Brando

I noticed the other day that my new front tires were wearing on the inside on both sides. I then noticed the car's steering was a little loose. I had the tires rotated and balanced and then the problem got worse. The steering now is crazy loose. You have to turn the wheel all the way down just to change lanes. It is very dangerous so I quit driving it. I checked the tie rod ends and they seem fine. Has anyone else had this problem. I drive a 93 es with 110K on it. Please help.....

Plum

Have the alignment checked.

skperformance

iTrader: (6)

exactly
to be safe take it to lexus or a shop that deals with aftermarket rims if they are otherwise
just go to lexus they have exact specs and use them well also request a before and after print out to see exactly what and how far they made changes on each wheel

later

flipside909

Camber is off. You need to get a front end alignment ASAP to save your tires.

Brando

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I know the camber is off which would require and alignment. But, what would be causing the loss of steering though? That is the problem that I think to be worse. i thought maybe the tie rods but they seem fine. My next idea is the rack and pinion being shot. What do you think and how much should it cost to fix?

flipside909

Loss of power steering is usually associated to low P/S fluid. You may wanna check under the hood to make sure. If the rack and pinion is shot, get ready to shell out $500 for a rebuilt...and a couple hundred for labor.

Brando

I checked the power steering fluid as well. It was full. The steering is not hard it just is non responsive. I am going to take it in this week to see what the prob is. I will let you guys know. Thanks for all the replies.

flipside909

Yeah keep us posted with the details.

Brando

Well, I took it to the shop and it turned out to be the rack & pinion had gone out. The bushings were worn and the whole rack was loose. The going price from about three shops was right around a grand! A site called the steering store.com sells remanufactured racks for about $245 with a two year warranty. But I heard these were hard to put in so I went with a shop that was going to use a remanufactured unit from Lexus. The shop said it was amazing I had not wrecked with it out the way it was. I am suprised I am the only one that has had this problem. I was tempted to do it myself but I don't have the time right now. It would have been an interesting thing to try and document for the rest of you. Oh well, expensive cars expensive work. So far my reliable Lexus has not turned out too reliable. It seems like anything that goes out on this car costs around a grand!

flipside909

Yeah unfortunately that rack problem is sporadic on 1MZ-FE 94-96 Camry and as well as Avalons. They're susceptable to leaks...then eventually get worse overtime.

Rit&Booner

Loose steering? Awhile back I got a letter from Lexus about a recall on 92-96 ES300 Loose steering wheel nut. I never got it fixed though. But I'm not having any problems with steering. Take your car to Lexus dealer and have them fix the recall for free.

I wish I still had that letter just to read up on it.

flipside909

Perhaps the issue could have been discussed in the past? Try a search to see what you can come up with.