I've finally gotten Q2's renovations underway. My goal is to replace as much suspension rubber at one time so I don't have to mess with it for a while. That means new:
*rear shocks (blues), all new shock bushings and boots*sway bar bushings, end links, and end link bushings*outer tie rod ends and rack boots*rack bushings*tension rods*upper links
Surprisingly, most of what I've removed (including the OEM rear shocks) seem to be in pretty good shape. I think with plenty of treatment, the other rubber bushings should be fine for a long time... Just need to remember to buy some Wurth from T3 while I'm down there.
I'm also replacing the master cylinder, rotors, flex lines (to SS Technafit), installing a transmission cooler, new hoses and T-Stat, etc. Busy week or so ahead.
Anyway, enough background-here's my real question. While replacing the rack bushings yesterday, I removed the u-joint that connects the steering wheel shaft to the rack so I could push the rack up enough to get the left bushing off. While I had it off, I noticed that one joint moves really easily, while the other doesn't. The stiff one isn't super-stiff, or even notchy, but I'm wondering, has anyone ever replaced one of these joints before? It's easy enough to get to without removing stuff, and the steering feels fine, so I'm inclined to not mess with it for now. The car only has 47K and as far as I know Q1's is fine with 196K, so I'm not sure if I want to drop $60 into this part right now - but I thought I'd get some feedback.
Heath
Steering Shaft to Rack U-Joint Question...
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gloucester Q
- Posts: 258
- Joined: Mon Dec 02, 2002 1:08 pm
- Car: 90 Q
- Location: Gloucester MA
heath-i can't answer your question, but i'll chip in on something that happened to my 93q (60k miles) 2 months ago. i was driving, and the steering felt like it 'stuck' going around a curve. i could still steer the car, but it had a notchy feel, which would come and go as it pleased. i took it to my local mechanic (not a dealer) and asked him to look it over. he traced it to the u-joint, and said that the 2 bolts holding it together were lose, and had they come completely undone, i'd have lost my steering ability. anyway, he soaked it in oil (he also mentioned that while turning it, he felt some resistance), put it back together, told me to come back in a few weeks and he'd see if it needed re-tightening, or if he felt he should put in a new part. it's been a couple months now, and the bolts have stayed tight, and the steering has been fine since. i would guess that you're set, considering your steering feels fine and with the low miles on the car. i guess it'd be nice if we could get a new part and see what kind of behaviour it exhibits. if i do get him to replace the part at some point, i'll be sure to ask him about it before it goes in the car.
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Q451990
- Moderator
- Posts: 11030
- Joined: Tue Jul 23, 2002 8:21 am
- Car: 1990 Q45 - 118K, 2022 Toyota 4 Runner, 2004 Frontier M/T - 108K, 2012 Xterra (Mom's), 2023 Rogue (Inlaws)
- Location: Columbia, SC
- Contact:
BIG Update
I changed the oil on "Q1" today and decided to try to find a problem that's been getting worse with the power steering. I've been having a problem with the P/S feeling really stiff for the first several miles after the car has been sitting overnight. After driving for a while it seemed to return to near normal, but still stiffer than it should be. In the last few days it almost felt like the steering was sticking sometimes or notchy.
Anyway I checked the resistance on the solenoid, and it check out at 6 ohms. Then I figured I'd check this u-joint to see how it compares with the feel of the one on Q2 (the original point of this post). BIG surprise - one side was really loose, and the other was completely locked up! I put the joint from Q2 on Q1 and the steering feel is way better!! This part is easy to check - just two 12MM bolts. If you have a higher mileage Q, I'd recommend checking it for stiffness or worse. It's only a couple of inches from the left pre-cat, so I suspect that the reason mine got better after the car warmed up was the heat - but that probably helps destroy them as well. In case anyone is wondering - this thing costs about $58 from Scottsdale...
Heath
Anyway I checked the resistance on the solenoid, and it check out at 6 ohms. Then I figured I'd check this u-joint to see how it compares with the feel of the one on Q2 (the original point of this post). BIG surprise - one side was really loose, and the other was completely locked up! I put the joint from Q2 on Q1 and the steering feel is way better!! This part is easy to check - just two 12MM bolts. If you have a higher mileage Q, I'd recommend checking it for stiffness or worse. It's only a couple of inches from the left pre-cat, so I suspect that the reason mine got better after the car warmed up was the heat - but that probably helps destroy them as well. In case anyone is wondering - this thing costs about $58 from Scottsdale...
Heath