed to move side-to-side more than I thought it should. I've never seen a rack move like this.
The steering rack bushings looked good from the outside. Having no other clues I decided to replace the bushings because if the rack can move then the wheels can move the rack which will allow wander and is felt in the steering wheel as well.
Dropping the rack down is possible without even removing the tie rods. Pretty easy. You do have to separate the rack from the steering shaft. The bushings come out with a little coaxing but they weren't falling out and they didn't feel like a sloppy fit in their holes in the steering rack. I thought I was wasting my time and money at this point.
The bushings installed with little trouble. I used a bit of rubber dressing to ease their installation. With everything back together I went for a test ride on some known bad roads. The steering now feels like it should. It feels like when it was new. I'm the original owner so I know.
The picture is of the old bushings. They do have eccentric lobes of rubber and that's normal. The lobes on the new bushings were more pronounced though and that is definitely the biggest difference. (The bushings are mounted with the lobes on the top and bottom.)
The passenger side bushings are different from the driver side so don't order four of the same if you do it. Look closely and you'll see that one set has round holes and the other set is oval. The round is the drivers side set, the oval is the passengers.
The steering rack bushings looked good from the outside. Having no other clues I decided to replace the bushings because if the rack can move then the wheels can move the rack which will allow wander and is felt in the steering wheel as well.
Dropping the rack down is possible without even removing the tie rods. Pretty easy. You do have to separate the rack from the steering shaft. The bushings come out with a little coaxing but they weren't falling out and they didn't feel like a sloppy fit in their holes in the steering rack. I thought I was wasting my time and money at this point.
The bushings installed with little trouble. I used a bit of rubber dressing to ease their installation. With everything back together I went for a test ride on some known bad roads. The steering now feels like it should. It feels like when it was new. I'm the original owner so I know.
The picture is of the old bushings. They do have eccentric lobes of rubber and that's normal. The lobes on the new bushings were more pronounced though and that is definitely the biggest difference. (The bushings are mounted with the lobes on the top and bottom.)
The passenger side bushings are different from the driver side so don't order four of the same if you do it. Look closely and you'll see that one set has round holes and the other set is oval. The round is the drivers side set, the oval is the passengers.
04-03-11, 10:34 PM
#47
Racer
{Quote** "Be sure to mark the steering rack spines before you separate the rack from the steering column yoke. I'd recommend fingernail polish. If you get it back together just one spline off you'll have a crooked steering wheel.
Remove the bolt that keeps the steering rack splines attached to the steering yoke universal joint. You will want to rotate the steering wheel about 90° from straight degrees right or left to make loosening the spline bolt easier. This bolt must be removed completely to allow the spline joint to separate."
So I attemped to do this late last night, but had a question about the rack bolt that keep step splines to the yoke? I took a picture, btw this view is visible behind the drivers wheel well underneath. So do I mark it by drawing a straight line like so? I believe Whiteout will work fine. Don't carry nail polish in my garage
Then once the nut is off each bushing bolt do I pry forward the whole rack ? Seem like it would have to go pretty far forward to get past the bolt.
Remove the bolt that keeps the steering rack splines attached to the steering yoke universal joint. You will want to rotate the steering wheel about 90° from straight degrees right or left to make loosening the spline bolt easier. This bolt must be removed completely to allow the spline joint to separate."
So I attemped to do this late last night, but had a question about the rack bolt that keep step splines to the yoke? I took a picture, btw this view is visible behind the drivers wheel well underneath. So do I mark it by drawing a straight line like so? I believe Whiteout will work fine. Don't carry nail polish in my garage
Then once the nut is off each bushing bolt do I pry forward the whole rack ? Seem like it would have to go pretty far forward to get past the bolt.
04-04-11, 05:39 AM
#48
That bolt backs out so rack will just descend. And the marking is on both sides in where they join, anywhere as it will help you align when you reinstall. I actually unbolted the top one in your pic as that was easier to get to under the vehicle... either one should be fine and give you the clearance you need to get that rear bushing out.
Last edited by Viper6; 04-04-11 at 10:47 AM.
04-04-11, 05:40 AM
#49
Advanced
Thread Starter
Slightly rotate the steering column until you can see the split/gap that the pinch bolt squeezes. Daub paint right into the split and onto the splines. When the rack is removed you'll have a straight line of paint on the splines to assist with reassembly.
Remove the nuts and washers that hold the steering rack in place. Then unscrew the studs that the nuts and washers were threaded onto. You're right, if you don't remove the studs the rack would have to come out a crazy distance forward. The studs come out and go back in rather easily as they have a square end on them for this purpose.
Remove the nuts and washers that hold the steering rack in place. Then unscrew the studs that the nuts and washers were threaded onto. You're right, if you don't remove the studs the rack would have to come out a crazy distance forward. The studs come out and go back in rather easily as they have a square end on them for this purpose.
04-04-11, 06:56 PM
#50
Racer
Do you recall if the oval side needs to be vertical or horizontal? Makes sense that it should be horizontal for some play?
Edit: Nevermind
Forgot that I took new pictures
. It's side to side
Edit: Nevermind
Forgot that I took new pictures
. It's side to side
Last edited by JLAWS; 04-04-11 at 07:10 PM.
04-04-11, 07:44 PM
#51
Advanced
Thread Starter
The important thing is that the lugs are on the top and bottom. Yes, the oval hole will be side-to-side when the lugs are horizontal. The only orientation on the round one is the lugs which are top and bottom also.
04-04-11, 08:53 PM
#52
It works on an 05!
I am here to tell you the 01-03 parts work in my 05. The part numbers i removed are different and end in 50050 and 50060... but externally the dimensions are same. Maybe it is a different supplier? I installed mine this past weekend and the change to the steering is night and day... like a new car with no vagueness in steering feedback or wandering. I only had time for a short test ride, but it was noticeable. I'll post my step-by-step with pics for anyone to assess whether they want to try it.
04-04-11, 08:57 PM
#53
Play by play
Tools you will need (if you have a 2 jaw puller that might be nicer to the old bushings than channel locks, I did not). This job took me 3 hours of discovery and light swearing, but if you follow the below it should take about 1 hour I figure with little swearing… all my lessons learned are baked into the below.
1) Align wheels straight ahead on parking space, engage parking brake and remove key, rotate wheel to right until steering lock engages… this will position the steering column linkage bolt right where you can reach it in a later step and keep wheel from moving while you have this detached.
2) Remove underside engine cover (18 screws, 10mm socket)
3) Chock wheels, Jack up vehicle off subframe (approved location) and place on jack stands.
4) Spray all steering rack mount nuts and studs with WD40 and let soak in for a few minutes
1) Align wheels straight ahead on parking space, engage parking brake and remove key, rotate wheel to right until steering lock engages… this will position the steering column linkage bolt right where you can reach it in a later step and keep wheel from moving while you have this detached.
2) Remove underside engine cover (18 screws, 10mm socket)
3) Chock wheels, Jack up vehicle off subframe (approved location) and place on jack stands.
4) Spray all steering rack mount nuts and studs with WD40 and let soak in for a few minutes
Last edited by Viper6; 04-04-11 at 09:06 PM.
04-04-11, 08:59 PM
#54
Lesson learned: I recommend removing these bushings one at a time (FL, FR, RL, RR) if yours are as stubborn as mine were and it is just you doing it and you only have generic tools for this job like I do. This ensures the rack is secured everywhere you are not wrestling on old bushings to ensure your power is concentrated only on what you want moving.
5) Remove nut (19mm) and stud (12mm) for drivers side only and use channel locks to lever the bushing out some, spray WD40 in the gap you created and do this all around the circumference of the bushing until you have broken any bond between bushing and steering rack and can rotate the bushing around radially… now it is ready to come out.
6) Wipe off any WD40 off the metal washer and lever the bushing out with brute force using channel locks (be careful not to mar the steering rack anywhere)… I used a wood block under opposite lip to get best leverage to get the bushing out. Once the first lug is out the rest comes easy so don’t give up).
7) Put stud back in drivers side to help take some strain off steering box. If I did not have air tools I would not do this step… too many damn threads.
5) Remove nut (19mm) and stud (12mm) for drivers side only and use channel locks to lever the bushing out some, spray WD40 in the gap you created and do this all around the circumference of the bushing until you have broken any bond between bushing and steering rack and can rotate the bushing around radially… now it is ready to come out.
6) Wipe off any WD40 off the metal washer and lever the bushing out with brute force using channel locks (be careful not to mar the steering rack anywhere)… I used a wood block under opposite lip to get best leverage to get the bushing out. Once the first lug is out the rest comes easy so don’t give up).
7) Put stud back in drivers side to help take some strain off steering box. If I did not have air tools I would not do this step… too many damn threads.
Last edited by Viper6; 04-04-11 at 09:05 PM.
04-04-11, 09:00 PM
#55
8) Repeat steps 5 and 6 on FR bushing.
9) Remove stud from step 7 if you put it back in.
10) Reaching up thru L wheel well opening (slide under vehicle from front until your head is nearly where a drivers feet would be above you) and you can see and access the steering shaft bolt reaching up thru the wheel suspension area. If you don’t see it, you did not do step 1? Rotate steering wheel in small increments as needed to the right until you see the bolt you want access to. Mark male and female shafts to ensure you realign exactly (I used permanent marker) and completely remove bolt (I used 3 inch extension on my ratchet in this step, 10 or 12mm)
11) Place shop towels under center of steering rack and over subframe so it does not scrape along subframe while you lower and later jack on the bushings to get them out. You can now lower the steering rack down and forward enough to create access to the rear bushings… don’t worry if your wheels move any as this will not affect anything.
12) Repeat pertinent substeps in steps 5 and 6 one at a time until all bushings are out. Harder now since rack wants to move all around… see what I was talking about in the “lesson learned” at the beginning of this step-by-step?
13) Clean out the steering rack bushing areas with contact cleaner and remove all traces of WD40 or old bushing rubber from steering rack and subframe area that got doused.
9) Remove stud from step 7 if you put it back in.
10) Reaching up thru L wheel well opening (slide under vehicle from front until your head is nearly where a drivers feet would be above you) and you can see and access the steering shaft bolt reaching up thru the wheel suspension area. If you don’t see it, you did not do step 1? Rotate steering wheel in small increments as needed to the right until you see the bolt you want access to. Mark male and female shafts to ensure you realign exactly (I used permanent marker) and completely remove bolt (I used 3 inch extension on my ratchet in this step, 10 or 12mm)
11) Place shop towels under center of steering rack and over subframe so it does not scrape along subframe while you lower and later jack on the bushings to get them out. You can now lower the steering rack down and forward enough to create access to the rear bushings… don’t worry if your wheels move any as this will not affect anything.
12) Repeat pertinent substeps in steps 5 and 6 one at a time until all bushings are out. Harder now since rack wants to move all around… see what I was talking about in the “lesson learned” at the beginning of this step-by-step?
13) Clean out the steering rack bushing areas with contact cleaner and remove all traces of WD40 or old bushing rubber from steering rack and subframe area that got doused.
Last edited by Viper6; 04-04-11 at 09:05 PM.
04-04-11, 09:00 PM
#56
14) Lube new bushings (I used tire mounting lube I had from NAPA called RUGlyde, you can use that or something non-petroleum based which can harm rubber) and shove them into place, backs first. Round holes on drivers side with reference tabs point to 5 and 11 o’clock as seen from the front (final tightening will twist these to 6 and 12 where they need to be once you are done with this job, fyi). Passenger side oblong is horizontally aligned, anticipate a slight rotation when doing final torque as well… you get the idea.
I could not get the backs all the way in, so I used the steering rack as a hammer and knocked the rear bushings against their subframe contact mount, this got them all the way seated. On the fronts, just do your best to seat them fully and any gap will be closed when you tighten things back down later.
15) With all new bushings loaded, raise steering rack I used my knee on the rack while doing the alignment with my hands) and reattach steering shafts back in original alignment . Ensure you butt the shafts all the way together and fully tighten the bolt to prevent any retreat… no way you’re getting a torque wrench in there so just snug as best you can… this is not a load bearing torque and the shafts are keyed with this bolt (why you had to remove it fully) so no worries.
16) Clean all bolts and studs with contact cleaner to ensure proper torquing. Install the two mounting studs and hand tighten (maybe 50 ft-lbs). I had no torque value listed for this in my manual. Torque the nuts to 86 ft-lbs and you’re done.
17) Take a test ride to basque in the new car feel sans wandering and then return to retorque and reinstall engine cover and you’re now officially the man/woman!
I could not get the backs all the way in, so I used the steering rack as a hammer and knocked the rear bushings against their subframe contact mount, this got them all the way seated. On the fronts, just do your best to seat them fully and any gap will be closed when you tighten things back down later.
15) With all new bushings loaded, raise steering rack I used my knee on the rack while doing the alignment with my hands) and reattach steering shafts back in original alignment . Ensure you butt the shafts all the way together and fully tighten the bolt to prevent any retreat… no way you’re getting a torque wrench in there so just snug as best you can… this is not a load bearing torque and the shafts are keyed with this bolt (why you had to remove it fully) so no worries.
16) Clean all bolts and studs with contact cleaner to ensure proper torquing. Install the two mounting studs and hand tighten (maybe 50 ft-lbs). I had no torque value listed for this in my manual. Torque the nuts to 86 ft-lbs and you’re done.
17) Take a test ride to basque in the new car feel sans wandering and then return to retorque and reinstall engine cover and you’re now officially the man/woman!
Last edited by Viper6; 04-04-11 at 09:04 PM.
04-04-11, 09:53 PM
#57
Racer
NEWS FLASH!! I Just did mine without taking the steering shaft bolt off. All you need to do is remove the bushing nut and unscrew the bolt completely out. Use 3/4 socket for the nut and then a 10mm for the bolt. Spray down the bushing with silicon spray and work the bushing in and out with a pry bar and screw driver. The one that was a pain was the driver side rear bushing. I just need a 1/4 inch more to get it out! What you have to do then is jack up the car enough off the ramps then grab the rim and tires (Not steering wheel) turn the wheels to the left so you have enough room from the cross frame to pry it out. Pop the new bushing in, Then line the wheels straight and then hand turn the bolts back in before using the rachet. Move the rack forward so you can see the bolt line up with the hole. Replace the nut and you are all done!
Quick tips:
During the install be careful to avoid the rack from hitting your head when it sags down and move all the 20+ screws from the cover out of the way so you aren't laying on them during the install
Just came back from a 30 mile night drive on the highway and street. VERY happy with the results. It drives like a 5 series BMW. Well lets not get carried away The steering is tighter and it does not wander to the left and right. Very little effort to keep it straight on the Highway. On the street where there's bumps and dips, I can let go of the steering wheel and see that it does not turn side to side rapidly like it used to if at all. Best $120 spent 
Quick tips:
During the install be careful to avoid the rack from hitting your head when it sags down and move all the 20+ screws from the cover out of the way so you aren't laying on them during the install
Just came back from a 30 mile night drive on the highway and street. VERY happy with the results. It drives like a 5 series BMW. Well lets not get carried away
The steering is tighter and it does not wander to the left and right. Very little effort to keep it straight on the Highway. On the street where there's bumps and dips, I can let go of the steering wheel and see that it does not turn side to side rapidly like it used to if at all. Best $120 spent
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Trent430 (03-15-18)
04-05-11, 05:32 AM
#58
Advanced
Thread Starter
Awesome JLAWS! The easier we make the bushing replacement the better. I'm sure that this will become one of the most common DIY fixes for the LS. How many miles do you have on your '01? I can't wait to hear back from others (Viper6?) that have tackled an '03 or newer. Good work!
04-05-11, 06:44 AM
#59
Racer
Awesome JLAWS! The easier we make the bushing replacement the better. I'm sure that this will become one of the most common DIY fixes for the LS. How many miles do you have on your '01? I can't wait to hear back from others (Viper6?) that have tackled an '03 or newer. Good work!
Thanks everyone for the help. !!
