I just had my 01 Nissan Sentra in for an alignment. They found that the passenger side inner tie rod was a little loose so I had them replace it now rather than wait because then I would have to pay to align it again. I’ve had this phantom thumping sound within my steering wheel for a while now and the tech said it is in the steering rack, but I don’t have any play in the steering wheel. I never have to over correct or at least it has not gotten to that point. Yet. Will this issue however cause any problems with it staying aligned?
wear in steering rack
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Can you adjust the rack on a Nissan like you can do on a Honda? I had the thumping sound thing on my Accord, and just before I was about to replace the rack with a new one I happened across threads showing how to adjust the rack. I bought the special wrench for under $20 and the adjustment did the trick. No more noise.
Originally Posted By: kschachn
Can you adjust the rack on a Nissan like you can do on a Honda? I had the thumping sound thing on my Accord, and just before I was about to replace the rack with a new one I happened across threads showing how to adjust the rack. I bought the special wrench for under $20 and the adjustment did the trick. No more noise.
I have not a clue. wouldn't that be nice if it did?
Can you adjust the rack on a Nissan like you can do on a Honda? I had the thumping sound thing on my Accord, and just before I was about to replace the rack with a new one I happened across threads showing how to adjust the rack. I bought the special wrench for under $20 and the adjustment did the trick. No more noise.
I have not a clue. wouldn't that be nice if it did?
I doesn't appear there is any sort of external adjustment on this unit from just looking at the exploded diagram of it.
It may have bad mounting insulators though, to check it pull the rack both left and right from the wheel opening.
Do you have any vertical movement at the steering wheel?
It may have bad mounting insulators though, to check it pull the rack both left and right from the wheel opening.
Do you have any vertical movement at the steering wheel?
Even if it was "adjustable", you would need service specs to adjust it "to". The Honda FSM gives the numbers and a procedure, I wouldn't even think of messing with one without that. I did some searching and it didn't seem like it was to me either.
Those insulators are a good suggestion. Often even if the manufacturer doesn't sell them there are aftermarket polyurethane ones. My Sienna had worn insulators and I bought Whiteline ones for replacements. It cured that car's problem too.
Originally Posted By: Trav
I doesn't appear there is any sort of external adjustment on this unit from just looking at the exploded diagram of it.
It may have bad mounting insulators though, to check it pull the rack both left and right from the wheel opening.
Do you have any vertical movement at the steering wheel?
Those insulators are a good suggestion. Often even if the manufacturer doesn't sell them there are aftermarket polyurethane ones. My Sienna had worn insulators and I bought Whiteline ones for replacements. It cured that car's problem too.
Originally Posted By: Trav
I doesn't appear there is any sort of external adjustment on this unit from just looking at the exploded diagram of it.
It may have bad mounting insulators though, to check it pull the rack both left and right from the wheel opening.
Do you have any vertical movement at the steering wheel?
Pry between the subframe and the steering rack. If you get almost no movement, your P/S rack to frame bushings are okay. If you do get movement, you should replace the bushings, but sometimes P/S rack bushings are made nearly impossible to DIY.
If the P/S rack bushings are weak, the car will not stay in the center of the road even if you hold the steering wheel straight. Either the car will wander back and forth, or the car will move in the direction of the road crown.
As for a weak or sloppy steering shaft, I am only used to seeing that on GM cars. Sure, it can happen to any car, but I am not used to seeing it on other cars.
If the P/S rack bushings are weak, the car will not stay in the center of the road even if you hold the steering wheel straight. Either the car will wander back and forth, or the car will move in the direction of the road crown.
As for a weak or sloppy steering shaft, I am only used to seeing that on GM cars. Sure, it can happen to any car, but I am not used to seeing it on other cars.
What kind of adjustment can one make to a steering rack??? Never heard of that. Bad bushings are common.
Lots of racks are adjustable. Back in the day many were done with shims under the pinion cover now many just use a screw or nut with a lock nut on the yoke.
An example of shims used in some older units.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Escort-Mk1-MK2-S...=item35c68b00c6
More modern unit.
http://image.superchevy.com/f/38223499+w...r-clear-020.jpg
An example of shims used in some older units.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Escort-Mk1-MK2-S...=item35c68b00c6
More modern unit.
http://image.superchevy.com/f/38223499+w...r-clear-020.jpg
Here is a thread on a random board talking about adjusting the Honda rack. This guy's problem was a weird wandering feel, mine was noise. But the fix was the same.
If you google "adjust honda steering rack" you will get a lot of similar hits:
http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2572614
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
What kind of adjustment can one make to a steering rack??? Never heard of that. Bad bushings are common.
If you google "adjust honda steering rack" you will get a lot of similar hits:
http://honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2572614
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
What kind of adjustment can one make to a steering rack??? Never heard of that. Bad bushings are common.
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