Hey guys, replaced the wheels bearings the other day as i had exsessive play with the steering wheel, it fixed the problem for a a day or two but but now its worse than ever? any suggestions?

 

You're going to have to lift up the front end of the car and check the tie rod ends, pitman arm, idler arm, ball joints...... Could be the gear box itself.

 

Wheel bearings are one of the last parts of the steering system to wear out, when properly maintained. Make sure the races have been properly seated and the bearings have the correct pre-load. If that's all in spec, then check the idler arm and tie rods.

 

the idler arm is very prone to having rotten bushings. since its close to the exhaust and absorbs a lot of heat, the bushings wear out quicker than most of the other bushings. check your inner and out toe rods ends for looseness, broken boots and or a bent sleeve on each side. from there post back what you find and we can help you in more detal as to what to look for next.

 

Sorry mazdaverx7, I'll have to argue in this case. The poster is from Austrailia=RHD so the idler arm is on the left side instead of our right. I do agree that the idler arm bushings are the first steering item to wear our and you are correct that it's generally because of the exhaust heat, on LHD vehicles.

How much the heat affects the pitman arm joint, I don't know. Chances are the RHD pitman joints fail at a quicker rate than the LHD ones do.

Matt, if Moog suspension parts are availible in Austrailia, they have the best idler arms and are a heavier built unit than say the Beck-Arnley ones. You might be able to find a replacement bushing, the bronze/brass ones are the best/longest lasting. They will, however, transmit more vibration to the steering wheel than the rubber replacements do.

 

trochoid, you got me there, lol. i dodn't notice that the poster was from Australia.

 

Really though, wheel bearings should not be causing any issues with the steering unless the wheel was about to fall off...

Have somebody lightly turn the steering wheel back and forth while you look for movement in any of the steering linkage parts.

 

BUMP
I too have sloppy steering that I would like to tighten up, but I always figured it was the common "wondersteer" that these cars tend to get. I wasn't aware there was anything else it was likely to be...

 

If 'wondersteer' was a factory option on new cars, how many of them do you seriously think they would have sold and how long do you think the production/model line would have lasted?

Common sense dictates that wondersteer is simply worn parts that need to be replaced to bring the steering system back to factory specs. I have posted many rime the order for checking and replacing steering components, but I will graciously do post it one more time.



1. Idler arm. This is the ewakest and 1st part to wear. /////the Moog idler arm is the most rov=bust and best



2. Tierods and adjusting sleeves.



3. Lower control arm and tension rod bushings.



4. Shocks and struts. must be in serviceable condition and set to factory soecs,



5. Wheel beqrings. These rarely fail unless moisture has gotten in there or the grease has run dry.



6. Steering box/sector/unit. These rarely go bad unless the other components have been neglected, the unit runs dry of lube or someone tries to adjust out the wheel slop before addressing the other components first. Over adjusting the steering box can lead to binding and acellerated wear. This is the LAST steering component to be worke and it should only be worke after all the other steering components have been brought back up tp factpry specs.

 

There is a nice write-up on tightening the streering box at http://www.mazspeed.com/steeringgear.htm

 

Ok so heres a question.
I the steering column locks with the key out, but its still got the play about an inch back and forth before it locks. To me this means its a worn out steering box...
am I missing something?

Otherwise I'm going straight to tightening the box (insert immature laugh). I think this is a pretty good test to see if it is worn out gears or not...

 

Like the others said, if you tighten the box too much it'll wear it out faster. The factory specs say freeplay limit is 1.57 in. so about an inch is normal.

 

Check all of the other components 1st. In fact, I would simply replace them just to bring the steering components back to new specs. Then, if needed work on the steering sector. If you over tighten it, it will cause binding, accelerate wear and can damage the unit. A new replacement is over 500 bucks, that's an expensive mistake and you would still need to relace the other worn components anyway.

 

Wait a minute, you still have that much play when the key is out and the column is locked? That doesn't sound right, but I can't check it out at the moment...

 

I C has been PMing me with questions, that last one was the amount of movement when the steering wheel was locked. I have nearl all of the suspension upgraded in the widebody and my play is nearly 2". This play has nothing to do with the steering components, it's related to how much wear there is between the locking pin and slot. My chassis has over 220k on on it and the the slop is around 2" My steering is very tight. other than the need for an alignment.

 

cheers for the input guys, ive checked the steering out and it seems its a combination of perished bushings and subsiquently a worn steering gear unit as most of you suggested, well done.

Ill be fitting new bushings throughout the steering but was wondering if you guys had any suggestions on who does a good kit for bushings? ive checked the moog site but i think it would cost the earth to get it shipped to australia from the states.

Also can i get away doing the job without "pullers" or "preload devices"? if not how hard is it to get the special tools? and where? im a novice but competent and patient, if i need the tools ill get them before starting anything.

ive attached some pix for you guys also. the exterior has a few scratches but the interior is in good conition.

 

go to blackdragonauto.com. i bought all my suspension and steering bushings from there. it will cost around $300 for everything. also when adjusting the steering box if it is manual, make sure the locking nut is loose, and you turn the adjuster screw COUNTERCLOCKWISE. i have made the mistake of turning it clockwise like any other screw and my steering had about 5 inches of play. normal steering play with the 1st gen rx7 is about 1-2 inches. if you have that much play, its normal. if you have no play, even better but normal is 1-2 inches.