Steering Jolt while mid turn?

[elucid]

hey tried searching for my problem and came up a little short, didn't find exactly what i was searing for.

anyways picked up a s13 recently, and trying to get everything it needs fixed, high on my list is the steering, i'll try to describe the problem as best as possible.

when making right turns whenever the steering wheel is turned past the 2'oclock position it feels like the steering wheel was suddenly turned even more and makes the car turn even sharper. after when you go back to driving in a straight line the steering wheel is now facing the 10'0clock position for about 4 seconds, and then reverts back to being normal on the 12'oclock position.

i haven't checked suspension to thoroughly but i do know it desperately needs new control arm bushings, possibly new inner tie rods, and is running excessive toe. i'm not sure if fixing all these problems will fix the steering issues but if any of you guys have any tips or advice, please help a brotha out.

[Danial]

Well, lets think... do any of the parts you listed affect the steering or positioning of the wheels? Your answer should be yes and you probably shouldn't drive it until you replace them. Inner tie rods first. Why are you running excessive toe? What modification is that from? or is it more broken parts?

Other things to determine:
-Do you have a full reservoir of power steering fluid
-does the steering ever whine or make any noises
-Is the steering column and intermediate shaft securely bolted to the steering rack. I have owned 1 and seen several racks where the lower bolt on the intermediate shaft rusts out and allows it to jump and spin freely occasionally in turns
-Carefully examine the tension rods also, I had one that looked alright but really was cracked and pulling apart near one of the bolts. Gave crazy handling and steering issues

[elucid]

Have only had the car for a week and im in the process of getting everything it needs fixed.the excessive toe is from a bad alignment/inner tie rod. The car has power steering delete. Haven't had time to thoroughly Inspect but im doing that today. Not sure if it's a steering rack issue. And ill look at the tension rods thanks.

[Darren]

IMHO, you should have done the inspection first, then, if you were still stuck, posted after.

This thread just makes you look lazy.

Fix your broken parts & get an alignment, your problem will likely go away.

[Danial]

How they did the steering rack delete is very pertinent to steering, but doesn't MAKE the car turn more sharply.

There are two ways to do it and i would recommend the second.

(1) just loop the entrance and exit to the rack with a hardline and call it a day.

(2)Take the rack to a shop that will disassemble it and remove the big rubber power steering divider and then plug both holes. How the rack works is that more pressure is pumped on either side of the divider to assist movement in the direction you are turning. When you loop it and leave the divider you have to move fluid to the other side through that small diameter hardline by your own force.

This could cause the steering to feel easier or harder somewhat randomly, mainly I would imagine it would be harder to turn. but again, it will not MAKE the car turn further or make the steering wheel be at 10 oclock when it should be at 12 oclock


Back to your main issue...

Is the actual steering wheel moving further when the car turns further? If the steering wheel is in the same place I would point again to that intermediate shaft between the steering column and steering rack.

[elucid]

The steering wheel remains in the same location but the wheels and steering rack seem to move. Because when I turn the steering wheel back to the strait position it is misaligned and then reverts back to normal position after about 4 seconds.

[elucid]

Im just gonna fix what I know needs to be replaced and see where that leaves me. Thanks for the input.

[sterlinge]

Sounds to me like your steering rack is loose and you need new bushings.

[Danial]

cool, let us know if that fixes your problem

[S14_Adam]

im going through this same issue right now however with my car it was a lower ball joint that has a bolt that stripped the threads off and was causing my cars camber and caster to basically do w.e it wanted while driving. same exact issues with the steering wheel as ur describing. so idk if that helped you but thats what we are in the process of fixing as we speak. literally. took a monster break : ) good luck

[GreenMNTDC5]

Jacking up the car and pulling the wheel side to side, up and down to see where the play is coming from will help you determine where your issue is.

If you can move the tire side to side (horizontally) with the wheel locked, It's probably inner/outter tie rod ends.

If the play is more up and down (vertically) its more than likely your ball joint on the lower control arm.

Just my .02 , I'm not a mechanic by any means so feel free to correct me if I'm wrong guys. Anyways, good luck, I'm messing around with this stuff atm too.

[elucid]

Thanks brotato, guess i should have updated this thread, i replaced both front lower control arms, the bushings/balljoint were shot. fixed it right up, just had to get an alignment.