newworld

87s4 aut.

not good. steering wheel has free play either direction until it engages, and then sometimes suddenly jerks in left direction. bfore it would jerk suddenly, but i had control in either direction. today, it has free play until you turn it more than 180 deg then it engages.

my guess is bushings worn? very dangerous situation

my question is are there bushings in steering column that can cause this or more than likely bushings on the rack?

ROG100

Could be either or the rack itself failing

gruffalo

Do a search. Multiple threads on this subject. Some guys have made an extra bushing for the long end of the rack. I'm doing that too.

Good luck!

jcorenman

180 degrees? Yikes! I am guessing that one of the steering-shaft joints is disintegrating, that seems like way too much for the rack mounting bushings or the rack itself (internal bushings).

I would urgently suggest that you isolate and fix this, before any further driving. The steering should be tight and responsive.

westija

I wonder if the steering u-joint by the rack has disengaged?
Go under there and take a look.

newworld

bit of history. steering was not like this before. in the past few weeks, occasionally i would get a sudden jerk to the left but i could engage it back and then you can go for weeks and no problems.

today, on the highway, something happened and i get free play. i barely made it home, and then when parked, i can move steering wheel 180 deg until the tires move.

newworld

ps fluid is full, no whining or ps pump etc.

something mechanical, bushing, etc is the problem.
this car has a heavy engine, and it takes its toll on the steering system, just wondering what common problems are.

jcorenman

Sooo... Let me get this straight: More than once, the steering had a sudden jerk to the left, and then was OK for a while, and you did not investigate. Is that correct?

I don't mean this unkindly, but that doesn't show very good judgement. You are piloting a +/- 3500# vehicle down the road and being able to steer with at least modest accuracy is really, really important. If not for yourself, think of others.

Agreed, something mechanical-- probably related to the steering shaft.

Common steering problems are worn rack mounting bushings, and worn internal bushings. Neither of those will cause a sudden problem-- the steering gradually gets more vague or sloppy over time, so you may have an inch or two of free play, over time. Nothing like what you described.

(You may also have a worn rack with worn mounting bushings, but those symptoms have been completely masked by the complete failure of something else).

There are also two u-joints and a flex coupling in the steering shaft, if my memory is correct. Failures are rare, but they could be sudden, and severe. That's where I suspect the problem lies. It should be obvious when you crawl under the car and have a look, while someone wiggles the steering wheel. Take a flashlight, and have a look at the steering rack, and the steering shaft that runs up and aft from the rack.

newworld

I can easily jiggle tire front from east to west. North and south doesn't jiggle. I am now thinking play is from joints.

Both side really really lose east to west.

I look under and I see rack bushing bolts are gone.

The nuts on top are there, but bolts are all gone. Every single one.

Rack is not anchored at all. I pulled engine and dropped rack to do motor mounts and put antisense on the bolts. All the bolts must have wiggled lose.

The holes are somewhat misaligned, I may have to lift front off wheels as I am using ramps.

That explains the no steering issue.

jcorenman

Yep, that explains it.

I think the bolts are supposed to go in from above-- through the cross-member and rack-bushings, through bottom plate and finally a locking-nut on the bottom. That's what I recall and also what PET and WSM show.

I would suggest replacing all of the mounting hardware with factory parts: bolts are N 010 445 2 (M5 x 45), and lock-nuts are N 021 130 3.
Don't use anti-seize, either assemble dry or use blue loctite, and torque to 34 ft-lbs (important).

You should be able to get the holes to line up by wiggling the steering wheel-- without mounting bolts, the steering wheel move the rack side-to-side instead of turning the wheels.

newworld

this youtube video is similar to my play i get from side to side.

i know the bushings are worn, but how to tell if rack is gone as well?

i get some play or rockings when i put my hands 9 oclock and 3 oclock on both front tires and jiggle it.

Bill Ball

Until you replace the lost rack mount bolts, there is not much evaluation worth doing. Without the bolts, the rack is not anchored. As Jim said, they should have gone in from above. See this illustration from PET.

Bill Ball

If after you replace the rack bolts, there is SOME 3-9 play (not 180 degrees, I hope, but like that shown in the video you linked), by far the most likely candidates are the tie rod(s) (bad inner and or outer balljoints). You need to get under and pry on the balljoints or have somebody wiggle the wheel while you get under an observe them and other components for movement. The rack shaft can develop some radial play (fore-aft movement of the shaft) in the rack housing, particularly at the long side (passenger US) due to a worn internal bushing. And it's possible there is play in the U-joints on the intermediate steering shaft or in the coupler in the middle of that shaft (shown in the diagram but not numbered). Some have rebuilt that rubber coupler. These are far less likely than the tie rod balljoints. Part 4 above is the inner tie rod and outer balljoint assembly. They are not expensive. You'll need at least a front toe alignment after replacing them. But, as I said, before you go there, get the rack secured with new mount bolts and, if needed, rack mount bushings (either stock or aftermarket solid bushings).

auzivision

That's how I recall mine were installed. Further, I remember a few of the bolt heads are so close to the cross member I couldn't get a wrench or socket on them... so I improvised by cramming/wedging a big screwdriver between the crossmember wall and bolt head, then loosen and tighten the nut from below.

Scary to think that every single bolt went missing and glad you figured it out.

Mrmerlin

SRSLY , for the safety of all involved,

Please have the car towed to a competent mechanic.
For a full inspection.
dont drive the car till this is done.

So far you have been very lucky to not have totaled yourself and the car,
and others that may be on your path