GoldFinder25 Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 I saw the earlier post of rack and pinion problem but my problem differs a little from his. When this problem started, sometime when it was dry but always when it was wet, when i would turn about a 1/3 a turn either way my wheel makes a rather loud clanking/popping noise. My truck tends to pull to the left a little but after turning hard to the right my truck will pull drastically to the right until i make a hard turn back to the left at which point it will steer normal again(witch really sucks cause it is hard to turn the wheel when your not at a red light haha). Also my wheel would continue to move further and further to the left(it got to about a 1/8 of a turn to the left to steer straight). So this was about a year or so ago my wheel was getting pretty far off to the side and one of my buddies suggest a bad tie rod might be causing this.So i took it to a shop and told them about the noise and alignment problems and asked them to check it out. The shop claimed they could never hear the popping noise(i dont know how although it does kind of come and go unless its wet). Also they said my tie rods were good and they basically blamed the alignment/steering problem on the oil filter. Since it is located above the steering mechanism they said from dripping and the lube shop not cleaning enough after oil changes that this was causing my steering unit to slide back and forth and basically not stay in the correct position. i never really bought that this was the real cause of the problem although logically this kind of explains the wheel pulling to opposite sides when i turn. Since i took it in the problems has improved but the popping/clanking noise has reduced to only when it is wet out and alignment/pulling is better but still contining. If anyone has dealt with, heard of, or even has an idea about what this is please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 Sounds scary. I guess I'm not an expert, but that shop sounds crazy. A bit of oil should not be able to make your steering wander around... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted October 18, 2011 Share Posted October 18, 2011 This may sound crazy but, I've recently developed some play in my steering and noticed that the steering wheel hesitates to return to the straight position after making the turn. I also noticed that I have a lot of slack in my power steering belt and plan to change it this weekend. I'll post back here the results (if any). *i don't hear any popping though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) The problem you described earlier was diagnosed properly by the shop. Oil dripping from the filter during oil changes falls onto one of the two rubber bushings that secure the rack to the subframe. Oil disintegrates rubber, and without both of those bushings, the rack can't be held in place. As for the popping/clanking noise, how many miles are on your struts? The popping noise could be caused by worn-out strut bearings. Edited October 19, 2011 by XPLORx4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 So... it clanks, pulls hard to that side, then when it clanks again, it's normal/the other way? Sounds like the pinion's skipping teeth on the rack. The lack of oil (?) may have worn out the bushings or whatever in the steering box. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sewebster Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 The problem you described earlier was diagnosed properly by the shop. Oil dripping from the filter during oil changes falls onto one of the two rubber bushings that secure the rack to the subframe. Oil disintegrates rubber, and without both of those bushings, the rack can't be held in place. Hmm, interesting. You'd think the shop would have told him to replace the bushings though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 19, 2011 Share Posted October 19, 2011 (edited) Hmm, interesting. You'd think the shop would have told him to replace the bushings though! I assumed that the shop replaced the bushings for him since the "problems have improved". Edited October 19, 2011 by XPLORx4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldFinder25 Posted October 24, 2011 Author Share Posted October 24, 2011 The problem you described earlier was diagnosed properly by the shop. Oil dripping from the filter during oil changes falls onto one of the two rubber bushings that secure the rack to the subframe. Oil disintegrates rubber, and without both of those bushings, the rack can't be held in place. As for the popping/clanking noise, how many miles are on your struts? The popping noise could be caused by worn-out strut bearings. I had to check my records but yes the did in fact change my bushings so i guess this is why the problem has improved. I have 131,000 miles on my car and im not sure about if my struts have been changed or not. I have been considering getting a lift on my truck so this might just influence my decision if i find that they haven't been changed. If my struts were indeed in need of being changed would this make my truck pull one way or the other or just cause a terrible noise? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 Does your truck actually pull to one side or the other or does the wheel just not center when you drive straight? If the truck actually pulls (that is, you have to keep constant pressure on the steering wheel to keep it from drifting) then that's an indication of alignment problems. Popping, clunking, clanking, etc. that occurs only when turning the steering wheel indicates that the strut bearings or the steering rack is worn. It's more likely that the strut bearings are worn out than the steering rack is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hld247 Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 GoldFinder...I'm right there with you on the popping while turning going around corners and the alignment being off. I've noticed it only happens if I max out the steering wheel (U-turn or hard turn left or right) and it's colder weather out. My symptoms including: popping from front suspension steering wheel off center alignment is off (even if hold wheel in off center position) fix includes moving the wheel in the opposite direction the path is pulling until I hear the pop (more of a clunk similar to the suspension settling) or moving the steering wheel to the max and pulling on the wheel a couple times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted October 24, 2011 Share Posted October 24, 2011 This may sound crazy but, I've recently developed some play in my steering and noticed that the steering wheel hesitates to return to the straight position after making the turn. I also noticed that I have a lot of slack in my power steering belt and plan to change it this weekend. I'll post back here the results (if any). *i don't hear any popping though. Okay. This is not the same issue but, I replaced my power steering belt and everything is fine now. Just throwing that out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldFinder25 Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 Does your truck actually pull to one side or the other or does the wheel just not center when you drive straight? If the truck actually pulls (that is, you have to keep constant pressure on the steering wheel to keep it from drifting) then that's an indication of alignment problems. Popping, clunking, clanking, etc. that occurs only when turning the steering wheel indicates that the strut bearings or the steering rack is worn. It's more likely that the strut bearings are worn out than the steering rack is. Since the bushings where replaced the problem has significantly improved but with that said sometimes, it isn't always consistent cause sometimes it will just seem to pull more and the next time i drive or even after making a hard turn or u-turn it will drive normal with no pull. However the problem is amplified when it is wet and when its wet my truck seems to slightly pull to the left unless i make a hard turn or U-turn to the right(past the point of the popping noise which only happens when its wet) it will pull hard to the right until i can turn back past the popping point to the left and it will go back to slightly pulling to the left with is normal for my car i guess. And i have always thought that the popping noise sounded like my suspension so i might have it checked out at the shop. HLD247 described the symptoms pretty exactly My symptoms including: popping from front suspension - still happens almost only when its wet steering wheel off center - a little but better since bushing change alignment is off (even if hold wheel in off center position)- better since bushings change fix includes moving the wheel in the opposite direction the path is pulling until I hear the pop (more of a clunk similar to the suspension settling) or moving the steering wheel to the max and pulling on the wheel a couple times. - still happens almost only when its wet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldFinder25 Posted October 25, 2011 Author Share Posted October 25, 2011 GoldFinder...I'm right there with you on the popping while turning going around corners and the alignment being off. I've noticed it only happens if I max out the steering wheel (U-turn or hard turn left or right) and it's colder weather out. My symptoms including: popping from front suspension steering wheel off center alignment is off (even if hold wheel in off center position) fix includes moving the wheel in the opposite direction the path is pulling until I hear the pop (more of a clunk similar to the suspension settling) or moving the steering wheel to the max and pulling on the wheel a couple times. Yeah you pretty much explained my problems exactly but i got my as xplorx4 changing my bushings has made the problem much better but it still happens when its wet. do you notice that it is worse when it is raining out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XPLORx4 Posted October 25, 2011 Share Posted October 25, 2011 (edited) What you've described really seems to be symptomatic of completely shot strut bearings. If the strut bearings are "sticking" the wheels cannot turn left/right freely and the whole strut assembly binds. When you turn past the toughest binding point, the tension is released and the strut bearing "pops". Worn bearings will also keep the truck from tracking straight, no matter how good your alignment is. The strut "bearing" is actually just two plastic rings that snap together, and between the two rings is a greased hard-plastic (maybe delrin?) ring that allows the top and bottom halves of the bearing to rotate. They're not terribly robust. The first time I changed my struts (around 60K miles), the bearings were totally dried out, although they weren't binding. Here's what the strut "bearing" looks like: This is the inside of a worn strut bearing. It's supposed to be really smooth and full of white grease, not scored and dried out. to see a youtube video of a guy who replaced the strut bearing himself. Fast-forward to 8:00 in to see pics of the condition of the old strut bearing that was replaced. Edited October 25, 2011 by XPLORx4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldFinder25 Posted October 26, 2011 Author Share Posted October 26, 2011 What you've described really seems to be symptomatic of completely shot strut bearings. If the strut bearings are "sticking" the wheels cannot turn left/right freely and the whole strut assembly binds. When you turn past the toughest binding point, the tension is released and the strut bearing "pops". Worn bearings will also keep the truck from tracking straight, no matter how good your alignment is. The strut "bearing" is actually just two plastic rings that snap together, and between the two rings is a greased hard-plastic (maybe delrin?) ring that allows the top and bottom halves of the bearing to rotate. They're not terribly robust. The first time I changed my struts (around 60K miles), the bearings were totally dried out, although they weren't binding. Here's what the strut "bearing" looks like: This is the inside of a worn strut bearing. It's supposed to be really smooth and full of white grease, not scored and dried out. to see a youtube video of a guy who replaced the strut bearing himself. Fast-forward to 8:00 in to see pics of the condition of the old strut bearing that was replaced. Thanks for all of your input and insight on my issue. I am definitely gonna have my strut bearings checked out, hope that this is the solution to problem. I will post back after i have it checked either way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldFinder25 Posted December 14, 2011 Author Share Posted December 14, 2011 Does your truck actually pull to one side or the other or does the wheel just not center when you drive straight? If the truck actually pulls (that is, you have to keep constant pressure on the steering wheel to keep it from drifting) then that's an indication of alignment problems. Popping, clunking, clanking, etc. that occurs only when turning the steering wheel indicates that the strut bearings or the steering rack is worn. It's more likely that the strut bearings are worn out than the steering rack is. ok first off unfortunately i havent been able to post anything in a month or so do to some router issues in my house. I took the pathy in to the dealership to have to recalls checked out especially cause mine is orignally from new york(everything was fine), but i told them of the noise and asked them to look at it. They said my passenger side stablizer was bad and that was causing the noise (kind of doubht that but if it was bad it wouldnt hurt to change it). The new stablizer made my wheel much stiffer and more responsive but the noise continued when it was wet.(although on the 2nd day a new mechanic fixed the driver side first on accident so got a new driver side stablizer for free lol). I had been playing with the idea of getting the 2" ac lift so i figured if this was going to happen i could just change out the bearing then. but to make sure this was the problem before i made the investment i took it into have it looked at. I drenched the strut with a hose before taking it in so the noise was present. with the truck just parked turning the wheel back and forth the intire spring coil was actully spinning around the strut and causing the noise. So i decided my spring and mounts where in fact the problem. So i went ahead and ordered my set of new OEM strut mounts and GR-2 sturts and R9000XL shocks kit on the way. cant wait to see how the kit looks when its done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldFinder25 Posted December 17, 2011 Author Share Posted December 17, 2011 just got home with the new lift on. love how it sits and handels now and no knocking so far (finally lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Towncivilian Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Looking good. Are your bumpers and fender flares black from the factory? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmons Posted December 17, 2011 Share Posted December 17, 2011 Had the same problem on my vehicle. Turned out to be the brackets that have bushings and seat the power steering rack on the sub frame. One of the bushings went bad and the rack started to slip. It also made clanking noises after a turn or over a bump. After they were both replaced, problem solved. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldFinder25 Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Looking good. Are your bumpers and fender flares black from the factory? no they are a dark gray. i sprayed do it yourself bed liner under my doors to protect my finish after removing my running boards. i am actually thinging about getting new bumpers that r black and painting the fender flares balck too. got bigger things to do first though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoldFinder25 Posted December 22, 2011 Author Share Posted December 22, 2011 Had the same problem on my vehicle. Turned out to be the brackets that have bushings and seat the power steering rack on the sub frame. One of the bushings went bad and the rack started to slip. It also made clanking noises after a turn or over a bump. After they were both replaced, problem solved. yeah i had the bushings changed and it greatly improved but my new strut mounts make it drive like a new truck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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