michaelbteam Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 My daughter's 03 LL Bean [85K] just developed "play" in the steering wheel, maybe 1". I jacked up the car and investigated the suspension which seems OK, and the tires have no sign of uneven wear, wheel bearings seem good, no shimmy while driving. Could this be a bad RACK, is it adjustable? Replaceable by me? All my experience is with older Subies, this is new territory for me, any help APPRECIATED! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frag Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 My daughter's 03 LL Bean [85K] just developed "play" in the steering wheel, maybe 1". I jacked up the car and investigated the suspension which seems OK, and the tires have no sign of uneven wear, wheel bearings seem good, no shimmy while driving. Could this be a bad RACK, is it adjustable? Replaceable by me? All my experience is with older Subies, this is new territory for me, any help APPRECIATED! Before doing anything expensive or complicated, have a look at the universal joint binding the steering column to the rack. Follow the steering column as it exit the firewall on the engine side and you'll find THEM. There two in line and in my case it was the second one (closest to the rack) that needed a turn of the wrench. Let's hope it truns out to be as easy as that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CNY_Dave Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 Make sure the steering lock is off, car on ground, wheels straight, engine off, have someone rock the wheel back and forth just to where the wheels want to turn. This will highlight a bad steering U-joint or sliding joint. Is there as much play with the engine off vs engine on? BTW, this could be a prelude to total steering failure, so until you determine its not a failing joint, I wouldn't drive it (much or fast, anyway). Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uniberp Posted November 7, 2007 Share Posted November 7, 2007 My daughter's 03 LL Bean [85K] just developed "play" in the steering wheel, maybe 1". I jacked up the car and investigated the suspension which seems OK, and the tires have no sign of uneven wear, wheel bearings seem good, no shimmy while driving. Could this be a bad RACK, is it adjustable? Replaceable by me? All my experience is with older Subies, this is new territory for me, any help APPRECIATED! Toe-out can feel like 'play' Maybe teh driver hit somethign pretty hard and whacked the alignment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaelbteam Posted November 8, 2007 Author Share Posted November 8, 2007 THANKS! I took a good look at the joints and don't see anything obvious yet. I'll see if the joints need tightening if I can get to them amidst the hoses. MB Before doing anything expensive or complicated, have a look at the universal joint binding the steering column to the rack. Follow the steering column as it exit the firewall on the engine side and you'll find THEM. There two in line and in my case it was the second one (closest to the rack) that needed a turn of the wrench. Let's hope it truns out to be as easy as that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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