Dave P

91 Loyale, You were right. I poured some lube down the steering shaft into the couplers and it steers great. Remind me to always take your advice! Thanks to everyone. Dave

Thanks guys. Yep, I usually do things rump roast backwards. The steering is not jerky,it's the same hard turning on full radius of turn. But on the bright side, I'm getting a fine workout. Dave

The alignment job looks good from the info sheet. What's involved in replacing the steering joints? It's about the only thing left. Thanks, dave

Oh,just had alignment done after rack replacement.

Hard to turn and consistent. Wheel does not return to center after sharp turn. 97 outback. Thanks for the help, Dave

New pump, replaced rack- steering still terrible. Need some more ideas. Thanks, Dave

I just picked up an 04 3.0 Outback with 147k and I thought it might be a good idea to move up to 10W-40? Not sure if the past owners used syn. oil or not. Thanks guys, Dave

The 3.0 is an 04, the 2.5 is an 03. The 3.0 has 146,000 and the 2.5 has 100,000. I like the idea of the 3.0 due to the fact it's out of the road salt region. Thanks for the help, dave

I found two Outbacks that look good and I can afford. One is a standard 2.5 and the other an LL Bean edition with a 3.0, 6. I've had a long history with head gasket problems in my 97 and I need input on these two engines. Both have 100,000 miles on them. Thanks guys, Dave

It's very odd. The steering is not sticky or rough in spots.It's just hard to turn the wheel and the same resistance throughout the full radius. Appreciate the ideas. Dave

All good ideas. New tires but will check other areas mentioned. Just checked price on new rack- ouch! Thanks again, dave

I thought for sure my hard steering problem in my 97 OB was due to a bad PS pump. Wrong again. Does that mean the rack needs replaced? I see no signs of leaking. Thanks for the help. Dave

I have 177,000 on this pump.New engine but same PSP. The steering has been getting progressively worse over the last week.Not sure if this applies, but the tension adjuster bolt on the alternator snapped a couple of weeks ago and with the loose belt I lost the power assist and had to drive some distance. No leaking that I can see. Thanks

The steering in my 97 outback is slowly dying. How can I determine if the cause is the rack or pump? I've redone about everything on this myself but have no experience with steering.Guess I'm about to get it. Dave

MY wife totaled our VW Jetta and the insurance company offered us around $8000 for a replacement. I want to find a used Outback but after two rebuilt engines in my 97, I'm a little wary of certain years of Outbacks which may have an inherent problem. I need your input on what to look out for in the years in my price range- 2000 to 2005. Are there engines during this time frame that should be avoided? Thanks, I know if any source can answer my questions it's this site. Dave