play in the rack?

[tripleweber]

So when I bought my Mr2 there were serious steering and suspension problems. The car was all over the road, bouncy, and the steering wheel shook pretty badly when I was anywhere above 50mph or so.
So I started replacing things I already knew it needed in hope of fixing its misc problems.

It needed struts all the way around, so I got it all replaced, and tightened up everything. It needed new tires so when I replaced them I got them balanced and got an alignment on the car.

It is WORLDS different now, but that dang oscillation in the steering wheel is still there. It's not nearly as bad, but it bugs the heck out of me during my weekly 250 mile commute. It's almost like it 'acts up'. It will be fine on a new patch of pavement, but on a rough freeway its hard to keep it from making my arms tired.

I took the car to the shop to get it in the air and they said everything was good and tight under there, so they say next step is to look into the rack..
How can I test what to rule out everything but the rack? Its a manual steering car by the way.

Every once in a while on the freeway it will get into a rut and pull extremely hard one way or the other. Related?

Let me know where you guys think I should go from here

[Sh0ty]

Could try locking the wheels tight and moving the wheel?

Also look into worn alignment parts (if worn, they drop alignment pretty quick)
Also, wheel bearings and balljoints may factor into this.

If you know that it's the rack, I'd have to say replace it.

[Ben]

If the wheel bearings, ball joints, and tie rods are good; and you say its fine on good roads and only acts up on rough roads, then I would say its the road and not the car. Road conditions are a big factor in what a car does

[Sh0ty]

Oh yeah, completely glazed over the rough roads bit. That would certainly do it. Something to note though is that rougher roads can expose suspension issues, like in another board member's car. Going over a bump or manhole cover would make the rear end shimmy around an inch or three. His entire rear setup is shot and he's running skinny mini tires.

[tripleweber]

I'll have to triple check the bearings.. but seriously when I'm on the freeway it is very intense.

I have a classic mustang with manual steering and almost everything is bad in the front end but it doesn't shake like this. I've never driven a car like this.
It's not always rough roads, sometimes it just shakes and I can't imagine why, cause this last weekend I took it out in the middle of no where and took it up to 60mph, and let go of the wheel. The car went in a straight line no problem, didn't have to keep my hands on it, and the road felt fine through the suspension.

If I closed my eyes the road didn't feel rough, but that wheel just went on an acid trip and shook crazily.. It almost gets hard to hold on to because of it

[NCDavid98]

You know funny I stumbled upon this thread. I have just bought a 1992 MR2 with manual steering and I am having an issue just like yours. At speed it shakes in the steering wheel and completely annoys me. The previous owner of mine replaced balljoints and tie rod ends. And also with mine when I make a left hand turn in say a parking lot it seems to creek and pop in the passenger side for some reason. And also when i apply brakes quick the front steering shakes.

[sabing]

your lugs torqued tight?

[tripleweber]

On the wheels? Yeah they are right

[MR JAS]

just a theoy i wonder if the alingment has left it with no castor that makes it very unpredictable

[tripleweber]

Thanks, I'll have to look into that. I'll try film it and post a video by this weekend so you guys can see what I'm talking about...

Is there anything in the tilt steering that could cause crazy shaking? I've started to think of all sorts of random possibilities..

[Jason.MZW20]

Originally Posted by tripleweber

but that dang oscillation in the steering wheel is still there.

Aftermarket wheels? Make sure they have hub centric/centering rings installed. That can cause steering wheel shimmy. The wheels need to center on the hub.

A lot of tire shops seem to lose them when doing work like replacing or rotating tires, so make sure your rim isn't just floating over the hub.

[tripleweber]

Alright thanks Jason, I'll check. My neighbor has a lift so I can get to anything under the car pretty easy. If I take out the rack, how can I tell if it's bad or not? Or is it simply find one from a totaled car, swap the rack and see if that fixes it..

[The Architek]

i know this is an old threat but did u found the problem, i seem to have the very same one

[WrenchswingeR]

you can adjust the steering rack tension pre-load on the mk2, for free, with pretty noticeable results. p/s racks internals wear in after 20 some odd years on the road, but adjusting this nut takes up that slack, tightens steering, reduces kickback/shimmy. You have to remove the rack mounting bolts, pry rack off of frame (no need to disconnect s.column linkage or tie rods) and sneak a fat 32mm?? wrench or huge adjustable wrench in there loosen locknut and turn center adj. nut clockwise 1/8 - 1/4 turn then tighten locknut back down. Guarantee you'll be amazed at results

[The Architek]

awsome will try this tomorrow morniing im tire of my aftermarket steering wheel trying to come out loose because of this play

[mr.2.fay]

Theres one thing been left out to check and its more than likely the cause, wheel balance. This is key to vibration free driving. Aftermarket wheels more than likely will have a heavy spot on them. Go to your tyre shop and ask for a balance, its cheap too

[The Architek]

i just put new tires and balanced them and did an alignment and everything