XJ, I don't know about the serviceability of the right inner. When I purchased my left inner, the parts guy told me that the left was the only serviceable part. I am just a messenger here. - I hope all works out well for you at the stealership today--Let us know.

 

Its in the shop as we speak, havent heard anything yet.

 

Sounds more like slop in the rack, but if it is it should be very noticable even by pulling on the wheel with with the truck off the ground. If two mechanics couldn't indicate a bad tie rod you sure as **** went to the wrong mechanic. My wifes Maxima has the same problem but it's VERY minimal.

 

I got a call from the service guy and he said that they didnt notice anything. I asked him if they heard the click/pop and he said the mechanic didnt. I said the noise is very audible and if your under the truck you can feel it if you grab the rack or tie rod end. But if the tires are off the ground and you turn the wheel you dont hear it. The front tires have to be on the ground. I told him the pop is there, the steering wheel has to tilted left to keep the truck straight. He said that there was a faint amount of play in one of the lower ball joints but nothing that would keep it from passing inspection (its also getting a inspection while in there, im due) The problem is there and im not taking the truck back until they find it. Having to keep the wheel slightly turned to the left is not normal. So he is going to have the mechanic look at it again tommorow. I just think they dont want to take the boot off to check it out.

Sako- how much did you have to turn the wheel to get it to click/pop? and was it noticeable with the front wheels off the ground? And how much did it pull to the right when yours was bad?

All i have to do to get it to pop is move the wheel back and forth just enough to put a little pressure on the steering, but not move the front wheels. If the truck is running, the noise from the engine running mostly drowns out the click/pop. My steering wheel is tilted just enough to be off center to the left, but it has to be kept there about 95% of the time to keep the truck going straight.

My dealership i trust so im not really wanting to take it somewhere else, nor do i have the time. Thanks guys!

 

XJ, All of the symptoms you describe are exactly the same as mine were. Sounds like you need to be there tomorrow to hold their hands. I feel fortunate that I have the tools, the ability, this forum and all of you guys, to do all of my own work. It's not that I don't trust anybody, I just don't have much patience for ineptness. Not to mention, I am too old to deal with the frustration.

 

I have the tools and competence to do the job, but after all i have been through repairing brakes, and IWEs, im just at wits end of rushing around after work and the weekends to fix the truck. Its busy at work and i have better things to worry about and spend my time doing now that the weather is breaking. Im more than willing to shell out a little money to have someone else do it while they give me a loaner car.

Im not able to be at the dealership tommorow so im sure ill be on the phone with them. I found this articel online about troubleshooting the rack and pinion steering systems.

Troubleshoot Rack & Pinion Steering

If you read it they talk about a "dry test" on the steering, which is how i found the problem. The truck weight is left on the front wheels and the steering is worked back and forth, if something is wrong, sight will see the problem or noises can be heard, just like i can hear, the poping of the joint of the inner tie rod end where it meets the end of the rack, and the slop of the joint allows the entire tie rod assembly going out to the wheel to sort of flex a little instead of being rock solid, like the passenger side is. So with my help tommorow im confident that they will find that problem tommorow and it will be the inner tie rod. Any more thoughts?

 

My truck pulls to to right as well. I took it to the tire shop to get it aligned thinking that was the problem. So they put my truck on the lift/computer/ whatever they use, and before they even started they noticed that my ball joints were shot and that an alignment was pointless until they were replaced. I verified the ball joints are shot myself and gonna replace the lower and upper control arms when the funds and time are available. If that doesnt fix it then im gonna replace the tie-rod ends and ball joints there as well. Hopefully that fixes it lol.

 

God speed/

 

Im going to stop at the dealership on my way to work. (I go by it anyway) and take the service guy out to my truck and let him listen to the click/pop. My wife heard it and she knows nothing about cars, she picked the noise up right away. I know if the service guy i talk to hears it, he wont let it go until its fixed.

I just think they put the truck up on the rack and couldnt get it to make any noise.

 

They had to let the truck sit for a day since they were booked on thursday, so "they said" that they checked the noise and it did pop, they said it was faint, i dont think its that faint. But anyway, they said nothing looks or is acting like its failing. Inner tie rod or rack. The guy couldnt really say where the noise was coming from (either the rack or tie rod end) He said since the rack wasnt failing that the warranty claim (third party warranty) wouldnt be filled when the inspector would come out and check it, so i said if the rack it poping they wont replace it? And again he said that it wasnt failing. So after talking with him some more i said go ahead and file the claim and get the inspector there to look at the rack, it worth a try, and to get a impartial look at the rack, and he said ok he would. Then i said just replace the inner tie rod end, i dont car if the mechanic says its good, so they are going to do it. But after i talked to him about just replacing the tie rod end, and listening to what he had to say i got a strong feeling that they never pulled the boot off to physically look at the joint, if they never pulled the boot off how could they really be able to tell me that the inner tie rod end to steering rack joint isnt worn to the point where it would cause the pop?

I dont want to say it but i think this might be the last time i take it to this trusted dealership of mine. How can they tell me that everything is fine when the steering is popping and they dont pull off all the protective covers on the steering to check them?

Do you guys think im doing the right thing by just having them replace the inner tie rod end and making the warranty inspector come look at the rack. I really dont think that the rack is the problem, but might as well have the guy look at it. I think the guys in the service deapatment are going to look extremely stupid when the replace the inner tie rod end and it possibly fixes the problem. I dont understand why that some service places just dont want to fix cars anymore, or dont want my money!

If it was the rack hydraulically not centering or something to that effect would i still get the click and notice movement in just the driver side tie rod assembly. I would think that if it was a hydraulic problem on the rack that the problem would be noticeable on both sides.

And i would think that if it does end up being a problem in the rack that a poping in the rack would, i think, be a failing part, dont you guys?

Any more thoughts guys?

 

Negative on that, XJ. The fact that you hear a popping sound tells me that there is a worn part, not a valving problem. It could very well be an inner tie rod or steering rack mounting problems. I still doubt that a worn tie rod would cause a pull. I would think that wander would be what it would be doing due to the loose part. I had an 88 F250 4X4 way back when that had a steering gear problem. I thought it was worn parts and replaced about everything on the front end. It turned out that the steering gear had some valving problems that made the truck dart all over the road at will. Once I replaced the steering gear the truck drove like brand new as well it should have with everything new in the front end. On that truck it was a hydraulic problem, specifically valves. I never had another vehicle exibit those symptoms again.

 

So you agree that it probably isnt a internal rack problem. How would i get the dealership to try to figure it out. Here is one thing that i noticed witht the tie rod assembly (wheel to rack) when i was under the truck. When the wheel was worked back and forth the tie rods seemed to want to flex front to back, like towards the front of the truck and back of the truck, sort of like i bow action, it was a very small amount of movement, i didnt notice that action on the passenger side. I stated that earlier but i couldnt explain it very well. Not sure if that helps with anything. How would mounting problems be detected and fixed. You mean like loose bolts or something like that? Thanks!

 

What should i ask the dealership to check? If i can get some things from you guys to check other than the rack and tie rod, than i will call them and have them check some other things before they just go and replace the inner tie rod. Is the steering gear mounted above the rack? I just want to try and get this pulling fixed and try to avoid compensating the alignment to mask a problem.

Could the tie rod be worn at the steering joint and not noticeable unless you pull the boot and physically look at it?

 

The tire shop told me this too and they wouldnt do the alignment until it was fixed. I went home and tested the ball joints for play and nothing. I put a prybar in there and went up on it and nothing. I put the bar under the tire with the truck up some and gave it a really good lift and no play. They wanted to charge like $500 for that job plus they said the rack needed the tie rod changed. Who knows but I have not fixed anything because I dont see the problem.

 

Is there any play in the steering wheel, XJ? Every rack and pinion vehicle I've owned the steering wheel had no slop or play in it driving down the road. Everything felt nice and tight. I'd have them check inner and outer tie rod ends, rag joint on column, ball joints, rack mounting bushings, and wheel bearing tightness. Is there any bind at all when turning a sharp corner? That's usually a sign of the rack being bad mechanically. Any leaks? When you drive it on a level parking lot do you get any pull? If you don't have any components showing signs of wear and it does not pull on a level surface, I would add +.2 degree of caster lead on driver side to compensate for road crown and it should do well. If the roads in eastern Ohio and western Pa are like northern Indiana you need a little more caster lead to offset the road crown if all else checks ok.