Does anyone know how to tighten the steering? Is there a way? My steering seems to be too loose.

 

i think its like that on all our cars.. i dont care for it myself, i have too much play. i dunno about a fix, but id be curious myself.

 

Nope SE steering is much stiffer than gxe.

 

how is it loose?

if there's play in the steering wheel, then you need to take it to a mechanic and have them fix/replace the steering rack.. not a DIY job- unless you're really hardcore.

if you just mean it's a spongy ride and the wheel has no feel in it, then there's nothing you can do. GXE Maxes had terribly overboosted power steering. my SE is a lot better, but it's sitll not what I'd call great.

 

i can do it!

 

need to rephrase that.. "you can't do it unless you're hardcore or a HATER!"

actually, it's not THAT difficult to replace.. but it's not something your everyday garage wrencher can or should be doing. steering is just as important as your brakes. screw either of them up and you're dead. not something to play with.

 

How much play is considered normal for an SE? I understand that most cars have a steering dead spot, and that doesn't bother me, but I can move my wheel about an inch in either direction (maybe 2 degrees or so) without any feel at all. Once the wheel is rotated that far in either direction, there is more resistance and the steering feels pretty decent. You think the steering rack is the culprit, or is that just the size of the car's dead spot.

 

I think I know what he means. I think the steering is too loose as well (I have an SE too), meaning too much boost in the power steering. Especially when you get between 105-110 (kph of course ), when the front end of the car gets light. I've been wondering whether an under-drive (very under-drive) pulley on the power steering pump would make the steering a little heavier, but no more than 3 lbs. I drove my friend's girlfriend's Focus a few weeks ago and the steering felt great, only about 3-5lbs. heavier than our cars. Heavier wheels help too, but who wants heavier wheels?

 

damn, i was afraid of that..

the overboosted steering is blah.. thats one of the favorite things in my moms bmw.. the steering is so precise, you move the steering wheel and the wheels move.. mine you turn the wheel half way round and the car moves a bit hehe

 

I don't like the steering ratio either, takes too long to counter-steer an E-Brake turn/slide (not on public roads of course! ). My brother's BMW is the same way, FAST turn-in. *drool*

 

Keep in mind that RWD cars have a natural advantage when it comes to steering feel and precision.

 

Check out the rubber mounts for the rack. Over time they compress and allow the rack to move from side to side. This is most noticable during the transition through straight ahead driving. Have someone turn the steering wheel back and forth and you watch the rack for movement.

 

There's also a tensioner bolt on those soemtimes. BE CAREFUL if you try that though. You get it in too much and you could lock the steering up when you turn it to the righ or left too far.

 

You could check out your ball joints to see if they have too much play in them..

or try bleeding the power steering system.. (you have to lift up the front end of the car. open the container.... its described in a chiltons or haynes)

what else can i think of.. um.. you can check the steering rack mounts there are like two rubber mounts that hold the rack up to the chassis'.. on my gxe my steering was really loose.. but after i replaced the rubber mounts the steering became a lil bit tighter.

i dont know what else to check out, but try bleeding the system , because i know when i did that it helped with my steering as well

 

My two cents...
I was experiencing some loose steering and thought it was a bad ball joint on the right side. Mechanic looked at everything on the right side and all was tight, I was right there with him.
Took it back to where I got two tires and alignment and it was actually coming from the left side.
It was the bushing in the lower control arm.
Pushing on the tire you could move it a little bit and that was it.
Mechanic said you can try to replace just the bushing but it's a royal pain in the *** and was not sure how many labor hours I would have to pay for. So, I opted for a new lower control arm. Part was more but took him like a half hour to replace.
Steering is back to nice and tight on my 92 SE 5 speed!

 

Oh yeah. Go get your car alligned!! I'm pretty sure that will help. I just got trany work done on my and the steering before it was as good as my new SE but after the work the did some things that un-alligned it so.... it might work.

 

Worn tie rods anyone? That'll do that too....

 

When you pull the tranny you have to remove the axle, thus throwing your alignment off.

 

Yup, been there, done that! When you have the car up on a lift, try to wiggle the wheel back and forth toward and away from the wheel well. If it wiggles, you should replace it. The WHOLE thing. Sometimes they don't take well to new bushings and break. It sould only be a 25 dollar part, unless you're getting ripped off, and like you said only takes about 1/2hr. Good luck.