Just got my cv joints and rack& pinion done but now my steering wheel is much harder to turn that what it was before. The steering wheel was also way off center but I went and got the car alignmened and then I took the steering wheel off and put it back on with the wheels straight.

I have been reading something about "pre-load" adjustments nuts being too tight and the mechanic made them too tight when installing. I also had a power steering fluid flush done and filled up with dexotron III.

 

Dexron III. And Aligned. And you took the steering wheel off? Why? If you have the car aligned, the steering wheel should be centered. You should not have had to take the steering wheel off.

That being said, sounds to me like the power steering pump isnt working like it should. Can you turn the wheel when you're at a stop?

 

The wheel still was off when they did the alignment. It was better than before but still off. I think what happened(from what I read) is the wheel was not centered during the rack install or the gears were not lined up degrees wise...something along that. I can turn the wheel stopped. I keep reading about this bolt that links the steering column and the rack&pinion together control the tightness or looseness of the wheel. I see some information on Page 13 ST in the FSM about the Connector Tightening torque.

 

Most people WANT that tight steering. Not loose and sloppy. How tight are you talking about? Even if the wheel was off center during rack install the wheel should be straight after alignment. Unless the wheel was so off that adjusting toe would leave too few threads holding the outter tie rod onto the inner, in which case the tech would tell you this. During an alignment the wheel is straightened and held tightly in place. Then toe is adjusted at tie rods to match wheel and get it in spec. There shouldnt be a bolt that adjusts wheel stiffness. The linkage that connects the rack and column is splined. Tightening it down more wont do anything.

 

What ever happened during the rack installed caused the alignment shop to tell me that they had to take the tires off to take the tie rods off for the alignment. I didn't hear the whole story because I was mad and just wanted to leave. But the wheel just feels to stiff to me after these part changes. Maybe the parts need to be "broken in" and "settle" after a few days and 100 miles or so.

 

The off set steering wheel is more of a concern and can possibly be the cause of the stiff steering.

If the rack wasn't centered with the steering column when it was installed you'll get more turns left then right or vise verse. I'm hoping that the alignment shop checked tha, and realistically should have corrected the mistake by disconnecting the steering column and centering the rack and steering wheel. After that initial set up is complete, the vehicle should have been aligned and technically you should have gotten the vehicle back with a dead centered steering wheel.

I question the whole job at this point...

Turn your steering wheel from the center position, full left and back full right from center.
Count the turns from center, make sure they are equal.
If not, the whole thing must be set up again.

The rack has a center position, it's pretty important to get that correct upon installation.

 

Tnx I think I'm gonna go back to the shop where I had it installed.

 

Good. You need to have that car taken back and they need to redo their mistake at THEIR expense. Any mechanic or shop that takes the steering wheel off to "center" it has no business working on vehicles...iffy ish going on there. Have them fix it and don't ever go back. Find a new reliable shop

 

Didn't mean to cause the miss understanding. I took the wheel off after the car was alignment and wheels straighten. The stiffness is lossining up but you can still tell it's tighter than it should be. The alignment shop said something about something being off to much and had to take the wheels off to align the car. The car has the original power steering bump and I think this was the first time It ever had a flush and I have no idea how many years ago the fluid was changed. So that in combination with the new pinion may be contributing to the stiffness.

 

whoever replaced the rack should have clocked the wheel correctly. If the steering wheel is truly off center, centering it by alignment might not be feasable, depends how far off it is. Not the alignment shops fault.

 

Well they said something along the lines of what you said and had to take the wheels off and do something to tie rods. My complaint was the wheel was hard to to turn. It's been slowly getting "looser" but defiantly not what I'm used too. Maybe this what a regular steering wheel is suppose to feel like? Mine was the original Nissan part.