Steering Play in my '78

[mtndude]

Any ideas what would cause fairly excessive steering play in my 280z?. (about 10-12 degrees on the wheel) ? Is there an adjustment or ??

Thanks in advance!

-John

[Inf]

I would just have someone else turn the wheel back and forth while I looked at the linkages to see what's moving right and what's not.

Some possibilities that come to mind:

- Bad ball joints

- Bad tie rod ends

- Bad u-joint on the steering rod shaft

- Loose steering rack mounts

- Excessively worn rack

If you have a factory service manual, or another (i.e. Haynes) I think this is one of those generic problems for which they will have a list of items to check.

[mtndude]

Thanks much for info. Will do this weekend and see whats loose.

[Jeff G 78]

Open the hood and watch the rack near the steering shaft. With the car sitting still, have a helper turn the wheel back and forth 1/4 turn each way. If the rack moves back and forth or up and down in the mounts, replace them. Then, lay down and watch the tie rod ends at the knuckles while the helper repeats the test. Again, there should be no play in either joint. If all those things are tight, the rack itself might be the problem.