Ah, these problems havent stopped me from getting to California from New Mexico yesterday (14 hours) but I want to take care of them.

 

She's an '86 GL 2WD coupe with a 3AT, by the way.

 

So the car does NOT handle right. Highway driving is a nightmare. I took the car mudding in Arizona (yes, it rains sometimes) and after that, blew an axle. Replaced the axle, and now the steering wheel is turned a little left, but the alignment seems just fine. I got under the car, tie rod boot blown, and the steering rack leaks from what looks to be where the inner tie rod goes in? Then I twisted the outer tie rod ends, still connected to the car, and one has a LOT of resistance compared to the other. Then noticed my ball joint boot is blown too :-\ All of these blown things are on the driver's side.

 

And the transmission... OEM modulator (7,000 miles ago) OEM governor (metal gear, 5,000 miles old) and I had the valve body removed and cleaned about 4,000 ago. The damn thing does NOT like shifting when cold! Tranny fluid KINDA smells like gear oil, but since I've put so many miles on her, I've noticed absolutely NO mixing of the two at all. Almost every 3AT I've seen at a junkyard has a slight smell of gear oil in the ATF. Even one with 45K miles I saw in Arizona!

 

Help?

Ah, these problems havent stopped me from getting to California from New Mexico yesterday (14 hours) but I want to take care of them.

 

She's an '86 GL 2WD coupe with a 3AT, by the way.

 

So the car does NOT handle right. Highway driving is a nightmare. I took the car mudding in Arizona (yes, it rains sometimes) and after that, blew an axle. Replaced the axle, and now the steering wheel is turned a little left, but the alignment seems just fine. I got under the car, tie rod boot blown, and the steering rack leaks from what looks to be where the inner tie rod goes in? Then I twisted the outer tie rod ends, still connected to the car, and one has a LOT of resistance compared to the other. Then noticed my ball joint boot is blown too :-\ All of these blown things are on the driver's side.

 

And the transmission... OEM modulator (7,000 miles ago) OEM governor (metal gear, 5,000 miles old) and I had the valve body removed and cleaned about 4,000 ago. The damn thing does NOT like shifting when cold! Tranny fluid KINDA smells like gear oil, but since I've put so many miles on her, I've noticed absolutely NO mixing of the two at all. Almost every 3AT I've seen at a junkyard has a slight smell of gear oil in the ATF. Even one with 45K miles I saw in Arizona!

 

Help?

sup.. long time man..

 

Not sure what you want help in. Diagnosis of problem or replacement of parts.

 

NM is a bit far so next time you come in the area send me a PM and we can get rid of that crap slush box. I have a EA81 5spd FWD tranny that would fit nicely in your car. You just need to get a manual pedal box for the EA82.

 

BW

sup.. long time man..

 

Not sure what you want help in. Diagnosis of problem or replacement of parts.

 

NM is a bit far so next time you come in the area send me a PM and we can get rid of that crap slush box. I have a EA81 5spd FWD tranny that would fit nicely in your car. You just need to get a manual pedal box for the EA82.

 

BW

Whats up...

 

More of a diagnosis really... I don't know what's wrong, I can't figure it out.

 

I'm down in Irvine right now, and I'm leaving back to New Mexico tonight :-\

 

Slushbox is fine when warm... I have a line on a $200 EA82 donor wagon in Arizona with a 5 speed in it. I had a Legacy, was going to do an EJ22 5 speed swap, but that car got towed

the behavior you've described to me leads me to wonder if the steering rack is at all possible of a failure mode in which the rack allows for slop in the steering.

 

Does anyone know if this type of failure can occur with the power steering rack from a GL?

Made it back from CA to NM

 

Still having the same problems though

steering wheel is turned a little left, but the alignment seems just fine.

 

sounds like you may have bent or moved something while you were mudding.

If a shop aligns a car and the steering wheel is cocked then the job wasn't done right although the wheels maybe aligned. If you go mudding and come back with a cocked steering wheel and werid handling something is wrong.

I have some handling issues too, especially at highway speeds. I have not really solved it but I do find that if my tires get low, the handling really gets bad. I even replaced shocks a while back. It needed done from miles and age, but didn't really help the handling.

I have some handling issues too, especially at highway speeds. I have not really solved it but I do find that if my tires get low, the handling really gets bad. I even replaced shocks a while back. It needed done from miles and age, but didn't really help the handling.

 

I'm going to check the tire pressure... But I dont think thats all it is

Do you have any dead spots turing the wheel one direction than the other?

My brother blew a power steering seal on our way to WCSS 8 and after he went muddin in the oregon mud and ran the pump dry a few times, his began doing somthing simular - it has a dead spot one direction, but it responds normally the other. It's a bit squirrly at freeway speeds, that's for sure.

bent rear trailing arm? that will throw the steering wheel crooked

Check the subframe. I had an 88 do this to me, and it was eating parts. The subframe in the front was rotted, and pulling the front end apart.

 

 

nipper

Glad to hear you made it ok.

 

Give me a PM or something next time you are in town.

 

RE: the handling issue, put the car on stands and take a look at the steering /control arm stuff on either side. You will probably see a difference in the left and right side.

 

When you went mudding, did you hit anything hard that would cause the problem?

 

BTW your PM is full

 

Later

 

BW

I guess my donor status expired, have to "re-up"

 

I have put the front end on stands, and noticed nothing out of the ordinary...

 

But I noticed my passenger side rear tire is balding funny :-\

 

When I took the car mudding, I slammed it into 2nd (3AT) and I kinda 180'd the whole car Oh yeah, the steering rack boot on the DS is blown too, but minus the rack leaking from what it seems to be some hole on the end of the rack, there's nothing unusual.