Hi guys! I hear a strange rattle noise when i hit little bumps or when i drive over small patches made of bricks. I checked under the hood and my tie-rods are fine, but i can feel the rod coming out of the rack & pinion assembly moving up and down when i turn the steering wheel rapidly. I also see a drain plug type big screw right where the rod exits the rack & pinion assembly. Does the rack & pinion need adjustment or do i have to change the whole assembly?
Any help is greatly appreciated.
97 QX4 rack & pinion rattle
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flyinggrape
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Tue Oct 14, 2008 11:46 am
Re: (kamiar)
I know exactly what the problem is. I too was stimied by the same problem for over a year. Every inspection I gave it showed nothing wrong. I replaced the rack with a new one from the dealer, installed new rotors and pads checked all the bushings, motor mounts and everything I could think of. Not even the dealer could find it. But I did! Even though the sway bar links may appear fine and don't budge when you check them for play, this is the problem. What I did was cut them off and remove the sway bar just to see if this was the problem and sure enough the sound was gone.I replaced the sway bar with new links and the problem was solved. A friend of mine was describing the same symptoms to me with his Ford Escape and we did the same thing, replaced the links and no more rattle.Not to mention, both our vehicles handle much better because the sway bar is no longer loose on each end.
Re: 97 QX4 rack & pinion rattle
Same symptoms for me. Drives me bonkers.
Sway bar links, huh? Man, I hope thats all that the issue is. I was thinking of replacing my steering rack, struts, and bushings. Ill try your fix first. Fingers crossed.
Sway bar links, huh? Man, I hope thats all that the issue is. I was thinking of replacing my steering rack, struts, and bushings. Ill try your fix first. Fingers crossed.
Re: 97 QX4 rack & pinion rattle
2 small links not the centre bar