Steering Rack & Vibrations

[cegerer]

I had my '71 jacked up today and was turning the front wheels back and forth by grabbing the tires. I could feel 3 or 4 distinct 'notches' when doing this, which I would assume is something in the steering rack. During normal driving or even turning the wheels via the steering wheel when it's jacked up, it's not noticeable at all. There is no play in the steering. There are no noises. The steering rack was replaced in 1998, about 30,000 miles ago.

I do have a front end vibration problem at certain speeds that I have been chasing for a while. Sometimes it feels like an 'up and down' vibration. The car tracks straight and doesn't wander. It's not the tires/wheels (same basic problem with 2 different sets of wheels and tires). Could a steering rack that feels tight, actually be worn and cause front end vibrations? How about worn struts? I've got turbo tie rods and can't see any problems there. The stabilizer bar bushings have uneven wear and should be replaced but aren't loose. Any ideas? Thanks.

[Oh Haha]

Bumping as I have a funny vibration as well.

[Early_S_Man]

Curt,

Have you ever had that rack apart to clean and lube??? The plain brown/yellow grease [appears to be plain wheel bearing grease] ZF applied at the factory can get old and caked/dried out over the years.

I would suggest cleaning and relubing/repacking with Valvoline SynPower Synthetic Grease with moly #985 or #986 ... you might be surprised at the results!

[cegerer]

Warren - Thanks. It hasn't been apart. I looked through the PO's records and saw that it was replaced in 1998. I guess I've got a project to add to the list! Could this cause vibration issues, given that I can detect no 'looseness' in the steering components? -- Curt

[dean]

Hi Curt,

I have the same notchyness in my rack. Last winter I tried to rebuild my rack. I couldn't get any parts for it. So I ended up cleaning and repacking it. I also was able to rotate the rack preload puck so there is less play.

I wasn't able to get rid of the notchiness. I think it is some sort of bind in the steering collum u-joints. So I don't think you will fix the problem by taking apart the rack.

If I were you I would disconnect the steering collum at the rack and see if the notchiness is still there. I bet it is gone.

Good luck

[cegerer]

Thanks Dean, I'll give that a try first.