opisdfagjo

So over the long weekend I finally decided to tackle the greasy power steering fluid mess that was the bottom of my engine bay area. I've been just refilling my car with ps fluid for the past year or two and figured it was overdue. I bought an A1 Cardone rack from Amazon (~$185) and will do the $145 rebate when I can safely test everything. Anyways, after cleaning most of the grease from the bottom of the engine, I reinstalled the rack and new-ish bushings.I then removed the ps fluid reservoir and brushed away years of built up dirt/dust/ps fluid (and cleaned the inside + replaced ps return hose) and flushed my system and refilled it with Valvoline ATF Dex-II (that stuff smells horrible). After lowering the car I realized I must be off 1 spline, maybe 2. I measured the tie rod distance from the old rack and adjusted them accordingly on the new rack before installing so I'm guessing I didn't put my steering wheel into the exact "true center." I took it to Firestone today to get an alignment thinking they would be able to do it but they called back and said they could not. It looks to be about maybe 1 turn too much to the right I think. There are less turns to the right I can do than the left iirc.

Do I have to disconnect the spline again in order to fix this? Or could I just adjust the tie rods? Should I take it somewhere else? Also, the steering seems to be buttery smooth compared to how it used to be. I'm guessing it's because the old rack was leaking? Is that normal? And is there a way to get a new solenoid filter? Mine has a small tear and could not find anything on eBay or car-parts website.

I've attached 3 photos to help. I tried searching the forums using "alignment rack" "steering rack" but couldn't find anything related to mine after 2-3 pages of looking.


This is showing how when my wheels are straight my steering wheel is off.

Just showing the spline.

Could I just loosen this part and the spline lock and pull this toward the steering wheel to adjust the spline?

I appreciate any help!

- V -

iTrader: (1)

If im understanding correctly, you can still turn your wheels from lock to lock without a problem right? i mean you can still turn your front wheels from lock to lock in order to make uturns and such but your steering wheel is off . If thats the case why dont you just park the car so that the wheels are straight and remove the steering wheel off the column and install it in the straight position. Then take it to firestone again and have them to the final small adjustments to get the wheel to be 100% straight because youll likely still be a few degrees off.

Did you get the electronically assisted variable rack when you were buying the replacement? i know when i had to change my rack on my SC300 there were 2 of them available. one of them was just a standard rack and the other one had the electronic parts that adjusted the steering weight depending on speed.

97-SC300

iTrader: (17)

Take it to a competent mechanic.

opisdfagjo

I thought about that but read on some Toyota forums that it could mess up the turning signals...? And yeah I have no problem turning and doing a full u-turn, it's just that when I'm driving straight the steering wheel is rotated to the left 90 degrees. And I got my rack without the EVO but that's just the solenoid isn't it? I just swapped the solenoid from my old rack and replaced the gasket on it.

opisdfagjo

I was honestly thinking of doing this. There's an independent Lexus mechanic with good reviews near my house that I was thinking of taking it to.

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

If you remove the steering wheel and recenter it, then it throws off the clock spring and makes a new set of problems.

The problem you're having is that the rack wasn't centered when you installed it. You can do what you were thinking of and disconnect the spline. Disconnect the bolt on the rack side and remove it completely and loosen the bolt on the top side near the master cylinder. Slide the spline up and rotate it in whatever direction you need. Get it as close to straight as possible, then take it back to the alignment shop for them to fine tune on the tie rod ends.

opisdfagjo

OK so I went through with this idea and it's much straighter now. However, when I moved the spindle up I rotated the wheel I think once or twice. I'd like to believe I was smart enough to turn it back the opposite amount of times before straightening it but I don't remember. Would this mess up the clock spring? After I got everything as straight as I could and bolted it back down I drove it around, did some turns, and then did 2 complete u-turns once to the right, and then again to the left. I was told if the clock spring was messed up all the warning lights on my dash would light up? Is there any way to check it? And would turning the steering wheel maybe once or twice without being connected to the spline mess up the clock spring?

Thanks a lot for the help.

Previous owner neglected the paint I'm saving up to get a factory match paint job.

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

The clock spring is relative to the position of the spline and the steering wheel. Your steering wheel was still attached to the spline when you spun it, so I think you're fine.

If your steering wheel is able to turn an equal amount of rotations in both directions, then you're good to go get it aligned.

opisdfagjo

OK that's good to hear. I actually took it to get aligned this morning and it ended up being free because the head mechanic was in a good mood. I drove it to work and back home both on surface streets and highway and it all seemed good. And I have equal rotations both ways I made sure to count before putting it all back together.
Thanks again for the help!