Wonky Steering in a Gen3

[GA-Guy]

Hey I'm new around here. I guess I'll give y'all (yes, i'm from georgia...) some history about my ride first.

1996 Camry DX 135,000 miles and counting.
Got the car at 98k with a dead sludgy motor. Replaced with a 5S-FE pulled from a '95. No problems with it since. It's probably time for new spark plugs but, that's no biggie.

CV-axels and front brake rotors were replaced at approx 116,000. Brake lines were also flushed because right caliper was binding. I plan on eventually bolting disks and calipers on the back but not yet.

Auto transmission was swapped at 125K. Just slipped out of gear on the highway. That was a scary experience. I guess the previous owner never changed any of the fluids EVER. I bought it from a sissy stock-broker but, I digress.

I just got a new set of Michelins, 195-70-r14. They ride good. My last set of Definity's got chewed up by some severe toe-in so I got my alignment taken care of too.

The problem is: now I can feel some inconsistency in my steering. My wheels are definately straighter than before my alignment but if I make a hard left-turn, my car will start pulling to the right after I straighten the wheel. I have to drive with my steering wheel cocked to the left at about 11-o'clock until I make a hard right-turn after which, It seems to straighten out.

I can neither confirm nor deny that this problem was there before my wheels were changed/aligned. However, I can say that I did not notice it until after my wheels were aligned. This may be because my toe-in was about .40/.50 on the front wheels before aligning though.

I'm gonna jack-up my front end later today and check for loose parts. Any other recomendations? All of the suspension (to my knowledege) is the original factory kit.

Further down the road, (haha) I plan on replacing the strut assemblies, possibly with tokicos/monroes.

[PortugalFocus]

I would check all the wearable suspension components. IE ball joints, tire rod ends, sway bar end links. End links are a common failure on these Camrys.

I replaced all my struts with Monroe Sensa-Trac's , and I absolutely love them.

[GA-Guy]

Thanks for the quick reply. Where are the end links? Do they connect to the steering knuckle or are they on the inside?

[GA-Guy]

Ok, I just crawled out from under my yota and I can't really say what's up with it other than it is old, rusty and dirty. There are several rubber parts that have deteriorated around the control arms and sway-bar links.

btw, ignore my last post. I didn't realize that the swaybar was a solid collar-bone type piece with links on both ends.

Okay, since Iv'e already had help working on the rest of my car, I kinda want to do this myself. How critical/time-sensitive would you say it is to fix this? As a pizza-guy who drives 400-500 miles per week, my car is important to me.

[GA-Guy]

Bumping for bumings sake.

Possible causes:
F/R brake caliper was binding before I had it serviced a year ago...
Something has been creaking in my F/R underside, near my wheel... maybe strut mount... only seems to occur when I stop or go from a stop not while turning...

anyways, my steering problem only seems to happen after I take a right-angle turn such as turning at an intersection. If I take a road with a left bend in it, my steering is mostly unaffected after the road straightens. If I take a left turn at a light, a noticable right-pull appears immediately. Similarly, a right-bending road will not straighten my wheels but a right-turn will.

P.S.:Not a pizza-guy anymore. WOOHOO!

[felpz123]

how is that a woo-hoo? wtf? that has got to be the greatest non-college degree job on earth

[keba]

hey .
this happened to me couple months back..lift the hood up.. peek to look at the rack whilst someone else twists the steering left to right 180..if the rack moves..the bushings are shot.. and when you turn..the entire rack shifts.. and then corrects....

[GA-Guy]

@felpz: Easy money but much stress driving 35+hours a week under constantly changing management. 5 store managers in one year? No thanks.

Now I'm trying to get a PC-tech job. Computers are way easier to work on than cars, lol.

@keba: Thanks. Are you talking about the sway-bar bushings or the bushings that hold the rack in place? IDK. I'll figure something out. I've got the factory manual and a haynes manual so I have plenty of diagrams.

[peshwa]

What happened to your quest GA-Guy?? Were you able to figure out why the steering wheel behaved this way? Any update will be highly appreciated?

[73sport]

Keba nailed it with the rack mount bushings being sponges . . . A floating rack!

Hopefully this helps someone else tho. . .

If the engine/trans/power steering leak oil on rubber parts. Those rubber parts will fail!

Simple: If your car leaves drippies everywhere you park - expect rubber parts to FAIL!

Did I forget brake fluid? At least people notice when this fluid runs out!
:/

[GA-Guy]

I haven't figured it out yet. I replaced the swaybar links and bushings but not the rack'n'pinion bracket+grommet. Any advice on doing this? Is there more than one? I have these parts:

grommet/bushing
45517-33021

bracket
45515-06011

The sway bar parts helped the ride quality and steering response. I used Moog brand parts. The bushings looked like nothing special but the end-links are a lot beefier than stock. I plan on eventually replacing most of the suspension/steering components with Moog parts (if only I had the cash haha). Well, that's gonna have to wait.

Basically I should completely rebuild the suspension system of this car. I know the parts would cost more than the car is worth. But, it's a camry, damnit. 25-27MPG (town). Reliable motor. Goofy handling... lol

Do you guys (gals?) think I should save up and install a complete suspension setup and do it all at once or do it piece by bloody piece?