[Jeffn]

So here's a worsening problem on my 04 XT. It's pulling right on accel and left on decel almost to the point of a lane change. It's worsened with low tire pressure. Everything underneath has been checked by my tech 3 times, new A frame bused, tie rods and I forget what else he did. No noise in the wheel when raised and yanked on. We did one CV joint from a bad boot.

Can the rack itself be worn at 95k miles? Thanks!

 

[Jeffn]

So this is a problem unique to mine?

 

[Jeffn]

So this is a problem unique to my foz?

 

[DragonSubie7]

@Jeffn -
It's not a unique problem...
Are the tires are in good shape? (one side is slippin' while the other is grippin' ;-)
Did the car get aligned after the work was done?
Warn tie rod bushings or control arm bushings can cause it, but I assume those were checked.
Another would be the steering rack mount rubber has slipped out and is letting the rack move up and down which changes the toe-in.
Get the problem resolved.

 

[Jeffn]

Tires well worn but not to the bars yet, A bushings and tie rods were done. My tech finds no problems anywhere, all seems tight so perhaps the rack or bushings as you mentioned, thnx. And I don't trust the local Sube dlr, they like to line their vest pockets.

 

[Jeffn]

And no to alignment but this is a 'free play' issue, not a constant pull one way or the other. And it happens on even slight throttle inputs. I'm just trying to get it together enough to sell without any new issues for the next owner.

 

[bman400]

So here's a worsening problem on my 04 XT. It's pulling right on accel and left on decel almost to the point of a lane change. It's worsened with low tire pressure. Everything underneath has been checked by my tech 3 times, new A frame bused, tie rods and I forget what else he did. No noise in the wheel when raised and yanked on. We did one CV joint from a bad boot.

Can the rack itself be worn at 95k miles? Thanks!

Worn rack bushings vs rack worn out are 2 different things. I have a 2001 Forester that had the original factory rack bushings. Here are some of the symptoms I had:

1. Wheel Alignment would not hold.
2. Steering wheel point in different directions after making sharp turns.

Basically with worn bushings, the rack would slide left and right, this in turn would show up as steering wheel pointing in different directions. This also has the potential to cause your front camber to change and cause the car to change directions depending on how your front camber is setup.

 

[Jeffn]

Thanks again, sounds as though it's the rack as it's consisitent and still tracks well on FL superslabs.