Another Steering Question

[dfoerster]

Finally got around to checking out my front end after doing Spring Creek a couple of weeks ago. I found that I have a lot of side to side play when each wheel is lifted. The play goes into the rack and pinion. The steering wheel is also off center more than ever before. Is this a sign of needing a new rack and pinion? HD recommendations?

[davestaco]

Only way to tell is to see where the play is coming from. If its inside the boots of the rack it could just be inner tie rod ends. If the play is in the rack itself my understanding is replace it. While your checking that, its good to check the ball joints too. It will have to be jacked off the ground by the lower a arm till the tire is 1 inch or so off the ground. Use a pry bar under the tire and pry up to check the lower. I pry down against the uper control arm and the coil spring for the upper ball joint. Any play = replace.

[dfoerster]

So to check the inner tie rod ends, do I need to remove the boots? If it is the tie rod ends then that should be an easy fix.

When i checked the ball joints I had it jacked up and I just pulled at the top and bottom of the tire for movement. There wasn't any.

[mrdoug]

That's how I check my inner TRE's, undo a clip and slide the boot back to where you can see the ball joint. Then wiggle the tire at 3 and 9 to see if/where there's any play.

As for the replacement, yes, it's pretty easy, but you'll need a large wrench to unscrew the inner from the rack (it's more than an inch wide, but I forget the exact size).

Look for some writeup's on the subject. You'll need to count the threads where the outter screws into the inner to maintain some sort of alignment. You'll definitely want to get an alignment when you're done, but counting threads will get you close enough to not cause any problems driving to/from the shop.

[dfoerster]

Thanks for the info. I will check this out this weekend. If I do need new tre do you recommend one?

[mrdoug]

I've used moog inner/outter TRE's from napa, but can't really say if they're the best or just "ok". They seem to work for me.

[dfoerster]

Got the boots loose and sure as shit the Inners were loose. NAPA had to order them.

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[dfoerster]

Got them installed in only a couple of hours and now I'm getting the alinement done. Pretty easy job now that I'm done. Thanks for everyone's input.