play in steering wheel

[legalize420]

its very minimal but enough to notice while driving. its been like that since i have had the car. i can see the steering shaft has the same amount of play in it as i wiggle the wheel side to side. is there someting else i should check first or is the only way to fix it to get a new shaft. thanks.

 

[rrudholm]

The steering shaft has two universals in it. One under the dash and one in front of the fire wall. I had some play in mine and it ended up being the under dash universal. use a pair of channel locks and hold the shaft in font of the universal and have someone wiggle the steering wheel. check both of them this way. You may need a new steering rack if the universals are OK.

 

[95strokerPSU]

If you do think it's the steering shaft, it's really easy to remove and install a new one. I picked up a new 03' Cobra shaft off of eBay for $35 shipped. Made my steering feel a lot tighter and more responsive.

 

[rockin_rick]

High highway mileage cars often wear the rack right in the center where the rack and pinion contact most of the time. Check the other stuff first, but keep that in mind if you can't locate the problem...

Rick

 

[legalize420]

with the channel locks on the shaft the wheel has no play. a friend of mine also said it could be the rack. what else should i check? thanks

 

[Methodical]

I'm curios too.

 

[HISSIN50]

If the shaft is tight (no slop whatsoever - I check it the way the guys described, which is how I check DS U-joints too)........... I think it sounds like the rack and pinion itself too. If you havent, check tie rods (esp the inner ones - they allow a decent amount of steering arm movement when they start to get sloppy).

Good luck.

 

[94GTLaserRC]

If you do think it's the steering shaft, it's really easy to remove and install a new one. I picked up a new 03' Cobra shaft off of eBay for $35 shipped. Made my steering feel a lot tighter and more responsive.

Hmmm Good idea :SNSign:
RC