Steering Hard Spot

[nathanklier]

I have a 1996 Camry 4 Cylinder with a steering problem.

When I steer either direction there are about 3 different harder spots if I go all the way to either direction. They seem to be evenly spaced. They are not EXTREMELY hard but they are noticeable and I think possibly getting worse.

I do a lot of my own work on the car but I am not very experienced in steering problems. Any ideas?

[ghettosled]

have you done the basics like check the fluid level and belt tension?

[nathanklier]

I have checked the fluid and it seems to be at the right level.

I am not sure which belt to look at but they all seem to be ok.

[Mister_Perkins]

You should look at the small belt that is near the bottom of the motor. This is your Power Steering Belt Check the underside with the grooves for cracks, and check the belt for tension.

You could also check the Universal Joint at the bottom of the steering column. It may be sticking and need greased Grab some WD-40 and spray onto the U-Joint that connects there and see if it helps

[nathanklier]

The belt looks good.

Do you mean the joint that I can see when I look under the wheel inside the car or the joint I can see when I jack the car up and get underneath?

They both look good to me but I will give them a shot of WD 40 just in case.

[Mister_Perkins]

Your steering wheel is attached to a Shaft that connects to your Steering Rack. Where it attaches there is a U Shaped joint that when you turn your steering wheel it makes your steering rack move which in turn makes your tires move left or right depending on what direction you turn the wheel



What happens is this joint gets dry and dirty and when it spins around it catches (hence the hard spots) Spraying some Lubricant on there allows it to freely spin. It could just be a wore out power steering belt, or your pump could be going bad. But it never hurts to try to lubricate this and see if the problem gets resolved

[Mister_Perkins]

You can also pull your lower dash trim piece off too and try to spray some lubricant on the steering column too

[nathanklier]

lube is done and their is no improvement.

[Mister_Perkins]

Originally Posted by nathanklier

lube is done and their is no improvement.

has the hard spots been an on-going problem or something that just happened recently?

[nathanklier]

I first noticed it about a week ago. It has stayed fairly consistent possibly getting slightly worse.

[Mister_Perkins]

Does it still have hard spots if you are running at higher rpms? Or is it only at idle? Or is it all the time?

[Mister_Perkins]

Sounds like your Steering rack is starting to show signs of wear... Power Steering Stop Leak is totally effective at removing hard spots and tightness in worn rack & pinions. To correct worn rack and pinions, empty the reservoir and refill it with Lucas PSSL (usually 12 oz.). Results are immediate and long lasting. 12 OZ. BOTTLE

Lucas Power Steering Stop Leak
Product# LP10008
Detailed Info Price US $8.70 Qty

The only other thing you could try to do is to remove the rack and rebuild it.. I think that there is a DIY write up of rebuilding it on this site