All new suspension, aligned. STILL pulls/drifts to left.

[02slera]

My Lara use to shake and pull to the left as well. Thats when I noticed a blown CV transaxle on the driver's side. At the same time I was installing the EricSol BBK I got from Gabe. Also had a bent knuckle on the driver's side (figured that out the hard way) and on top of all that I needed new wheel bearings.

After all that the wheel doesn't shake, but still pulls to the left a bit. Ive also noticed a lot more road steer as well. Even after new wheels & tires, and having it correctly balanced and aligned with SPC camber bolt only on the passenger side. The only few things left that it could be is rack & pinnion, CV transaxle on passenger side, or tie rods but I doubt its tie rods.

interesting. i was starting to think about a cv shaft out of balance maybe causing my steering wheel to shake, if thats even possible. but my car was wrecked at one point so it could be a bent knuckle as well. i love my car but i feel like im driving a p.o.s. with the steering wheel shaking like it does.

[xavier]

My Lara use to shake and pull to the left as well. Thats when I noticed a blown CV transaxle on the driver's side. At the same time I was installing the EricSol BBK I got from Gabe. Also had a bent knuckle on the driver's side (figured that out the hard way) and on top of all that I needed new wheel bearings.

After all that the wheel doesn't shake, but still pulls to the left a bit. Ive also noticed a lot more road steer as well. Even after new wheels & tires, and having it correctly balanced and aligned with SPC camber bolt only on the passenger side. The only few things left that it could be is rack & pinnion, CV transaxle on passenger side, or tie rods but I doubt its tie rods.

interesting. i was starting to think about a cv shaft out of balance maybe causing my steering wheel to shake, if thats even possible. but my car was wrecked at one point so it could be a bent knuckle as well. i love my car but i feel like im driving a p.o.s. with the steering wheel shaking like it does.

Thats exactly how I feel. My car looks cool but the shaking steering wheel makes me feel like I'm driving a beatup ford pickup! I can't drive it until I get it fixed. he wife doesnt seem to mind driving it though but it drives me crazy.

[mazen222]

hey, look at this... i was looking to buy a new steering wheel and bumped into this... looks like your exact problem!

http://www.aboutautomobile.com/Complain ... ring+Wheel

solution might not be there, but a good place to start.

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1999 Toyota Camry Solara Steering Wheel Complaints
Complaint Number: 731228 Incident Date: September 30, 1998 Date Added to File: September 18, 2000
Description of the Complaint:
On flat roads,steering wheel binds or locks into a left turn requiring driver to use clockwise force to the steering wheel to return it & maintain vehicle on (center) straight path.(steering wheel does not return to the center). If I let the steering wheel go, vehicle will turn into the left lane or center divider in about 5 seconds. I am an outside salesperson and on two ocassions I have had to sharply steer the car away from the left to avoid hitting oncoming traffic,I had no expectation the car would steer itself to the left so quickly. I understand that solara and sienna share same platform,powertrain & steering...Siennas had a similar problem (ODI pe99-070) & owners had new modified steering rack guides replaced to correct the problem & and that the solara steering rack has quietly been modified with new part # 44250 06081. I took my solara to the dealer to check alignment about 6 times(first time when car had about 300 miles), rotated, balanced tires,dealer told me bridgestones potenza tires were to blame,I replaced them with b.F.Goodrich but the steering wheel continues to bind or lock into a left turn.
--------------

[02slera]

update: i just installed a rebuilt rack & pinion and new tie rods (inner and outer) on my car, i also added tire pressure from 31 to 37 psi (225/40/r18).
it drives better, i still have some of the shake in the steering wheel around 60mph, its not as bad as before though( i still feel it, but my hand is not visibly shaking like it was before), will be getting another alignment and wheel balance and rotation from a more expensive shop than last time, and post final results. -im worried that the shaking that remains in the steering wheel is because im running 18" wheels with no hub centric rings. or worse, bent rim(s).

[mazen222]

update: i just installed a rebuilt rack & pinion and new tie rods (inner and outer) on my car, i also added tire pressure from 31 to 37 psi (225/40/r18).
it drives better, i still have some of the shake in the steering wheel around 60mph, its not as bad as before though( i still feel it, but my hand is not visibly shaking like it was before), will be getting another alignment and wheel balance and rotation from a more expensive shop than last time, and post final results. -im worried that the shaking that remains in the steering wheel is because im running 18" wheels with no hub centric rings. or worse, bent rim(s).

you're spending too much money on this man... could've got another solara

[02slera]

I've spent under $400 on this issue. only way im getting another solara is if this one is totaled or i somehow run into $$$

Edit: the the OP... im sorry i didnt not mean to hijack your thread, but i think these steering problems are related and we can all help each other get our cars to drive better. now...

alignment, balance, and wheel rotation done today.

Problem solved. drives straight and smooth. anyone else with this shaking steering wheel problem, here what i did...

i replaced all 4 tires (needed to be done anyway) and got an alignment and wheel balance.
i also installed eibach springs and tokico struts because my stock suspension was shot and i wanted to lower the car.
the shop i went to for the mounting of the tires, balance and alignment didnt bother to tell me about the
seized outer tie rod or the leaking rack & pinion.
and the steering wheel was still shaking at this point.
so...
i jacked up the front of the car and put it on jack stands,
i tried to "wiggle" the front wheel in any direction,
on my car, the drivers side front wheel had a very little bit of play when turning the wheel in and out (both hands on the tire)
i also noticed that when i wiggled the front wheel, the tie rod moved with it, i determined that it was a bad inner tie rod or rack & pinion.
the passenger side of the rack & pinion also had a hole in the boot and was leaking fluid.
so i replaced the rack & pinion and the outer tie rods (because i couldnt get the passenger side outer tie rod off)
-the fact that i couldnt turn the outer tie rod told me that the previous shop could not have adjusted it, they lied to me.
at this point (new rack & pinion), the steering wheel didnt shake quite as bad at 60mph as it did before, but it was still not good enough.
after replacing the rack & pinion it is obvious that an alignment must be done,
-givin the bad experience at the previous shop, i went somewhere else.
i got an aligment and wheel balance and rotation at a different shop this time and as stated above
problem solved. im still not 100% sure that i dont have a bent rim, because they were balanced and rotated so the ones that were on the front no longer are. but i have more faith in the shop i went to this time that they would have told me about any problems balancing the wheels. hope this helps someone else that has the same annoying problem.

[Solarizona]

I just had the same exact problem. Turn left and it would pull left. Turn right and it would drive fine. Both my strut bearings were bad, especially the driver's side. Just another possible solution in case someone else runs into this problem.

[ladyjhasfun]

OK - so I just bought a 2004 Solara 4cyl. and I love it. I bought it used with 94k on it. When I bought it the man told me he bought two new tires and put the new ones on the back and the old ones on front and did not have it aligned. hmmmm I thought that was odd because typically you put the new tires on the front on a front wheel drive car. The car was in great condition overall however it pulled to the left while on the road. I figured it was out of alignment no big deal.

Well, I took it to a great alignment place which told me it was not out of alignment and they rotated the tires and it still was pulling to the left. Thank goodness he didn't charge me for any of that and told me I should get the Steering Rack looked at, He said it looks a little funny when he looked at it. He recommended a shop near by and I took it there and they said yes, the Steering Rack needs to be replaced. $1k and it will be ready in the morning. I also made sure they were using Toyota parts because I guess this part has been modified to fix the problem. I will post tomorrow once it's fixed and let ya'll know if it still pulls or not! Hopefully NOT!

Ladyjhasfun

[GzNutz]

Well, I took it to a great alignment place which told me it was not out of alignment and they rotated the tires and it still was pulling to the left. Thank goodness he didn't charge me for any of that and told me I should get the Steering Rack looked at, He said it looks a little funny when he looked at it. He recommended a shop near by and I took it there and they said yes, the Steering Rack needs to be replaced. $1k and it will be ready in the morning. I also made sure they were using Toyota parts because I guess this part has been modified to fix the problem. I will post tomorrow once it's fixed and let ya'll know if it still pulls or not! Hopefully NOT!

Ladyjhasfun

Did you check into wether or not the tsb had been performed?
http://www.solaraguy.com/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=32281&hilit=Pull+left+tsb