Possible steering rack or tie rod problem?

[Wicked95AWD]

I realize that DSM's are already notorious for having a bad turning radius, but my car simply will not make a hard left hand turn. WTF I can turn very sharp to the right but I cannot make a U turn to the left without stopping and backing up at least once reguardless how big the road I'm on is. The car has had this problem since I bought it 4 years ago and I ignored it at the time because I got such a good deal on it. However, now that I've done enough mods I plan to start using my car for occasional drag racing, road racing, and autocross and I need to be able to turn very well to both sides if I plan to be competitive. I checked the drivers side tie rods and both inner and outer ones seem visually O.K but I'm not exactly sure how to verify that the steering rack is functioning properly.

 

[housegsx]

Someone probably had the rack replaced or something. Sounds like the rack and steering wheel weren't centered when things went back together and this was compensated by adjusting the outer tie rods. This will affect center to lock, more turns on one side, less on the other.

 

[Wicked95AWD]

So, how do I center the steering wheel with the rack?

 

[housegsx]

Scroll to the bottom of my tech article for an explanation...

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-suspension-brakes/226656-how-remove-rebuild-power-steering-rack.html

 

[housegsx]

Count the number of turns lock to lock to make sure this could be the problem first.

 

[Wicked95AWD]

Thanks house.. not sure how I didn't notice that write-up before but thank you for pointing it out for me. I'm gonna check to see if the wheel/rack is centered this weekend. If the rack does turn out to be off-center with the wheel will I need to adjust my tie rods after i center it correctly?

 

[housegsx]

If the rack does turn out to be off-center with the wheel will I need to adjust my tie rods after i center it correctly?

Yes, and you'll need an alignment to make sure the toe is in spec.

Here's what you do:

1. Make sure the rack is centered, not the steering wheel.

2. If the steering wheel isn't straight, remove it and put it back on as straight as it will go. (Make sure the battery is disconnected the entire time the airbag is being unbolted/unplugged/plugged in, etc) Make sure the rack is still centered.

3. With both the rack and the steering centered, adjust the tie rod ends to make the wheels point straight forward.

4. Drive to an alignment shop and have them dial in the toe specs.