Where in the hell are the washers?

[LukesCougar]

I could feel .1mm play in an inner tie rod; You can't see that move. My mech said I was nuts, but replaced it when I insisted, and that fixed it, lol.

Welp. Car is back. They are acting like you described your mechs. "We can't feel what you are feeling, maybe it's best to stop throwing money at the car, the noise you are hearing is normal play in the rack gear"

-_- losing my mind here.

Can I pull back the bellows without disconnected the tie rod so I can clearly look at the joint?

 

[XR7-4.6]

Yes, disconnect the bellow at the rack end and turn the wheel all the way out to the lock, that’ll give you full access to the inner toe rod joint

 

[LukesCougar]

Yes, disconnect the bellow at the rack end and turn the wheel all the way out to the lock, that’ll give you full access to the inner toe rod joint

thank you. will show photos of what i find

 

[LukesCougar]

welp here it is, the proof in the pudding. there isnt as much movement as i expected but also my dad isnt all as strong as he used to be.. and there shouldnt be any movement in and out what so ever right?

 

[LukesCougar]

Also if I push hard enough I can get the shaft to move in and out of the rack too, and it is also making noise

 

[XR7-4.6]

Yeah that’s excessive. Good ones should have absolutely zero play

The rack noise may or not be indicative of a worn rack, when the engine’s off (eg no pressure) they tend to feel more sloppy. Generally though rack wear happens in specific points of the rack teeth rather than the pinion so when there’s tooth wear it will feel sloppy only at a certain point in the steering wheel rather than all the way around. Less generally our factory racks are hard wearing, usually what makes them “bad” is a seal leak.

 

[LukesCougar]

Yeah that’s excessive. Good ones should have absolutely zero play

The rack noise may or not be indicative of a worn rack, when the engine’s off (eg no pressure) they tend to feel more sloppy. Generally though rack wear happens in specific points of the rack teeth rather than the pinion so when there’s tooth wear it will feel sloppy only at a certain point in the steering wheel rather than all the way around. Less generally our factory racks are hard wearing, usually what makes them “bad” is a seal leak.

well i was having that binding senation in the steering wheel (worse with bad strut rod bushings and a clunk when braking) but now there is only an intermittent pop on braking and the same binding sensation, just again not as bad. Pretty much everything is tight tight besides the steering components themselves.

This far in i assumed the ball joints themselves but my rack is noisy too

edit: it seemed to happen more than anything when trying to turn to full lock/ back to center. something would pop in and out of place in the rack/ toe rods

 

[XR7-4.6]

Both of these could be explained by bad inner tie rods,binding obviously but also popping in braking as under braking the tires will try to splay out out and then at the moment you fully stop they will unload and pop.

I mean if you want absolute peace of mind you can replace the rack, and if you’re still planning on installing poly mount bushings it’s about as much work to put them into the existing one as it is to outright replace it. I don’t think you need to but food for thought