Sloppy Steering?

[jzz30]

ok recently my steering was really bad. when the brake was applied and the road would dip the car would pull to one side and when turning the car would straighten out and i would have to turn even more meaning that there would be delayed steering turning from left to right. so today while changing my oils i took a look and the rack mount and on the driver's side the bushing, or what seems to be left of it looked like this:

and well it was too late to drive down to the dealer so well i just made the bushings myself. i figured that nylon will hold up to the task so this is what it looks like:

well the end product looked a tad different because it needed minor adjusting.

and after the install the steering was as responsive as new! and my sports coupe was a sports car again :D

[jzz30]

oh i forgot to mention that there are two of these bushings on top and in front.

[bean_8044]

damn, you made that?

[TommyK]

how did you make that? Dont tell me with a swiss army knife or something.

[jzz30]

i made it on my lathe. it was quite simple actually.

[Theodore]

I have the same problem. thought it was the NYC roads at first. i need to change mine as well. Nice work though.

[jzz30]

yea the car is a joy to drive again. and today i started to change the motor mounts and front shocks. when i changed the shocks one side bled oil when i put it on its side :o

[blueviol]

any plans to make more and sell to fellow members?

[jzz30]

sure if you want them i will make them.

[sorka]

Slick!!! I have a '95 SC400 with 191,000 miles and I've noticed the steering has become a lot more sloppy over the last 30K miles or so. I almost certainly need my bushings replaced. What are those made out of and how do they compare with stock in both cost and steering feel?

[jzz30]

i feel a bit more feedback and definitely more responsive. but i dont remember what the original felt like and anything was better than what i had. the white part is made out of nylon and the center is aluminum. the cost for me was free. i just had these lying around. and when i took it all appart it was like at 5 pm so the dealer was closed and i needed the car so i just punched it all up and well its been great. but i fear that the nylon is a bit too hard meaning that other steering components might suffer but only time will tell.

[Leadman]

jzz30,

I just had my suspension done and I have the same bushing problem. Could you make me a couple of these bushing replacements? Post your email and we can work out the details.

Thanks!

[jzz30]

i would make them for you but the thing is that i am in japan right now and wont be back home for another month. so if you could wait that long its no problem that i make it for you. well if you have any Q's my email is takasoma@hotmail.com

[bobsvilla]

typical aftermarket bushings are made from neoprene, a little softer than nylon, can you turn that? Should probably price the aftermarket ones, sometimes mass production has it's benefits.

[jzz30]

i can turn most anything that i can chuck.