I just picked up a 92 Loyale and it has very sloppy steering, especially compared to my old one. My grandpas '77 Newport felt like less of a boat. The suspension is quite soft, but not night and day compared to my old one. I am fairly certain I need to replace my struts. There is a fair bit of body roll that makes the steering sloppy but I feel like there is a bunch of play in the steering wheel before any movement in the wheels. At full lock it also causes the steering wheel to "bounce" back off full lock.

I am going to get all my work done by a friend who is a mechanic. With my work schedule and our arrangement, it would really help to try and pre-diagnose this before I could leave it with him. I am thinking of getting some king springs and kybs but am worried that is not all of the problem. I could also pull parts from my old one if needed. Thoughts?

The steering rack is held in place by rubber bushings. Sounds like they may need replaced. The rack itself could be moving side to side. 

There is also a back-lash adjustment in the rack, but you would want all your  front end bushings and ball joints, etc,...replaced before doing that adjustment.

Thanks for the feedback guys. 

 

Personally I would put the front wheels in the air (make sure to chalk the tires, parking brake is up front), lock the steering, and move the front wheels back and forth.. Should be obvious where the slack is (outer tie-rod ends or rack bushings would be my guess).

delay in steering is typical steering rack bushing failure.  inspect them - they are usually gone, oil saturated, or deteriorated.

you turn the wheel...the rack moves instead of the wheels turning due to compromised bushing...then once all the slack is taken up - the wheels turn.

I had a lot of play in my 91 Loyale. I replaced the inner and outer tie rods and boots and the tie rod ends. This tightened up the steerings a lot. then I replaced all four struts and the front strut tower mounts, HUGE difference. The car is very tight now. The strut replacement isn't too bad if you know how to use a spring compression tool(which can be very dangerous).

My ball joint went out on one side.  Steering was not tight and there was a frequent click when I turned.  Grabbing the front tire and moving it from side to side, revealed the culprit.

Anyone have a part number for the steering rack bushings?  Mine are toastada