Warped Rotors and Dodgy PS Rack

rebuilder · Post by **rebuilder** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 4:52 pm

Hey all
When braking i get the vigorous shaking of the steering wheel and can feel it through the brake pedal, therefore i suspect warped rotors.
I also know that my steering rack has a little bit of play in it, when i turn a hard left, then straighten out, the steering wheel is off to the left when driving straight, and vice versa for a right turn.

I guess this may be caused by driving with warped rotors for too long (can anyone confrim this).
Does this play mean that the alignment is out, or is there one long solid rod which goes thorugh the rack through the pinion gear to both tie rods?

Im asking this, as i would like to know, if replacing the rotors is just half of the shaking problem, and will it persist with a dodgy rack?

phantomD · Post by **phantomD** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 8:01 pm

I'm also interested in the answers to these questions...PS about to go in and I'm having the exact same symptoms with the brakes/steering.

YouTube · Post by **El_Freddo** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 9:59 pm

Yeah... my experiences show that after a brake pad change the steering wheel shakes on braking for a while then settles down.

As for the steering rack, if you've got a good place to do your wheel alignments at, they should tell you if there's anything wrong with the front end and should also align the steering wheel at the same time.

The rack is a rod with ball joint on the end into the rack with the same on the other side. The only adjustments are in the tie rod ends and in the steering wheel in the form of pulling it off and replacing it in the lined up position.

Cheers

Bennie

steptoe · Post by **steptoe** » Thu Feb 10, 2011 10:22 pm

On the L's - the rack ends not adjustable? I have some play in one side on mine, on the other side a stuffed ball joint and wheel shimmy from wheel balance or rack end I know not until I balance wheels. Who has a source for L rack ends on line cheap?

rebuilder · Post by **rebuilder** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 12:50 am

see what im aunsure about, si weather or nto, the warped rotors could have caused the rack to malfunction, i dont really know the full workigns behind a steering rack, liek the seals and all that, but i do know that the rack is busted, coz the guys at beaurepairs told me that after an alignement and test drive. (they also tried to con me into a new battery and i told them to jump and stop trying to con me just coz im wearing a suit and I look like a button pusher)
anyhow, back to the point, im wondering if i can get away with replacing the rotors, and hoping that theres enough tightness in the rack, to put up with the out of line steering wheel, or is this out of line steering wheel suggesting that the wheels are actually toein gin or out too much, hence the question about "does the rack have one solid bar running through it to the tie rod ends"

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:08 am

With the steering wheel moving after a hard left or a hard right I had this before and 3 out of 4 times, it was the rubber bushes that held the rack in place that were worn and hence allowing the whole rack to move a bit to the left or right:s
Easily fixed with new bushes:)

littlewhiteute · Post by **littlewhiteute** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 7:29 am

rebuilder wrote:see what im aunsure about, si weather or nto, the warped rotors could have caused the rack to malfunction, i dont really know the full workigns behind a steering rack, liek the seals and all that, but i do know that the rack is busted, coz the guys at beaurepairs told me that after an alignement and test drive. (they also tried to con me into a new battery and i told them to jump and stop trying to con me just coz im wearing a suit and I look like a button pusher)
anyhow, back to the point, im wondering if i can get away with replacing the rotors, and hoping that theres enough tightness in the rack, to put up with the out of line steering wheel, or is this out of line steering wheel suggesting that the wheels are actually toein gin or out too much, hence the question about "does the rack have one solid bar running through it to the tie rod ends"

The brake shudder from the warped rotors could wear the rack a bit more than usual from the shaking.

Rack and pinion refers to the "rack" ( a long solid bar with angled teeth cut into it ) and a pinion ( a gear that moves the rack left or right ) that is connected to the steering column.

The rack (long solid bar) has the tie rods screwed into each end.

rebuilder · Post by **rebuilder** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 1:30 pm

excelent, so i should probably get under there, take the exhaust off, and pull the bushes out get new ones, stick em in, and see what happens with new rotors.
SWEET
this Forum is the best.
good men

guyph_01 · Post by **guyph_01** » Fri Feb 11, 2011 2:43 pm

Get under the car and tell someone to rock the steering wheel from left to right without the engine on. You should be able to see it the rack if its moving and figure out if you need to replace the bushes or not. I'm not sure that that is your problem but thats what i've come across with 3-4 liberty's:)

rebuilder · Post by **rebuilder** » Tue Feb 15, 2011 12:32 am

my lack of response is due to my newfound love of driving with a solid steering rack and no more brake vibrations!
Replaced rotors and pads!
Rubber bushing had disintegrated, jammed cardboard in there and solved it haha!
new bush ordered!