[DonE]

Originally Posted by burgermeister

I've had the lower steering shaft U-joint bind. Try some WD40 and motor oil on it.

I've also had the steering rack bind. If you remove the big steel plate underneath the rack & fuel pump, you can take one of the rack cover plates off (careful - there are shims, a spring, and a puck in there, and you need to keep track of them all) and see what the state of lubrication is inside the rack.

If it's all dry & crumbly, you can try to lube the puck, and maybe remove the tie rod boots to try to get some grease on the rack teeth, but you're probably better off taking the rack out & apart and greasing everything properly. Tim Hancock has a great thread on the subject, as well as part numbers for the bearings in the rack.

Wow did this make a difference. It's a different car now - thanks again.