Steering Wheel Play

[Understated Detailing]

I'm new here - recommended by 01BlueSnake - very helpful guy!

We are trying to figure out what is causing the steering wheel on my 99 Cobra Vert. to have a wobble (similar to a bobble head) about 1 inch either side from the center position. There is play under the dash where the two pieces of the steering shaft join together, however, the play continues thru the firewall down to the rack. We can see the shaft moving inside the rack, but the rack itself does not move the tie rod ends. Car has 13k miles, CCW wheels and has been lowered. All connections are tight and no apparent wear at any point along the steering shaft, rag connection, and firewall bearing is tight. Are all Cobra that have had some suspension mods this way? Ball joints, tie rods, sway bars are all original and like new. Wheel alignment was done last year after the lowering springs and the car does not pull. Kooks headers (one piece) were installed and the steering shaft needed to be pushed to the side to do the job. After re-installing, the wobble in the wheel showed up. Any ideas before I start changing parts?

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[Understated Detailing]

Ok, under further review, we have determined the factory steering shaft needs to be replaced. After unbolting it from the rack, we could turn the steering shaft with our hands, but the steering wheel does not move inside the car. Thus, does not appear to be a rack problem, but rather a steering shaft issue. We noticed a lot of play in the shaft directly under the dash where the two mid-sections join. Everything looks factory with no sign if an issue, hust a lot of stupid play at this union. Ordered an M&M power steering shaft - should have it in a few days. I will let you know if this solves the problem.

 

[Flyn]

Interesting. Good post.

 

[Understated Detailing]

Also, what I learned over the weekend is that other Mustangs are experiencing similar issues once they have some modifications performed like lowering the vehicle and wider tires. This causes the loose play in the steering wheel to become more noticeable to the driver, meaning it was always there just not as noticeable. This is on factory steering shaft assemblies - under the dash section of the shaft (mid-section). I have seen other Cobras with a tight fitting union under the dash while mine is loose as a wild goose. M&M shaft arriving Wednesday - install is happening this Saturday. Will let you all know what happens.

 

[TheBafsta]

had the same problem changed the ball joint to steeda then bumpster kit then sterring shaft still have some play next stop is steering rack

 

[Fast99Snake]

the steering racks in our cars are very weak
if you have wide low pro tires this will make it more noticeable
they start developing play after probably 10k miles, so unless you wanna b replacing that rack every 10k'ish you just kind of have to deal with it.
bushings and the MM steering shaft help, but the factory racks just wear down quickly.
I've replaced mine once and just live with it now, it's not terrible, but you can move the wheel a little bit when parked or going really slow and you'll notice it.

 

[Understated Detailing]

Thanks for the posts - at least I'm not alone with this issue . Here is the update:

Replaced the steering shaft with one from M&M - nice piece of equipment. It solved the problem! The wheel no longer has any wobble and the steering is back to where it was if not better. My hat is off to 01Bluesnake who did the diagnosis and the install. What we noticed about the old one is that it had some cuts in the shaft on both sides and another chunk of metal missing near the plastic sleeve above where the rag joint is. Looks like it was notched out with a cutting tool. Also, in messing around with the mid-section (the union under the dash), if slightly extended to where it looks like it was from the factory position, there is no play in the union. If you shorten the shaft just slightly, play is noticeable. Don't know what happened to the old one and it does not matter at this point - just happy to have her in my hands feeling all good again! The moral to this story is becareful who works on your car and any wobble in the steering wheel is not normal on any stang. Correct Diagnosis is the key.