Steering a little tight? Lube your u-joints!

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IronMonkeyL255
Fourth Gear
Posts: 1902
Joined: Sat Aug 09, 2003 5:02 pm
Location: Woodruff, SC

Steering a little tight? Lube your u-joints!

Post by IronMonkeyL255 »

For some unknown reason, a few days ago my steering started feeling very hard. When making a turn, if I let my hands off the wheel to let it straighten up, it would seem to stick at some point. I was thinking it may be the backlash, since I accidentally un-set it and guesstimated it back into position.

Tonight I finally got a chance to jack it up and scout around for the problem. While having my brother turn the wheel back and forth, I heard a slight creaking noise coming from the u-joint connecting the steering column to the steering rack. I soaked it in WD-40 (I couldn't find my PB Blaster.... :( ) while he continued to turn the wheel back and forth. After a few minutes, it started turning easily again. I could see where the lower u-joint had been dripping onto the steering rack bellows boot, and it was brown with rust.

I think my backlash still isn't quite right, but I can get that taken care of tomorrow.

I may get a new u-joint eventually, or steal the one from my parts car. Depends on what kinda condition it is in.......
Disclaimer: If anything I post is inaccurate, please correct me. I do not wish to add to the misinformation floating around on the internet.

That being said, everything I post is accurate to the best of my knowledge.

Rio Red '91 Legacy SS
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