I had to make a very strong evasive maneuver while driving and turn my wheel very hard to the left. I didn't end up hitting anything, but now my steering wheel is off 20 degrees or so to the left. Car still tracks straight and true. My mechanic says that I jumped a gear in the R&P. Is this accurate? Anyone else ever do that?
Thanks John
You don't give the model or age of the car.
If you hit nothing, then nothing should be bent. Its possible that you jumped a tooth, but this would require very significant wear in the rack end bushes, in the order of about 3mm. You would hear rattling, have oil leaks in this case, and the steering would be vague or imprecise. Another possibility is that the rack has moved laterally in its rubber mounts.
In both cases, this should be looked at immediately. If its bush wear, get the bushes replaced, or a rebuilt rack or a better one from a wrecker. Likewise, the rack should not move laterally unless the rubber mounts have deteriorated (eg with a lot of oil), or one of the rack mount brackets have bent or broken. A bent or broken rack mount would give the 20 degree offset, while maintaining tracking.
Stewart DIBBS
Thanks for the feedback Stewart. I should have added the car is only a
2003 with 18,000 miles. Yeh I drive a bit, but mostly highway miles. I am making an appointment to have it seen Tuesday by the Mitsubishi dealer. I'll keep you posted with what they say.Thanks John
Stewart DIBBS wrote:
Another possibility, that should absolutely be checked, is that the steering column to rack spline is loose. It would have to be very loose to jump a spline, but this is more likely than jumping a tool on the rack in a 2003 model. But again, you would surely hear rattling or other noise and/or vagueness in the steering.
So make sure that the dealer checks it ALL, not just the wheel alignment.
Stewart DIBBS
Oh, I plan on having them fix the problem properly. I don't want them to merely adjust the tie rods to straighten my steering wheel. I want the actual problem corrected. The rack and pinion still operates smooth and quiet. No harshness or noise at all.
I thought about about the connection between the steering column and the rack, but couldn't see it from looking down into the engine compartment and wasn't in the mood to slide under and look. Jumping an actual gear on the rack seems tough to accept.
John
Stewart DIBBS wrote:
Took it to Mitsubishi today, they have no idea what is wrong. They removed the steering wheel and re-installed it at the "0" position. I am not getting an equal number of turns from left to right from my steering wheel. I might have to try another dealer.
John
Stewart DIBBS wrote:
Idiots! Your wheel should be centered so there's equal turns L-R, as you know. So if you donlt track properly, then its time for a wheel alignment, and a new dealer.
Or take it back to the dealer, again, have the steering wheel centered properly, and get the wheel alignment.
Or have a look underneath yourself.
Stewart DIBBS
No, its not a wheel alignment. I originally brought it in for a wheel alignmnet to my local shop (very honest guys) and they turned me away. Said to have the R&P fixed first. Car is under warranty, so that is why I went back to Mitsu.
I am convinced the rack jumped a gear. Stop to stop should be 2.8 turns for my car. Starting with the tires centered I get almost 1.5 turns to the right and about 1.25 to the left. Plus you can measure the actual travel of each tire when turning the wheel all the waay left and all the way right, it sticks out more on the right.
The Mitsubishi dealer was clueless, and doesn't really understand what is going on. I am going to straighten the wheel myself and bring to another dealer. Don't worry I know how to pull the wheel and will disconnect the battery so I don't hurt myself with an airbag mishap.
John
Stewart DIBBS wrote:
I finally decided to get dirty today, I re-centered the steering wheel myself. Then I eye balled the front tires and could see only one tire (front right) is pulling to the right. I am such a jerk, I never just listen to a mechanic, but this time I did.
Then I adjusted the front right tie rod to pull the toe in and took for a test drive. Pretty good firt time out of the gate. Instead of having to hold my steering wheel 20 degrees to the left to drive straight down the road, I was now at 5 degrees.
So two more turns on the tie-rod and drives beautiful again. Made an appointment for Monday morning to have a different mechanic do a 4 wheel alignment.
John
JVM wrote:
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