I just finished my car and am now able to drive it. I have the steeroids rack and pinion in it. The alignment settings are 2.2* caster, 0* camber and stock toe in. The problem is when I am going straight I have to turn the steering wheel about 1.8th of a turn in either direction before the car will turn. Shouldnt this be nice and tight? Any suggestions?
steeroids / J-car Rack and pinion = Sloppy steering
- Thread starter dcstang67
- Start date
get someone to turn the wheel for you while you watch all the steering components for any slack, also check the ball joints as well. if that all checks out double check your alignment settings, if the tech didn't drive the car after setting the alignment and then recheck it after the test drive to make sure everything was still in specs your alignment may not be correct. i like to have at least 1/2 to 1 full degree of negative camber on a street car because it makes the car more responsive espcially in corners but even in a straight line it's more responsive and less "twitchy" too. also make sure he has the toe set to 1/8" of toe-in too. if all that checks out good too then you probably have a defective or loose rack. you may be able to adjust the rack to compensate but i'm not sure what the process is on the J-car rack
Power rack I assume. If so, the alignment specs that Steeroids recommends for a street car are:
Camber: 0 to -1/2 degree
Caster: 3 to 4 degree
Toe: 1/16" to 1/8" toe-in
I agree though with the previous post that camber could go up to -1 degree, and I would set the toe at 1/8". Your caster setting is out of spec for what Steeroids recommends but I would not think 2.2 degrees would cause what you described. Also, check that everything is tight in the steering system from the wheel to the spindles. There is also a slack adjustment which sets the gear lash between the rack and the pinion gear. It is located on the back side of the rack in line with the input shaft from the steering wheel. To set it you have to loosen the lock nut, tighten the adjusting screw snug and then back it off a little (about 1/8 turn). I have not personally done this adjustment on a J-car rack, but have done it on others.
Camber: 0 to -1/2 degree
Caster: 3 to 4 degree
Toe: 1/16" to 1/8" toe-in
I agree though with the previous post that camber could go up to -1 degree, and I would set the toe at 1/8". Your caster setting is out of spec for what Steeroids recommends but I would not think 2.2 degrees would cause what you described. Also, check that everything is tight in the steering system from the wheel to the spindles. There is also a slack adjustment which sets the gear lash between the rack and the pinion gear. It is located on the back side of the rack in line with the input shaft from the steering wheel. To set it you have to loosen the lock nut, tighten the adjusting screw snug and then back it off a little (about 1/8 turn). I have not personally done this adjustment on a J-car rack, but have done it on others.
more caster will improve the "centering effect" when you let go of the wheel.
my bet is the toe is off. I don't know what stock alignment specs are, but excessive toe-in will make it slow to respond to turning the wheel.
my bet is the toe is off. I don't know what stock alignment specs are, but excessive toe-in will make it slow to respond to turning the wheel.
Figured it out today. One of the bolts that bolt the center bracket to the rack loosened up and the bracket was twisting. I put on some red threadlocker on the 2 bolts and cranked them down as tight as I could. I then noticed some play in the rack itself, so I tightened up the rack a little but not too much. It now feels like a new car. Thanks for your input.
What great timing for this thread. I drove my car last night and noticed the steering was very sloppy on my Steeroids rack. My bolts also came loose and I also tightened up the rack. It feels much better now. I couldn't test drive the car due to weather but I will take it out in a day or so. Thanks for the help!
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