Steering

[jrizz]

2009 Legacy 3.0R 111,000miles

 

I was experiencing some brake shudder when braking at highway speeds, and some movement in the steering.

 

After...

• REPLACING FRONT BRAKE PADS AND ROTORS
  
• REPLACING BOTH FRONT BALL JOINTS
  
• GETTING NEW TIRES
  

...the steering is much better, but still, it's not 100%. There's a little movement, most noticeable when the wheel is turned all the way, as with on/off highway ramps. Any thoughts on troubleshooting this? I'd really like it to be as tight as it can be.

 

I mentioned the steering to the guy who did the brakes/rotors/ball joints and he didn't seem to have any further ideas.

 

I know nothing about steering other than as the vehicle operator.

 

To be more specific: when the steering wheel is turned all the way as when exiting the highway, it holds the turn, but I do notice what feels like a little movement, a slip. The angle of the turn doesn't change but that movement, though not too bad, is unsettling.

 

As ever, grateful for any/all insight.

 

HNY everybody:cool:

 

 

*also, how do I make the title text bold?

[silverton]

Could be control arm bushes.

[whitexc]

Inner and outer tie rods? Steering rack bushings?

 

Sent from my SM-G996U using Tapatalk

[silverton]

After some thinking, it very likely is the steering rack bushings.

[Febreze Mee]

Hard to say without going for a ride in the car myself, but I'd guess all joints/bushings directly connected to the rack. Those being; inner and outer tie rods, and steering rack bushings.

 

I had replaced everything up front within the last 5K miles except for inner tie rods and ball joints. I had never held a new inner tie rod in my hand before, but after comparing the new one to my old ones, I realized those were my weakest link in steering feel. I swapped them out and immediately felt the different in my steering. Again, this is after replacing all components up front with brand new items to include:

 

- steering rack

- steering rack bushings

- lower control arm bushings

- swaybar endlinks

- outer tie rods

[jrizz]

Thank you - super helpful.

 

Roughly what would it cost if I were to do the same as you? inner tie rods +

 

- steering rack

- steering rack bushings

- lower control arm bushings

- swaybar endlinks

- outer tie rods

 

And where would you suggest sourcing? And, most importantly, do you think doing those replacements would be a good way to get my feet wet as a handy-but-new-to-wrenching guy?

[Max Capacity]

You can try wrenching these parts...but on your age car from the northeast...rust may be a factor. For your end links, a cut off wheel works great for removing the old one's, may be a right angle cut off.

 

Look in the DIY forum below, and check out JmP's sticky up top here about various parts.

 

There are a number of import vendors sites in that forum as well as the vendor sticky up top too.

 

On my 05, I bought the rear suspension arms and bushings, took them to my trusted mechanic and had him install them. 300,000 miles on chassis, $1700 in labor cost to fight the rusty bolts.

[Febreze Mee]

I paid about $50 shipped for the Moog inners. Great product. They claim to be OE quality or better, and in my experience they are the latter. For ball joints, I remember hearing another OB owner saying he paid $50 for one from Subaru. The rest you'll have to google. Simply typing your topic of interest followed by "legacygt" on google gets you a long way.

 

I chose a different route as I went swapped my crust OB rack with an STi steering rack. I had accidentally ordered OB inner tie rods instead of STi units, so I have some brand-new-in-box OB-specific Moog inner tie rods that I can send you for $40 shipped if that would interest you. If it does, I'll post them up in the classifieds with pics and PN#s and you can verify before we swap info. If not, someone will take 'em.

 

You can almost never go wrong with OEM. I like Moog products so far, I've only ever had several sets of endlinks from them on various cars, and now inner tie rods. You might be able to find other manufacturers cheaper. Beck and Arney is another source I've seen thrown around. I have no history with their products, so I cannot speak for them. Read reviews. Others might be able to chime in with doversity.

 

There are plenty of remanufactured steering racks out there. OEM is superior to all, but you'll pay for it. You could delve further and rebuild your own rack or a used one, or you could see what others are using for their replacements.

 

All of these items are simple to replace and will give you a much better understanding of just how you car operates. The steering rack replacement is a little more involved (not by much), it's messy, and can be time consuming. If you decide to do that yourself, I would take a day to do so in case it takes longer than you expected. YouTube is a great source too. Write-ups can be found here.

 

If your budget allows, I would replace all that needs to be replaced, and do so at once that way you can get one alignment and be done with it. If you decide to piece-meal it, and alignment should be performed after installation of each component.

 

I hope this helps!

[Max Capacity]

The Moog end links have grease fittings, then you can buy locking grease gun fittings from Lock N Lube for your grease gun.

 

For rusty bolts, spray them with PB Blaster or https://www.google.com/search?q=aerokroil&rlz=1C1OKWM_enUS906US906&oq=aerokroil+&aqs=chrome..69i57j0i512l4j0i457i512j0i512l4.5825j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 fluid.

 

Do you have a good set of tools and jackstands ?

 

 

I have had good customer service from these guy's, just bought a Dp from them. https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/silvers-neomax-coilovers-stock-3-day-shipping-anywhere-usa-0-268851.html

Edited January 3, 2022 by Max Capacity

[Febreze Mee]

Okay, I did a crunch a couple numbers. I have $1200 into all the parts mentioned above. This doesn't include shipping, or my time. I have installed each and every part. I paid $90 for an alignment on top of that, with a warranty for a year.

 

Parts installed can be found under my build thread here:

 

https://legacygt.com/forums/showthread.php/febreze-mees-wagon-build-thread-heiress-287322.html

 

Again, I built my car to tailor my driving needs/desires. If this is just a get from point A to point B kind of car, I'd shoot for OEM/OEM quality products.