I recently purchased a 1998 Nissan Maxima SE. When I bought the car the steering wheel was light as a feather. I could steer the car with 1 finger. Recently, after I was driving and wasn't feeling well and threw up in my car while driving. It was a hugh mess. It took me a whole day to clean the stuff off. I cleaned everything with soapy water. Removed all the panels including the sterring panel modling and cleaned it too.

Problem now is the steering wheel feels stiff. It's not light as before. Any ideas what happend? I took the whole steering colume moding off and looked inside. Don't see anything unusal. Is there an area that the water got in and was previously greased, and now its not.

Anyway suggestion, help would be greatly apreciated!

 

were you drunk?

 

Sounds like you lost power steering...

 

No I wasn't drunk. Saw doctor afterwards and he said it was food posining. The shrimp, that's what it was.

No I don't think I lost power steering, since there steering wheel is working. It's not hard like the old cars without power steering. Its just not as light as before. I need one hand to steering the car, not like before I could turn into a parking lot with one finger.

All you maxima drivers, how light is your steering wheel feel?

Again any ideas as to what happend would really help!

 

You didn't by chance put on new tires or gain 300lbs in that timeframe did you?
-Cyrus

 

Wow. I wish I knew what you did. I hate that light as a feather feel.

 

No I didn't put any new tires or any added weight. I didn't change anything.

Me too, I like the more stiffer feel, but its weird that in a cold start the steering wheel feels stiff and then loosen once I start driving.

Any suggestion?

 

an allignment maybe?

 

Maybe you passed something along to your Max when you got sick all over it! Really though, my 99 SE steering is pretty tight, not 'light' as some of the other 4th gen GXE's & GLE's that I test drove. Maybe you had a problem before, and now it's gone?

 

something similar happened to me when i took the steering column off the first time to replace the headlight switch... one of the wires was rubbing the metal rod that the steering wheel is attached to.. personally i liked the new tigher feeling, but it disapeared in a few days... keep us updated, it would be intresting to know if you figured a new tigher steering wheel mod.. lol..
take care

 

1st-check your tire pressures.
2nd-check power steering fluid resivour with engine running. Make sure the circulation is clearly operating.
3rd-have a nissan technician drive it, they know the car more than anyone would/should.
4th-check in at your local tavern and deal with it.

5th-buy me a beer

 

No I don't think it's an alignment problem.

Someone mention they had a similar problem with a wire rubbing against the metal rode where the steering wheel is attached too. Is this the long metal rod shaft that goes down into the firewall. Ir is is a metal rod in the actual steering columne inside the horn column or where the airback sits. I can seem to get that off. I was able to get the molding around the ignition switch and the molding off around the turn signal and wiper area. But there's really nothing in there that seems like it need lubrication.

Wow this is tuff trying to figure this out.

Any more ideas would help.

 

I check the power steering resivor and everything else and its fine. Even tire pressure is fine. Only thing I can think of is I got pewek all over the steering columne wher the horn is and sorround area. I clean it all with soapy water. Then the next day I took what molding/panel apart and clean inside. The only thing I can think of is

1. There still is sticky vomit somewhere insde the steering columne I haven't been able to clean. How can I remove the horn cover?

2. That when I clean the pewek with soapy water, the water must have loosen something that as previously greased.

So I still wonder how I can fix this, any suggestions?

 

I'm having the same tight steering wheel lately. When I took apart the steering column the first time to install my indiglos, turning the steering wheel took more effort than before. It was weird but I didn't think anything of it. I liked being able to turn with one finger on the wheel, but now I can't. Hope we can figure this out.

 

so you had this problem too. Any ideas what happend? How the steering wheel got stiff.

Also have you found a fix/solution for this. Is your steering wheel still stiff. If its back to the way it was, light, then how did you fix it?

 

Well I had to run a wire into the steering wheel so it could get to the dimmer switch. Maybe it is catching there or something? Now it takes more effort for a right turn than a left, it's weird. I just kind of got used to it but I would like to fix it.

 

When you took the steering column off, did you take off the part horn part modling. You know the center of the steering where the horn is and where the air bag is located. If you did how did you take it apart?

I was able to take the plastic moding around the steering wheel, the plastic around the ignition key, the top and bottom moding around the steering wheel, but never able to take the steering hub off (where the horn it).

I looked inside and nothing out of the ordinary.

See I had vomit, so maybe it got sticky in there. But I cleaned it off with water, so maybe the water dried something up. I don't know. i tried spraying lubricant in there but no good.

Any ideas?

 

I just took the plastic around the igniton ring off. Since we're both just having this problem ever since removing the steering column for the first time, then it has to be something similar. Who knows?

 

So when you took the steering column off, did you take off the part covering the horn, if so how?

All I took off was the plastic around the steering column, the part where the ignition is, etc.

Do you know how I can get at the part of the metal rod that attaches to the steering wheel. Any pictures or how to on the web for this.

Also any idea how to remove the center of the steering columne ( the plastic in the middle of the steering wheel, where you press for the horn)?

Thanks for your help!

 

No idea how to get the middle off. I just took the part around the ignition off.