SaabGuy

Ive got an 87 tII with a manual steering rack.

Whenever I go over a small, harsh bump, it feels like someone takes a hammer to my steering wheel. The sound/vibration comes right up into the wheel. and only felt through the wheel.

I have replaced my front wheel bearings and now the wheel bearings are tight. Thats not it.

I checked my tie rod ends which are known to fail I guess and thats not it.

All my shocks are old but not original. Fronts can be shook by hand and have play but I dont think thats it.

I checked all the bolts and nuts going from the A-arms to the steering rack, the the column, all the way from A to B and thats not it. (All bolts are tight).

What the heck is going on here??? Im thinking rack and pinion but I really cannot tell. Any sure fire way to rule or rule out the rack and pinion?

Any advise would be awsome.

darkwaveboi

when turning the wheel back and forth quickly on flat pavement with the car off do you hear a clunk that you can feel goign up the shaft?

with the car jacked up can you shimmy the wheel around?

checked the U-joints in the steering column?

SaabGuy

I can feel something wierd when I move the wheel quick like you said on flat ground. Feels like something loose but I cannot pinpoint the looseness anywhere.

I am not sure how I would check the ujoints in the column but sounds interesting... should I take the column out? is that even possible. Maybe theres a known joint that fails.

with the car up on jacks I really cant tell anything loose at all.

Gamezilla

Chances are you've got a worn motor mount. Not an expensive part, but the labor on it may be a bit much. You can usually tell if you've worn yours out when you start feeling vibrations throught the steering column.

SaabGuy

That would be the case if something was hitting the steering column. It sounds more like something loose somewhere in the link from the steering wheel to the wheels. I just dont know how to pinpoint the problem.

darkwaveboi

if it kinda feels like something loose/small clunk, i have same problem but w/ my PS and my shop teacher looked at it for 1hr. He said its most likely the rack + pinion

to check u-joints just have someone in the car, feel the joints as they move the wheel back and forth. grab one of rods on one side of the joint and one on the other. If you feel a difference in turning, that joint is shot. Also feel the joints themselves.

To check the rack you have to unbolt the last U-joint, take off tie rods, tie rod boots, sway bar, and remove the column inbetween the tie rods. (this is how its done for PS without the lines...probably roughly the same).

Hope that helps

SaabGuy

Yes that does help. One more problem though. The rack is too expensive.

SaabGuy

i take it a tilt steering wheel puts another ujoint in there.

darkwaveboi

i know....same problem as me...

you can get a rebuilt one for around 270 after a core returned.

thats still pretty damn high

SaabGuy

When checking the rack and pinion, what exactly am I looking for after I take all that stuff apart?