Finally found the source of my wobble....I hope

[Co0kieduster]

Been chasing down a pretty severe front wheel wobble since I bought my 260 about a year ago

Rebalanced wheels. actually the best it ever drove after this first balance

Got new tires and it came back worse. couple rebalances and nothing

Got new rotors and new wheel bearings did the toyota caliper upgrade at the same time

New ball joints were in order. Again it got worse!

everything else seems very tight, the sway bar links are new, tie rod ends look relatively new and I couldn't feel any slop in the system with the car in the air.

So, on my way home today, I noticed after pulling out of wally mart (left turn) that the steering wheel was not pointed straight. That's odd, i thought, i'm pretty sure that was aligned perfectly straight before. The next turn (right turn) after straightening out. The wheel is straight again!. Sure enough, a few more left then right then left turns confirmed that the steering wheel was not staying aligned.

Ok, so, what is causing this? Could it be the whole rack and pinion is bad? The inner tie rod?

Suggestions on how to check or what I should replace?

[Arne]

Probably bad (oil-soaked) steering rack mount bushings allowing the rack to shift.

[240260280z]

[Co0kieduster]

http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=683717078773

Bushings will be replaced, car had some pretty bad oil leaks before I replaced almost all the gaskets. So I can see how they could be soaked.

However, It does seem like there's alot of play in the rack itself.....is this normal I tried to attach a video showing the play. The wheels aren't moving at all but the movement in the column is exactly the amount that it moves when driving. Also, I can hold the steering wheel firmly and stop the movement while driving.

Would adjusting the tension help with the play?

Blue....you looking for someone to take that steering rack off your hands?

[beermanpete]

Your video is not public. I cannot view it.

[Co0kieduster]

I think it should be working now. I made it public and when I'm logged out of facebook it lets me watch it.

If not maybe below?

http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/video.php?v=683717078773

[Co0kieduster]

Blue: I just realized you are the tech tip guy. That site is awesome, helped me with so many repairs!

Also noticed you have an S2000 in your garage, talked my GF into buying one over the summer. I do most of the driving so it works out great for me.

Hard for me to decide which car to drive some days. Although, if she is riding along, it has to be the S as she doesn't enjoy smelling like exhaust and fuel everywhere we go :-D

[tlorber]

You definitely have a lot of slop in the pinion/rack area. Have you tightened up the lash adjustment?

[ta240]

on a side note, if you can find a place that does roadforce balancing I've had much better luck with that. My first Z had a wobble and every part I replaced just made it more noticeable, because I was making the connection to the steering wheel more solid. I'd had 2 different sets of wheels on it but apparently both were off at least a bit.

[240260280z]

Blue: I just realized you are the tech tip guy. That site is awesome, helped me with so many repairs!

Also noticed you have an S2000 in your garage, talked my GF into buying one over the summer. I do most of the driving so it works out great for me.

Hard for me to decide which car to drive some days. Although, if she is riding along, it has to be the S as she doesn't enjoy smelling like exhaust and fuel everywhere we go :-D

Ring me to talk. I'll pm my number