Raidersmom

I bought my 2007 RX 350 brand new in February of 2006. All maintenance has been done on it. At about 35,000 miles I was told my rack and pinion had a slow seep to keep an eye on it. It was checked during every oil change with no problems. I have 142000 miles on it now. Two weeks ago I had the rack and pinion done and I have had nothing but problems since. When I took the vehicle into the shop it ran perfectly fine, drove smooth as always. After I left the shop my vehicle drove so rough and was so hard to steer, and stearing wheel had an awful vibration, I took it back in. was told since it had a new rack and pinion it probably would ride a lot stiffer SMH. It went back to the shop 6 times during the 3 week period, each time they blamed it on alignment or balancing of tires, not on the rack and pinion replacement. I had 6 alignments done and the tires were balanced five times over the same three weeks. I decided no one was listening to me LOL and took it to another shop on my own dime. The new shop found that all 10 bolts holding my subframe that were loosened to put the Rack in we're not replaced and secured and the entire time I had been driving for 3 weeks with all loose bolts. New shop tightened all 10 bolts checked all of the areas that they would have accessed when they did the rack and pinion and everything looks secure. My car did Drive a bit smoother but still rough riding on smooth roads, after a couple of days I noticed it progressively getting worse I did do another alignment and had the tires rebalanced after the bolts were snug and secure and a little adjustment was made in the alignment. but I had a lot of movement and sway in the vehicle and it was still veering to the left on all Road types the mechanic check the struts and found that the struts needed to be replaced. After the struts where replaced another alignment was done,
​​​​​​alignment was again a bit off it. Vehicle did get a bit smoother but is still veering to the left when driving on any road, steering wheel still jerks to the left when going over any little bump in the road, steering wheel has a vibration in it that seems to get worse when accelerating or going around corners. I feel like I have lost my smooth driving Lexus. I have an appointment to get the front struts done, in a couple days, the mechanic doesn't feel that there is any problem with the the axel but he will be checking it also next Wednesday. Any advice would be appreciated I am very concerned that the work that the first shop did with leaving the 10 bolts unsecured may have caused damage that is resulting in my vehicle still riding rough, veering to the left with constant vibration along with the bump steer problem. Any ideas of things that I can check for to fix this? Any thoughts or ideas on what parts could have been damaged by driving approx 400 miles with 10 bolts not secure to my subframe would be ???? i have searched online and apparently it is not common for an auto shop to leave 10 bolts unsecured to a subframe. I want my smooth riding lexus suv back 😓 Ideas? Thoughts?

Raidersmom

I forgot to add I'm new to this forum 😊 when rack and pinion was replaced they said there was slight feathering and very slight cupping on front tires. Tire shop said it was slight and would not cause any of the problems I am experiencing. But I am unsure of what to believe since all this started.

Audiqv8

Try rotating the front tire to the rear and the rear to the front. The front tires should be replaced.

ukrkoz

OK, long post, a bit nervous, what is understood, but not really clearly explaining what exactly is wrong.

Here's my 2 cents from what I could gather.
1. you have bad camber. Toyota does NOT provide any camber adjustment options on their cars. At that mileage, strut mounting bolts, strut to knuckle, ar worn out. They slapped new struts on, what changed vehicle front end geometry. Now it pulls to the left because you have negative camber on the right. This requires camber bolt install and camber alignment.
2. All this wavering on the road left and right PLUS shake at acceleration. Both are down same problem cause: you have bad axle shaft. Specifically, at the outer CV joint, as it then moves knuckle=kick back into steering. Also, bad axle shaft WILL result in vibration during acceleration.

Is this one of those freak accidents or it was somehow damaged/dislodged during all the repairs done or, because you drove for some time with loose subframe bolts, what jeopardized geomtry and ruined axle shaft - that I do not know. But axle shafts need to be inspected by someone who knows what he's doing.

Raidersmom

@ukrkoz I'm sorry, its hard for me to describe it all ( i do not know much about cars but learning ) and its been a rollercoaster since it started. Thank you very much for the reply, that makes sense, after 7 alignments and each time it needs adjusting. I will have them check all of that on wed morning. I appreciate your knowledgeable response. Thank you

Raidersmom

@Audiqv8 They have been switched, the problem still exists. Tires have been balanced 6 different times, 3 reg balance and 3 road force balance. Tire shop stated I'm at a 6 on tire tread, very little feathering and very slight cupping was on 2 front at last inspection and rotated front to back, he said that is not the cause .

ukrkoz

It's quite fine. Just do your best to describe what you feel driving. Is steering wheel moving in you hands left/right or up/down? Is this relevant to braking? Did it start immediately after rack and pinion change - then you should have simply turned around and hand key back to the shop - or it took some time to build up problem? Is car pulling towards one side only consistently? Is it "snaking" on the road - willing to go left/right, like snake, and constantly have to counter that? Is vibration during acceleration at low or high speeds? Does it go away as soon as you release gas pedal? No special knowledge needed, only attention to detail. As right now I lost count how much money you dumped into pretty much pointless replacements and shop visits - without being it properly diagnosed FIRST.

cdnewton

Seems like you have replaced a lot of items and the problem persists -- have you considered trying to get them to warranty the rack and pinion?

What brand of rack and pinion was it?

wz4rfv

Just did mine - a few more comments:

Tools used: 10, 12, 14, 17 and 19 mm sockets, 12, 14 and 17 mm speed wrenches, 6 (?) mm allen wrench, 1/2 and 5 pound hammers, hose clamp pliers (angled tips), a hoist and an actylene torch!
Before you start, take a piece of wood, lay it up tight against each tire, then draw a line on the garage floor.
If you live in the rust belt, like I do, be aware that the bolts rust up first so even on a rust free body, the bolts may be rusted solid! Mine were. Heat is the only answer. Propane is slow but steady. Acetylene is faster and a lot more fun!
You don't need to drop the subframe if you remove the small brace that goes between the transmission and the exhaust. This gives you just enough clearance to get the rack in and out.
Remove the rubber hose on the low pressure pipe which you can access from the passenger side wheel well. Be forewarned that the PS fluid will come draining out so have a catch pan or two ready.
Remove the small bolt that holds the low pressure pipe to the top of the steering rack so that it flops loose a bit. This helps with when you go to remove the rack.
There is a small (12mm) bolt that holds the high pressure line to the rack. Remove it.
Remove and reinstall the low pressure pipe while the rack is out of the car as the pipe's threaded connector is hard to line up and it is easy to strip the threads then all those warnings from the manufacturer come true!
The rack must be loose from the sub-frame and shifted over a bit for the steering u-joint to release from the steering input shaft of the rack. I used a long piece of steel (wood would do) to tap the u-joint up and off the input shaft.
When trying to reinstall the u-joint, tapping it lightly with a small hammer will rock the u-joint back and forth and will allow you to pull it down onto the input shaft. The RIGHT way to do this is to remove the air box and tap it from above but I had the car on a hoist and was working this from below.
When reinstalling, make sure the bracket on the high pressure hose is positioned correctly before you attach the hose connector.Take your time lining up the high pressure line hose connector. Make sure you can run the connector down with your fingers! If you can't, back it out and start over.
Make sure the new rack is centered. Count the turns as you remove the old tie rod outers then repeat this installing the new ones. Be forewarned that this might not be correct or even close enough to get you to an alignment shop! Mine wasn't by a long shot!!! Use the lines you drew on the floor to line up the tires as close as you can to each line.
Use a couple of plastic For Sale signs with a sheet of wax paper in-between to make a turn plate for the each front tire. This will help you accurately align the wheels to the lines on the floor.

Audiqv8

If you have tried everything else, it is time to check both engine and transmission mounts,

Nad1370