Can anyone with a FSM scan in the procedure for adjusting the preload on the steering rack. There was a long post regarding steering float and this is the cure. So I, and am certain many other, would appreciate any help on this one.

Thanks.

 

waz a fsm? ive heard of a fsb or fstb but no fsm, one of us doesnt know what we are talking about, i hope its not me

 

Factor Service Manual. Yes I have one somewhere - I will look for it in a bit.

 

oh, duh! oh well

 

I have the fsm in front of me, I don't have a scanner and I don't know exactly what you're looking for. My fsm doesn't cover adjusting the preload. It has a section on adjustment of the pinion rotating torque - it's fairly long but if you think this is what you need I'll type it in.

 

Toolrocks, I wish I could give you more detail. There was a very long post about this problem described as "floating steering", please see:
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread....5&pagenumber=1

in this post camaro1698 says "I just looked through the fsm and there is a way to adjust the rack". So Toolrocks, this is all I have, I wish I could give you more specifics but I can't. Not knowing how the FSM is set up, I might look in the steering/suspension chapter (is that stating the obvious?).

Hey, but I really appreciate your help.

 

I will look through my manual, when I get back home. My fsm is for a 95 though. So maybe they're different racks? I also checked out the thread you mentioned. I have similar probs. so this will be interesting - I hope I find something useful. Did you ever try pm'ing camaro?

 

"Adjust pinion rotating torque as follows:


1.Set rack to the neutral position without fluid in the gear.
2.Coat the adjusting screw with locking sealant and screw it in.
3.Lightly tighten lock nut.
4.Tighten adjusting screw to a torque of 4.9 - 5.9 Nm (43 - 52 inch lbs.) .
5.Loosen adjusting screw, then retighten it to 0.2 Nm (1.7 inch lbs.) .
6.Move rack over its entire stroke several times.
7.Measure pinion rotating torque within the range of 180° from neutral position. Stop the gear at the point of maximum torque.
8.Loosen adjusting screw, then retighten it to 4.9 Nm (43 inch lbs.) .
9.Loosen adjusting screw by 40 - 60° .
10.Prevent adjusting screw from turning, and tighten lock nut to specified torque.
11.Check rack sliding force on vehicle as follows:
12.Install steering gear onto vehicle, but do not connect tie-rod to knuckle arm.
13.Connect all piping and fill with steering fluid.
14.Start engine and bleed air completely.
15.Disconnect steering column lower joint from the gear.
16.Keep engine at idle and make sure steering fluid has reached normal operating temperature.
17.Pull tie rod slowly to move it from neutral position to ±11.5 mm (±0.453 inch) at speed of3.5 mm (0.138 inch) per second. Check that rack sliding force is within specification. Rack sliding force is 186 - 284 N (42 - 64 lbs.) .
18.Check sliding force outside above range. The rack sliding force should not more than294 N (66 lbs.) .
19.If rack sliding force is not within specification, readjust by repeating adjustment procedure from the beginning.
20.If rack sliding force is still out of specification after readjustment, gear assembly needs to be replaced."

Also, this procedure requires that you have a pull gauge such as the Kent Moore # J-35999. BTW, there is a TSB on this very procedure.

I have diagrams - but I'm not sure how I can post them. I suppose I could throw them up on a web page if you really need them.

There is the matter of copyright infringement too...